Matt has been teaching swimming since 2003 and at Goldfish since 2006. He was a high school swim coach from 2003-2011. He loves swimming and helping kids have fun in the pool! He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2003. matt.watson@goldfishss.com (616) 275-3086

Will has been swimming since he was one year old. He has been teaching lessons at Goldfish Swim School since 2006. He also swam for Eastern Michigan University for four years. will.alberts@goldfishss.com (616) 275-3086

Brie has lived in Michigan all of her life, except for the first two years, as she was born in England. She has been swimming and coaching since she was 10 years old and has always loved distance freestyle. She graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Degree in English Education. Her dog Tilly is her world and they do almost everything together.

Lauren grew up in Royal Oak on the east side of the state, where she started working at the Birmingham Goldfish, in 2010. She joined our Grand Rapids team for our opening in 2012 and loves her job! Before Lauren worked at Goldfish she attended Cosmetology School. Now she cuts Mr. Matt and Mr. Will’s hair. Lauren has a dog named Barkley that she absolutely adores. She adopted him in 2013 and they have been soul mates ever since. lauren.ledford@goldfishss.com (616) 275-3086

Laura graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Kinesiology. She swam in high school and started teaching swim lessons in 2011. She is a Big Ten Champion!

Amanda graduated from Rockford High School. She is interested in pursuing a career in the legal field. She is currently attending Grand Rapids Community College and is planning on attending Grand Valley State University. She has swam her whole life and used to be on a competitive swim team. She has two cats named Zeus and Shadow and loves writing and craft projects.

Amber is currently going into Sonography Ultrasound. She loves spending time her family and friends. She coaches 8th grade volleyball at Lowell Middle School. She also loves spending time with the kids at Goldfish Swim School.

Kelsey is a student at GVSU, hoping to receive a spot in the Graduate Physical Therapy school at GVSU. She is from Dewitt, Michigan, and swam competitively for 12 years. During the summers in Dewitt, she would teach swim lessons.

Taylor is attending school for veterinary technology. She loves her two dogs and two cats! Taylor also love water sports like tubing, wake boarding, skiing, and kayaking. She grew up on her family’s farm and can milk a cow or goat.

Ms Alessandra is a student at Aquinas College and is pursuing a degree in exercise science. She is the 2nd of four kids in her family. Her favorite animal is a shark and her favorite season is fall!

Mr. Ali is from Afghanistan and grew up in Turkey! He can speak SEVEN languages! Mr. Ali loves to play soccer and track and field. He also loves cars and would love to open his own car dealership that sells really nice sports cars. His dream job though is to become a neuro(brain)surgeon or a professional soccer player.

Ms. Alyssa believes swimming is an amazing way to incorporate healthy habits into your life. She is passionate about staying healthy and caring for animals and children. Her goal is to become a wildlife veterinarian and work at a rehabilitation center. Ms. Alyssa can play the cello! She has a dog, Nala, named after the lioness from The Lion King.

Ms. Carrie grew up in Grand Rapids with 2 younger brothers! She teaches piano lessons and loves music. Last summer she got to visit Ireland! The best part, when she grows up she wants to be a pirate!

Ms Catie loves swimming! She swam for 4 years at Forest Hils Central and 1 year in college at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. She can't wait to teach kids to swim and be safe in the water! Ms Catie lived in London, England for a year and a half. She also hiked 100 miles in ONE day!

Mr Colin is 19 years old and not in college even though all of his friends are. He hopes to be a famous singer one day! It should come as no surprise then, that music is his favorite thing in the whole world! Mr Colin's favorite animal is a coral snake!

Ms Emily is from Portland, Michigan. She is living in Grand Rapids because she goes to GVSU and is studying Special Education. In her spare time she loves to kayak and hang out with her two cats, Rusty and Baby Penny. Ms Emily showed hogs and cattle in 4H. There are 7 kids in her family!

Mr Erick has traveled all over the world because he was in the United States Marine Corps! He learned to swim his best when he lived in Hawaii. He got to go surfing, and swim with sea turtles! He has always loved swimming though, he had to, growing up in Michigan with all of our Great Lakes. Mr Erick LOVES movies so much that he named his French Bulldog, Darth Vader, and his Shar-Pei, Groot! Mr Erick also loves superheroes, especially Marvel ones.

Gabby is a sophomore at Cornerstone University and is studying Communications. In her free time, she sings, dances, or watches musicals. Her favorite color is purple!

Katie graduated from High School in 2017, she lived in Canada for 5 years and studied piano for 2 years. She was also in a choir for 6 years.

