Bios
Alexis Skelos - Garden City Supervisor
Alexis Skelos is the Supervisor of Long Island Swim School’s Garden City location. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the progress of every swimmer, the continuous evaluation and training of instructors, and the day to day operations of swim school programming.
Alexis is now in her 15th year full time with Long Island Swim School. During this time she has helped to establish and improve the Long Island Swim School curriculum. She has defined and developed teaching practices that allow our instructors to breakdown skills for children at any level, which is instrumental to our swimmers success.
Alexis has been teaching lessons in our pools for 20+ years. In that time she has taught and mentored hundreds of instructors, and given thousands of swimmers the skills they need to not only survive, but thrive, in the pool. Alexis’ passion for teaching and for helping every child flourish is evident in interactions she shares with swimmers and their families each and every day.
In addition to her responsibilities with the swim school, Alexis is also an ASCA Level 3 coach with our swim team, Long Island Aquatic Club. Most recently she has transitioned to working with the 12 and under athletes on LIAC’s Blue Team. In the 2017-2018 Short Course season 84% of the Blue Team, including every 10 & Under athlete, qualified for the Metropolitan Silver Meet. This season 10 athletes qualified for the Metropolitan Junior Olympics.
Prior to working with the Blue Team, Alexis was the coach of LIAC’s Senior and Senior Elite Teams. In her 10 years with that program Alexis led her swimmers to continuous success at the Junior Olympic and Silver levels. She coached more than 35 Senior Met Qualifiers, 10 Sectional qualifiers, 3 Junior National Qualifiers, and one United States Olympic Trials Qualifier. Every swimmer that graduated from the Senior/Senior Elite programs at LIAC and wanted to pursue a college swimming career was able to.
Before starting full time with Long Island Swimming, Alexis spent a year teaching second grade in South Los Angeles with Teach for America. Her experiences in the classroom prepared her to adapt and diversify curriculum and instruction for children of varying abilities.
A 2006 graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virgina, Alexis holds a degree in Elementary Education and Kinesiology. In her four years as a Division I athlete she made an impact on the Tribe Women’s Swim Team both in and out of the water; serving as captain in her senior year and leading the team to its highest ever Colonial Athletic Association finish at that time.
A LIAC swimmer for life, Alexis began her swimming career at age 8 and continued to compete with LIAC through college. Alexis is a 2002 graduate of South Side High School, where she established and captained South Side’s first girls swim team.
In addition to teaching and coaching swimming Alexis also takes pride in giving back to the community through swimming. She has been a member of the Nassau Suffolk division of Swim Across America since its inception in 2000. Alexis has led LIAC’s fundraising team for SAA, which has raised more than $200,000 for cancer research and treatment through local open water and pool swims.
Alexis is also the author and illustrator of the children’s book Fin’s Big Swim. The book brings awareness to the importance of water safety and proper swim lessons for children. Alexis resides in Merrick with her dog, Copper.
Alexis Skelos is the Supervisor of Long Island Swim School’s Garden City location. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the progress of every swimmer, the continuous evaluation and training of instructors, and the day to day operations of swim school programming.
Alexis is now in her 15th year full time with Long Island Swim School. During this time she has helped to establish and improve the Long Island Swim School curriculum. She has defined and developed teaching practices that allow our instructors to breakdown skills for children at any level, which is instrumental to our swimmers success.
Alexis has been teaching lessons in our pools for 20+ years. In that time she has taught and mentored hundreds of instructors, and given thousands of swimmers the skills they need to not only survive, but thrive, in the pool. Alexis’ passion for teaching and for helping every child flourish is evident in interactions she shares with swimmers and their families each and every day.
In addition to her responsibilities with the swim school, Alexis is also an ASCA Level 3 coach with our swim team, Long Island Aquatic Club. Most recently she has transitioned to working with the 12 and under athletes on LIAC’s Blue Team. In the 2017-2018 Short Course season 84% of the Blue Team, including every 10 & Under athlete, qualified for the Metropolitan Silver Meet. This season 10 athletes qualified for the Metropolitan Junior Olympics.
