Youngstown YMCA Neptunes

Coaches’ Biographies

 Sue Mellish , Head Coach

Sue Mellish has more than 16 years experience coaching competitive swimming and has been with the Y-Neptunes for six years. She is also a former Neptune swimmer! Coach Sue is a USA coach and a Level 2 coach through the American Swim Coaches Association and has a Masters in Education from Kent State University. In the summer, Sue coaches the Firestone Area Swim Team and gives private lessons at the Salem Community Center. During her non-coaching time, Sue works as a nationally and internationally published freelance writer. She has two children, Tim (25) and Chris (23) both having graduated from Mount Union College in May of 2008, and both having been former Y-Neptune swimmers. Tim is currently a video game designer and freelance writer, and is working on his MBA. Chris, an accountant, will finish up his Masters in Taxation from the University of Akron in May 2010

 Stacy Sowers, Assistant Head Coach

 Stacy Sowers has been coaching for 12 years with the Y-Neptunes. He is a former coach for Hubbard High School and for the USA Hubbard Swim Club team. Stacy was also a competitive swimmer for eight years; four in AAU (boy that goes back a ways) and four for Hubbard High School. In addition to coaching swimming, Stacy, an avid runner himself, coaches McDonald Boys Junior High Cross Country; is a Captain/EMT on the McDonald Volunteer Fire Department and works at the Youngstown Developmental Center as a Qualified Mental Retardation Professional.  He has been at YDC for 17 years. Stacy and his wife, Pam, have two children; twins actually. Kyrsti (majoring in Accounting) and Taylor (majoring in education) are now juniors.

 Kristen Kuntzman, Assistant Coach

This will be Kristen  fourth year coaching the Y-Neptunes. Kristen also coaches at the Poland Swim Club in the summer having been there for five years and she was co-head coach of the Alliance Y-Flyers YMCA swim team for several seasons.  Kristen has been swimming competitively since she was seven and swam for the Neptunes for 10 years. Kristen was also a part of the FAST, Applewood, and Boardman High school swim teams and swam for the Mount Union Purple Raiders for three years. And, yes, she swam for Coach Sue and Coach Stacy at different times in her career. Kristen is currently working on her degree at Kent State University when she is not busy chasing around her three year old son, Timothy. 

Jessie Front, Assistant Coach
 Jessie returns for her third year coaching the Y-Neptunes. She has been swimming competitively for 14 years including for her YMCA team back home in Waynesboro, PA where she qualified for nationals three years.  She also swam for her "unofficial" high school team in PA and qualified for AAA districts her sophomore, junior, and senior years.  A Super senior this year at Youngstown State, Jessie swam for YSU the past four years specializing in freestyle with her favorite event being the 200 free. Jess spent this past summer working at Stanford's swim camp and is excited to share what she learned with the swimmers from her time there.

Ashley Emerson, Assistant Coach

This will be Ashley Emerson's second year coaching the Neptune swim team. Beginning her swimming career as a four year old, Ashley has 14 years experience in competitive swimming - 14 seasons with the Firestone Area Swim Team; seven seasons at the Alliance YMCA and seven seasons with the Y-Neptunes. Over the course of her swimming career Ashley has earned many swimming accolades including the Paul Atkinson Scholarship naming her the 2008 Great Lakes YMCA Zone Female Swimmer of the Meet at the 2008 Great Lakes YMCA Zone Championships. Ashley has given private swim lessons for the past four years, worked as an assistant coach for FAST this past summer and is currently a sophomore attending Youngstown State University where she is part of the nursing program. 

Laura Hammond, Assistant Coach

 This will also be Laura Hammond's second year coaching the Neptunes.  She has four years of coaching experience with the Westlake Recreational Swim team as a head coach.  Laura was also a competitive swimmer for 11 years on various YMCA, recreational and school teams.  She is a graduate from Denison University with a major in both biology and education with a minor in chemistry and was a member of Club Water Polo.  She earned her Master's degree in biology from Case Western Reserve University, and is the proud mom of Christopher, who turned two this past April.  Laura and her husband, Brian, live in Columbiana, enjoy cooking, reading and taking pictures - mostly of Christopher!