Ms. Katie loves musicals and singing. Her favorite subject in school is science. One day Ms. Katie hopes to be a doctor. An alpaca is her favorite animal and Ariel is her favorite Princess.

Ms. Makayla is a student at GRCC. When she was 12 she was diagnosed with diabetes. She has 2 cats named Ivy and Luna. Ms. Makayla loves being active and hiking in the mountains, she also loves to do crafts. She has played indoor volleyball for 12 years and started beach volleyball 5 years ago.

Ms. Olivia is a student at Aquinas College. She is studying to become a child life specialist. She swam competitively until she started college and loves working with kids. In her free time, she enjoys vegetarian cooking, traveling and going to concerts. She has a BIG dog, a fluffy cat, and TWO goats!

Ms. Rachel graduated from The George Washington University in 2018. She studied psychology and Spanish. She has never broken a bone!

Ms. Sam's full name is Samantha. She is an English major in college and spends all of her free time reading books and writing papers. She has been a lifeguard for kids at summer camps since 2013. Ms. Sam has taken a ride on elephants in Thailand and pet lions in Zambia! She loves to read and feels like there is never enough space on her bookshelves for all of the books she wants.

Ms. Sarah loves working with kids. When she is not at Goldfish Swim School, she also works at Central Autism Services. Her favorite animal is an elephant and favorite color is yellow.

Saskia has 2 puppies, 1 fish, and 4 chickens! She loves the outdoors, traveling and going on mission trips! She currently attends North Pointe High School. Her favorite thing to do is sing and she loves snakes because of how cool they are.

Ms. Tammy grew up with a pool in her backyard and she loves to swim. She also loves working with kids. Ms. Tammy has 9 kids of her own, her youngest daughter is a senior in high school. One of Ms. Tammy's favorite things to do is watch her daughter play basketball. In 2018, she went to Florida to play and won the championship! Ms. Tammy also has a dog named Paisley.

Ms Elena is a Junior at Forest Hills Central High School. She has swam competitively for 6 years. She loves to draw and paint. She would like to go to Hope College.

Ms Emalie loves spending time outside with her friends and family, but only when it's nice out! She loves animals and taking walks to new places!

Ms. Emma has been swimming for 8 years and has three little siblings that also love to swim! She has a dog named Lucky.

Ms Jasmine is a student at Forest Hills Central High School! She enjoys hanging out with her friends and swimming! Ms Jasmine has a carapoo puppy names Charlie who is 6 months old! Her favorite type of candy is chocolate. If you add caramel to it, it's even better!

Katie has been dancing since she was little and she enjoys theater and drawing. One day she hopes to be an animator. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite animal is a monkey.

Ms Lauren was born in North Carolina and moved to Grand Rapids when she was 8 years old! She was raised on the west side and graduated from West Catholic in 2018. She is currently a full-time nursing student at Aquinas College. Ms Lauren has a golden retriever puppy named Abel that she loves so much! She says he is crazy energetic but also so cuddly! Ms Lauren recently went on a medical trip to Haiti which is what made her want to be a nurse!

Ms Taylor is a student at Forest Hills Central High School. She loves spending time with her friends and family and has enjoyed making new friends at Goldfish Swim School! Ms Taylor has two dogs, a 7-year-old Maltese poodle, and a 1-year-old great Pyrenees. She loves to run and participate in Cross Country at school!

Ms Adrianna is a Junior at GVSU, studying Communication Sciences and Disorders for Pre-Speech and Language. She would love to work in an elementary school. Her favorite color is pink and she loves riding her bike when she can. A special talent she has is the ability to lick her elbow!

Carianne recently graduated for GVSU. She is originally from Canton, on the east side of the state. She has an identical twin and her biggest fear is birds!

Clarissa love to swim with her son at Goldfish. She graduated from the University of Michigan. Clarissa favorite color is sea foam green and she love bearded dragons. Clarissa has a cat named Acorn and one named Squash.

Ms. Elizabeth is from Ann Arbor but she moved to Grand Rapids for college. She rides horses competitively. For the last 14 years, Ms. Elizabeth has been riding and showing horses. Ms. Elizabeth has a dog named Fredy, a cat named Smokey and a horse named Ruby.

Ms. Jordyn is from Marinette (a very small town in Northeastern Wisconsin). She moved to Grand Rapids so she could attend GVSU and pursue a degree in Criminal Justice. Her favorite animal is a corgi! In her free time, Ms. Jordyn loves to draw and paint.

Morgan is currently attending Aquinas College in hopes of attaining a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. She is on the soccer team there! Morgan's favorite place to vacation is her family's vacation home in the Upper Peninsula. Her favorite food is Mac n' Cheese!