Prior to working with the Blue Team, Alexis was the coach of LIAC’s Senior and Senior Elite Teams. In her 10 years with that program Alexis led her swimmers to continuous success at the Junior Olympic and Silver levels. She coached more than 35 Senior Met Qualifiers, 10 Sectional qualifiers, 3 Junior National Qualifiers, and one United States Olympic Trials Qualifier. Every swimmer that graduated from the Senior/Senior Elite programs at LIAC and wanted to pursue a college swimming career was able to.
Before starting full time with Long Island Swimming, Alexis spent a year teaching second grade in South Los Angeles with Teach for America. Her experiences in the classroom prepared her to adapt and diversify curriculum and instruction for children of varying abilities.
A 2006 graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virgina, Alexis holds a degree in Elementary Education and Kinesiology. In her four years as a Division I athlete she made an impact on the Tribe Women’s Swim Team both in and out of the water; serving as captain in her senior year and leading the team to its highest ever Colonial Athletic Association finish at that time.
A LIAC swimmer for life, Alexis began her swimming career at age 8 and continued to compete with LIAC through college. Alexis is a 2002 graduate of South Side High School, where she established and captained South Side’s first girls swim team.
In addition to teaching and coaching swimming Alexis also takes pride in giving back to the community through swimming. She has been a member of the Nassau Suffolk division of Swim Across America since its inception in 2000. Alexis has led LIAC’s fundraising team for SAA, which has raised more than $200,000 for cancer research and treatment through local open water and pool swims.
Alexis is also the author and illustrator of the children’s book Fin’s Big Swim. The book brings awareness to the importance of water safety and proper swim lessons for children. Alexis resides in Merrick with her dog, Copper.
“I love watching the pride children gain as they learn to swim. So often children come to us afraid of learning to swim. It’s a challenge to learn something new, but when they learn that first most basic skill to move in the water, and realize “I can do it!” its incredible to see their confidence grow. When I see children learning to love the water and become confident in what they can do, then I know they will learn to swim for life. That’s how I know we are doing something right.”
Karla Spiegel - Syosset Supervisor
Karla Spiegel is the site supervisor for our Long Island Swim School Syosset location. Karla is entering her ninth year full time with Long Island Swimming, and has been teaching lessons in our pools for more than 16 years. She was excited to be the first to bring Long Island Swim School’s quality instruction and family friendly atmosphere to Syosset when we opened our doors in January 2016.
As the site supervisor Karla is responsible for the supervision and implementation of the Long Island Swim School curriculum with every student. She regularly uses her knowledge and expertise to help train and mentor new instructors. Karla continuously gives feedback to students and instructors alike, making improvements to our classes that help every student learn better. Karla enjoys getting to know each one of the families personally, not just her swimmers but the parents as well.
Prior to Syosset opening Karla was the Assistant Supervisor in our Garden City location. Karla has been running Long Island Swimming’s tryouts for about five years. She has an eye for identifying great body-line and young talent in the water. Karla takes pride in helping foster a love of swimming in each of these swimmers as they reach their full potential in the pool.
An ASCA Level 2 coach, Karla has been coaching with our team, Long Island Aquatic Club, since 2009. She has been the head and assistant coach for many of the groups on LIAC, ranging from the Red (developmental) to Senior level. By bringing both fun and hard work to each practice she encourages developmental swimmers to develop a passion for swimming. Swimmers in Karla’s groups regularly compete at the Silver and Junior Olympic level. Several athletes who started with Karla in LIAC’s developmental program, have now gone on to be LIAC team record holders and are nationally ranked swimmers.
In addition to her roles as site supervisor and LIAC coach, Karla is an American Red Cross Instructor. She currently teaches Lifeguard and CPR courses to our staff.
In 2009 Karla received her Bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. She received a full scholarship and competed with the Panthers swim team at the Big East Championships.
