Jennifer Cullen (Head Coach)
Coach Jennifer began swimming the age of four and continued competitive swimming through High School. As a teenager, she was a YMCA National Qualifier in the Butterfly and Individual Medley events. She attended Trinity High School in Manchester, NH and the University of New England in Biddeford, ME. Her coaching career began with the Greater Manchester YMCA Tiger Sharks in the 90’s. Jennifer was actively involved with the construction of the Samuel Hunt Pool at the Allard Center. In the late 90’s, she moved to Massachusetts where she worked for 6 years with the YNS Sharks. Jennifer was also the Director of Aquatics at the Gloucester YMCA during this time. She returned to the Greater Manchester YMCA in 2005 as head coach of the Tiger Sharks. Jennifer’s coaching career extends over 20 years, 13 of which have been as a fulltime coach and mentor. Her experience includes coaching teams of all sizes, from Bernal’s Gators to High School teams (Beverly, MA and Bedford, NH) to the current Tiger Shark team of roughly 100 swimmers.
Pete Favreau (Dry land Coach)
Born and raised in Manchester, NH, Pete became involved in athletics at a very young age. He
played a number of sports at Memorial HS in Manchester, and went on to play hockey at St.
Michael’s College in Burlington, VT. During his college years, he first participated in a serious
dry land program, with 90 minute off-ice sessions every day at 5 am. After college, he continued
fitness training on a personal level, learning as much as he could through books and research. He
then went to work for the Federal Government in 1991, and graduated from the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center with awards in Fitness and Academics. He was sent back the following year and trained as a fitness instructor, so that he could develop wellness programs for
Federal Employees. In 1993, Pete became a Police Officer, and is currently assigned to the Patrol
Division as a Lieutenant. Throughout his Police career, he has served as a Detective, the
Commander of the SWAT Team, and the head of the Training Division. As the Training
Director, Pete had the pleasure of training many Police Officers in all areas of police work, and
fitness was a huge part of that program. As Pete’s fitness has evolved, he has gravitated toward
more extreme competitions. He has competed in numerous triathlons, including Half-Ironman
distances. To top off all of his accomplishments, Pete has completed the 5-mile Coral Reef open ocean
swim in St. Croix. Although he learned to swim as a kid, he began training with Coach
Jennifer in 2005 as a way to develop an actual swim stroke that would benefit him in triathlons.
In return, he began assisting with the dry land program for the Tiger Sharks that same year. Pete
loves working with the kids and prides himself on improving strength and fitness, along with
injury prevention, in order to provide positive support for the team and its coaches.
Olivia Walsh (Yellow Group)
Olivia grew up in Durham NH. She began swimming at age 8 on both the Oyster River Otters and the Bobcats swim teams. She swam for 10 seasons until graduating from Oyster River High School in 2005. She continues personal fitness by swimming and jogging. In the fall of 2005 she attended the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester NH and graduated in the spring of 2010 with a BFA in painting. Throughout her college career, she worked as a life guard and swim instructor at the Greater Manchester YMCA. In the summer of 2009 and 2010, she worked for Camp Chaverim at the Schenectady JCC in Schenectady NY. She taught swim lessons every day and realized that teaching was her calling. She joined the Tiger Sharks swim team in the fall of 2010, and hopes to bring her experience, and love of teaching and swimming to the team. Olivia hopes to one day become and art teacher at the college level, and continue to be actively involved in swimming.
Sarah Gordon (Age Group Coach)
Sarah grew up in Bangor Maine. She started swimming for the Hurricane Swim Club when she was in third grade. From 1998 through 2001 she competed at the YWCA Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she achieved a Maine State Record in the 200 IM Relay. In 2002, she joined the Bangor YMCA Barracudas. She competed in the YMCA New England Championships in 2002 and 2003. During her senior year at Bangor High School she was named Captain. After high school, Sarah went on to swim for the University of Maine. During her time at the University of Maine she was honored with the Chandler Comeback award her sophomore year and the Senior Service award for her dedication to swimming and the team her senior year. While at the University of Maine she also helped coach with the Black Bear Swim School and various summer swim camps. She graduated from the University in 2007 with her B.S. in Kinesiology and Physical Education.
