Coach Nate Gentzler

The Tidal Waves Swim Team is led by Nate
Gentzler. Coach Nate has been involved with
competitive swimming since he was eight years old. He began his swimming carreer at at the York YWCA in 1992, where he had the honor of swimming for hall of fame coach John deBarbadillo. Nate then joined the York YMCA swim team in 1995, where he swam until he graduated high school in 2002.  While in high school, Nate also swam for the West York High School swim team, where he was elected captain his senior year.

Nate got his start in coaching as an assistant for West York High School in 2002, and remained on the staff until 2007. Nate has been an assistant coach at the York YMCA since the spring of 2007, where he has been under the tutelage of head coach Michael Brooks—who has coached swimmers to the US Olympic Trials and international level meets.

Nate’s greatest strengths are his ability to teach technique and fundamentals to fix swimmers’ flaws, and his ability to get swimmers to achieve more than they thought was possible. He also enjoys teaching life skills.

Nate is still somewhat active as a competitive swimmer and now participates in US Masters Swimming competition.

Coach Sandy Zamalis

Sandy joined the York YMCA program in the spring of 2008 with her two children, Jacob and Aleni.   She coaches the novice group of the Tidal Waves Swim Team, and she is also the primary coach of the novice group for our York YMCA Swimming team.

Sandy started swimming her sophomore year at Mary Baldwin College on the club team, and from there went on to teach swimming lessons and coach 8 & Unders at the Staunton, Virginia YMCA for 2 years. She and her husband, Michael, relocated to the York Area in 1997. Sandy rejoined the swimming scene in 2006 when her kids joined the Spring Grove Swim Club, and began coaching for that team shortly thereafter. There she coached 8 & Unders for three seasons.

In her free time, Sandy is a wife and stay-at-home/home schooling mom.

Coach Erin Crouse

Erin began competitive swimming when she was seven years old.  She swam for the York YMCA for 11 years, and was one of the founding members and captains of the Susquehannock High School swim team.

Erin began coaching her senior year of high school when she worked with the Southern Branch members of the Y's team.

After earning a B.S. in Elementary Education from Shippensburg University, Erin taught in England for two years.  She then went on to earn a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Monash University in Australia.

Erin returned to southern York County in October of 2009, and took over coaching for the Southern Branch Tidal Waves in December of 2009.