Karla became a LIAC swimmer at the age of 12. Before graduating high school she achieved Senior National qualifications in the 200 Breaststroke. She competed at the Junior National level in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke events. Karla held the LIAC team record in the 200 meter Breaststroke for almost ten years. The skills that she learned throughout her years of swimming at LIAC are what have made her so passionate about coaching swimming. Karla hopes that the enthusiasm her students gain at the earliest level in lessons will allow them to become lifetime swimmers.
In addition to competing for LIAC Karla was a standout swimmer for Farmingdale High School. She competed at the varsity level for 6 years and was a multiple time state qualifier in the 200 IM, 500 freestyle, and 100 breaststroke events. Karla achieved High School All American status in the 100 Breaststroke.
While she continues to supervise and grow the Syosset lesson program, Karla is taking some time off from coaching right now to spend free time with her family. She currently resides in Commack with her husband John, daughter Anastasia and dogs Elvis and Miley. They enjoy swimming, travelling, and trying new adventures together.
Karla Spiegel is the site supervisor for our Long Island Swim School Syosset location. Karla is entering her ninth year full time with Long Island Swimming, and has been teaching lessons in our pools for more than 16 years. She was excited to be the first to bring Long Island Swim School’s quality instruction and family friendly atmosphere to Syosset when we opened our doors in January 2016.
As the site supervisor Karla is responsible for the supervision and implementation of the Long Island Swim School curriculum with every student. She regularly uses her knowledge and expertise to help train and mentor new instructors. Karla continuously gives feedback to students and instructors alike, making improvements to our classes that help every student learn better. Karla enjoys getting to know each one of the families personally, not just her swimmers but the parents as well.
Prior to Syosset opening Karla was the Assistant Supervisor in our Garden City location. Karla has been running Long Island Swimming’s tryouts for about five years. She has an eye for identifying great body-line and young talent in the water. Karla takes pride in helping foster a love of swimming in each of these swimmers as they reach their full potential in the pool.
An ASCA Level 2 coach, Karla has been coaching with our team, Long Island Aquatic Club, since 2009. She has been the head and assistant coach for many of the groups on LIAC, ranging from the Red (developmental) to Senior level. By bringing both fun and hard work to each practice she encourages developmental swimmers to develop a passion for swimming. Swimmers in Karla’s groups regularly compete at the Silver and Junior Olympic level. Several athletes who started with Karla in LIAC’s developmental program, have now gone on to be LIAC team record holders and are nationally ranked swimmers.
In addition to her roles as site supervisor and LIAC coach, Karla is an American Red Cross Instructor. She currently teaches Lifeguard and CPR courses to our staff.
In 2009 Karla received her Bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. She received a full scholarship and competed with the Panthers swim team at the Big East Championships.
Karla became a LIAC swimmer at the age of 12. Before graduating high school she achieved Senior National qualifications in the 200 Breaststroke. She competed at the Junior National level in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke events. Karla held the LIAC team record in the 200 meter Breaststroke for almost ten years. The skills that she learned throughout her years of swimming at LIAC are what have made her so passionate about coaching swimming. Karla hopes that the enthusiasm her students gain at the earliest level in lessons will allow them to become lifetime swimmers.
In addition to competing for LIAC Karla was a standout swimmer for Farmingdale High School. She competed at the varsity level for 6 years and was a multiple time state qualifier in the 200 IM, 500 freestyle, and 100 breaststroke events. Karla achieved High School All American status in the 100 Breaststroke.
While she continues to supervise and grow the Syosset lesson program, Karla is taking some time off from coaching right now to spend free time with her family. She currently resides in Commack with her husband John, daughter Anastasia and dogs Elvis and Miley. They enjoy swimming, travelling, and trying new adventures together.
“I always say I come back each year, not because this is my job, but because I believe with my whole heart in what we do. It still brings such a big smile to my face to watch a swimmer who cried for their first few lessons now be able to swim and love every minute in the pool. While the journey and the process may be different for each swimmer, the result is the same; we have confident and comfortable swimmers. That alone makes me know what we do is so special. It’s why I love coming to work every day.”