David Stephens

Favorite or funniest or most embarrassing swimming memory: I really enjoyed the travel trips – my first time on a plane was a Dynamo trip to Boca Raton. The bus trips were fun and one year we went to Bermuda which was an awesome experience. The Junior National meets were a blast!

Your pinnacle/ peak performance: Being on relays at Juniors and Seniors was so much fun and remember having some pretty strong 800 free relays.

How has your time at Dynamo impacted your life: I had some great coaches in my time at Dynamo – Vince Farruga, Humphrey (can’t remember last name), Brian Laraway and Steve Bultman were instrumental in my enjoyment of the sport and taught the skills of hard work, time management and dedication. After I finished swimming in college in 1999 I found my way back to the pool as a high school coach in 2000 and wound up coaching there until 2022. In 2004 I started a club team in Chicago with about 20 kids and it has grown to one of the top teams in the state with about 350 kids and has been a Silver Medal Club Excellence program for several years. Having coached for 20+ years you realize how important the coach can play in a swimmers development and found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences. I am no longer on the deck, but still serve as the administrative coach for the club.

Where are you today? Today I’m living in Marietta, Georgia with my wife and 3 daughters and enjoy attending all of their activities. We have a 2 year old dog named Charlee. After 10+ years of not swimming I jumped back in to prep for a triathlon and have done 7 Ironmans. I enjoy biking and running and looking to do more travel. I’m thankful for all the Dynamo did for my family. My mom has been involved with Dynamo for over 35 years and all of my siblings swam for Dynamo. It was great to get over to the pool at the reunion and show my kids the place where I spent countless hours in my formative years.

Are you open to helping other Dynamo alums with networking? If there are coaches looking for a job in Chicago I can definitely help and also still work remotely for a school in Chicago.