Gabrielle Hunt (White Group Coach)
Gabe began swimming competitively at the age of six in a local summer league. She later swam year round, initially at the Marblehead/Swampscott (MA) YMCA and later for the North Shore Piranhas (now part of the North Shore Swim Club) at the North Shore Jewish Community Center in Marblehead. Gabe swam for Marblehead High School on the varsity swim team for four years. During her freshman year the team won the Northeastern Conference Championship in an undefeated season and she achieved the MVP award for that season. She was named co-Captain of the swim team her senior year. Her favorite events are the 500 Freestyle, the 200 I.M. and the 100 Butterfly. She joined the Tiger Sharks staff in the fall of 2009. She hopes to impart her love of swimming to the Tiger Shark swimmers.
Jon Luby (Junior/Senior Group Coach)
Jon began his competitive swimming career at the age of five. He swam with Hampshire Hills and the original Manchester Swim Team prior to joining Bernal's Gators. Jon qualified for Junior Nationals for 5 consecutive seasons in all of the Freestyle events and was invited to train and compete with the Mission Viejo Nadadores National Team in California for the summer of 1982. After returning to New England, Jon continued to have opportunities to swim with a number of National and Olympic swimmers and began coaching for the Bedford Swim Team and Manchester Swim Club. In his Senior year, Jon qualified for Senior Nationals in the 1650 and won the High Point trophy at New England Senior Championships. Jon graduated from West High School in Manchester NH and then attended Phillips Exeter Academy for a Post Graduate Year where he set several school records and played Water Polo. After graduation, Jon migrated South on a swimming scholarship to Clemson University. During his college career, Jon coached Age Group and Junior National swimmers with the Clemson Aquatic Team, Bedford Swim Team, Manchester Swim Club and the Manchester YMCA Tiger Sharks and began officiating High School Swimming. Jon then spent a year as the assistant coach with the University of New Hampshire. Jon is dedicated to sharing his love of the sport with others.
Lauren Merritt (White Group Coach)
Lauren grew up in Manchester, NH and began swimming competitively for the Tiger Sharks at the age of 9. During high school, she swam for the Manchester Central Varsity Swim Team and also worked at the Allard Center as a swim instructor and lifeguard. Lauren graduated from Keene State College and La Universidad de Sevilla in Sevilla, Spain. She currently teaches Middle School Spanish with the Goffstown School District. Lauren is excited to be back with her old swim team!
Al Tisbert (Yellow Group Coach)
Al has been a member of the Tiger Sharks coaching staff for 2 years. He swam competitively throughout middle school and high school for the Salem Boys and Girls Club. When Al is not poolside, he works for the Goffstown School District as a kindergarten teacher, a preschool teacher and a special education case manager. Al has a 3-yearold son, and he and his wife are expecting another son in early March. Al is proud to be part of our coaching staff and looks forward to giving back to the sport that offered him so much opportunity in his youth.
Peggy Robinson (Yellow Group Coach)
Coach Peggy comes from a swimming family. She began swimming competitively when she was
six years old at a summer pool club in NJ. Old York Country Club and was part of the Princeton
Area Swimming and Diving Association. The following year she joined an AAU winter program
at Peddie School in Hightstown NJ. She excelled in butterfly and freestyle and was a member of
both medley and freestyle relays. She continued swimming in summer and winter programs in NJ
and Pennsylvania until she graduated high school. One of her proudest accomplishments is being
part of establishing a high school swim team. At the time, Notre Dame High did not have a swim
team. Peggy and her older sister, along with two other students, were invited to represent their
school in the final championship of the season. At the end of the meet they accumulated enough
points, to earn them a fourth place finish out of 8 teams. This opened the eyes of our athletic
director and the next year, the school had its first official swim season. To this day, Notre Dame's
swim program is still going strong. I am happy to be back at pool side but in a different capacity
as a mom and coach. I look forward to being part of the Tiger Shark swim team.
