Meet the Coaches
Our team of coaches are committed to helping swimmers improve through teaching stroke fundamentals and providing a positive learning environment. We enjoy the opportunity to help our swimmers grow both in the pool and in life.
Coach Jay Dodson
Head Coach and Administrator of STAR Aquatics
Email: jay@staraquatics.net
Cell: (336) 337-0169
Coach Jay grew up in Jamestown and started swimming when he was five years old. He was a breaststroker who swam with both Swim GSA and High Point Swim Cub. Jay started coaching his senior year of high school at Sedgefield Swim & Racket Club (now Grandover), where he coached all through college. After college, Jay had a variety of roles including banking, commercial real estate, dock door sales and as a residential advisor. He finally ended up teaching math and social studies at Kernersville Middle School. It was there that a friend approached him about helping coach Oak Ridge Swim Club during the summer. After several years coaching at Oak Ridge and realizing there was a need for more teaching-based club in the Triad, Jay and Chris Compton started Star Aquatics in 2002. Coach Jay says he wants his swimmers to enjoy the sport. He loves seeing them grow up and mature as people, learning life lessons through swimming. His favorite part of coaching is the relationships he develops with his swimmers. As a coach, Jay believes that accountability is critical, saying, “We can coach and teach but the athlete must take ownership and apply that to their swimming if they’re going to succeed. Taking ownership in what they do is something they’ll use for the rest of their lives.” Jay has been married to his wife, Lori, for twenty-five years and they have three children. In his personal life, Jay enjoys Orange Theory fitness, being outdoors, cooking, golfing and playing with his dogs.
Coach Taylor grew up in Greensboro and began swimming summer league for Grandover when he was six. He swam year round for Swim GSA, specializing in Butterfly and sprint Free. Taylor has a degree in business management from ECU. While he was in college, Grandover called and offered him a coaching role, which he did for three years before moving to Star to coach the Senior 1 and 2 groups. Coach Taylor describes his coaching philosophy as swimmer-first: "Meet them where they are and take them where they want to go." He believes that the actual coaching is only a small part of what he does. "For me, it's a lot more about the swimmer, getting to know them, forming a personal connection and learning how to motivate them." Outside of swimming, Taylor is a Crossfit enthusiast and a self-described sports fanatic, rooting for the Panthers and Tarheels basketball.
Coach Ed Gomez
Coach
Email: edyg49@gmail.com
GAC Juniors and Super Novas
Email: ed@staraquatics.net
Cell: 336-508-8055
Coach Ed was born in Mexico City and started swimming there when he was five. His favorite stroke was Breaststroke but at age thirteen, he switched to playing football. Ed first visited Greensboro in 1995 but went back to Mexico to finish college, finally moving here permanently in 2000. Ed started teaching swim lessons and coaching in Mexico City and his first coaching role in Greensboro was at Friendly Pool in 2001. After a stint at Swim GSA, Ed joined Star Aquatics in 2012 and has been here ever since. Coach Ed says that he enjoys coaching because of the connection between the coach and the athlete which allows the swimmer to develop to their full potential. He adds that he gets to do the things he liked as a swimmer with his kids now and changes what he didn’t enjoy. Ed believes that swimmers need to have a really good understanding of technique if they’re going to excel in the pool. He also tries to help them be positive to achieve their goals. Ed says, “Every athlete is different so I need to get to know the person in order to help them succeed.” When he’s not coaching swimming, you can find Ed in the pool, participating in other sports or watching TV and movies.
Charles Bauserman
Coach
GAC Solar Flares and Seniors
Email: Charles@staraquatics.net
Cell: 336-706-7070
Charles was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. He started swimming competitively when he was 7 years old and swam with Star from 2007 until 2014. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 2019 and is a paralegal at a law firm in Burlington. In his free time he likes to hike, play guitar and work out.
Sarah newell
Coach
GAC Super Novas, SwimFit, and Juniors
Email: Sarah@staraquatics.net
Cell: 214-316-0366
Sarah is a seasoned swim coach with a deep passion for helping swimmers of all levels reach their full potential. Growing up, she swam for Green Valley, Grimsley, and STAR, where she swam at the junior national level, before earning a degree in Exercise Science from the University of South Carolina. She coached at Green Valley in high school and college and joined the Swim Fanatics staff after graduation, where she coached 3 years. Sarah now leads Sherwood in the summers as head coach. Under her guidance, the team won the 2024 City Meet and earned second place in 2025 with an undefeated dual meet season. Outside the pool, Sarah enjoys running, reading, and spending time with her husband - whom she me swimming for STAR - and their twin boys.
Jake lives in Greensboro with his wife and their two-year-old daughter. He works as a sales rep for a furniture manufacturer and was recently given a NC based territory that allowed his family to move back home. He began his competitive swimming career at Star and concluded it by swimming 100 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle at Gardner-Webb University. He is excited to return to Star as a coach and looks forward to a great season!
Madison Crandall
Coach
GAC Rising STAR, Solar Flares and Juniors
Email: madison@staraquatics.net
Cell: 336-279-6681
Madison grew up in Greensboro and learned to swim out on Belews Lake. She got introduced to the swimming world when she joined a local summer league. She swam and coached for summer leagues throughout middle and high school. Madison stepped away from athletics post high-school and into ministry; after completing her associates degree at GTCC she moved overseas working in a small indigenous community in the jungle. Now back in Greensboro, she is excited to be joining the STAR Aquatics team. In her free time Madison loves cooking, camping, painting, hiking, and any water related activity.
Steven Laflamme
Coach
Email: stevenlaflamme101@gmail.com
GAC Seniors
Email: Steven@staraquatics.net
Cell: (918) 257-2811
Steven is a current student at Elon University for Physical Therapy. He was a competitive swimmer at Nitro Swimming and completed 4 years of swimming at Gardner-Webb. He is a Butterfly specialist. He loves the connections with the kids and hopes to have a great season!
Jessica is from Mount Airy, North Carolina. She is studying Kinesiology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has always enjoyed swimming, and is excited to share her love for the sport with the kids!
Sam grew up in California and has been swimming since he was 4. He moved to Greensboro in late 2019. He has swam his whole life, but has moved into triathlon as his main sport. He specializes in freestyle. He has been racing triathlons competitively for almost 6 years. In his free time he lives on a farm in Summerfield, and raises pigs and chickens.
Matt grew up swimming for Star and this will be his fifth year coaching for the team. He has also coached a summer league team at Grandover, as well as two summers with the High Point Elks, where he also swam growing up. He has been Star’s Swim School coordinator for four years and loves teaching kids water safety; he enjoys coaching swimmers as they progress to the competitive level as well.
Austin is from from Mount Airy, North Carolina where he is the Aquatics Director at Reeves Community Center. A breaststroker, he swam for STAR during his high school years and has been the head site coach for STAR at Reeves since 2015. Austin has been involved in local swimming at all levels including summer swimming, high school and middle school and enjoys helping swimmers of all levels develop and improve.