About Our Team

We are Team Suffolk Swim Club - a club member of USA Swimming.

Home of U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifiers Terry Pruitt, Jesse Gage, Ben Cono, Justin Plaschka, Ethan Tack and Denise Phelan

Head Coaches: John Pisano and Frank DeGrazia

Team Captains:  Connor Brown, Katherine Grefski, Pierre Leroy and Caitlyn Riordan

With numerous local, regional and national champions, Team Suffolk Swim Club provides a challenging and rewarding environment where the serious athlete is challenged to reach his/her athletic potential.

For more information about our swimming programs, please explore this site.

If you have further questions, email us or visit the pool during practice times: 5- 9:30PM weeknights.

Practice location:
Natatorium Building at Half Hollow Hills High School West, 375 Wolf Hill Road, Dix Hills
Deer Park High School, 1 Falcon Place, Deer Park
Suffolk Community College, 1001 Crooked Hill Road, Brentwood
The Rinx @ Hidden Ponds, 660 Terry Road, Hauppauge

Are you thinking about swimming competitively?

Do you enjoy swimming during the summer?

Do you wish you could still swim during the winter?

We train for competitive swim meets eleven months out of the year.

We have a variety of programs to fit various levels of ability.

Our experienced and highly recognized coaching staff assesses your swimming skills.

You are assigned to the training program that is best suited to your ability level.

FAQs

Q-What does my child need to do in order to make the team?

The minimum requirement is to be able to swim freestyle the length of our 25 meter pool with rhythmic breathing. The child should be able to do so without any stops along the way. This is usually the minimum specification for a 6-9 year old. Children 10 years and older are expected to be able to do more in the way of speed, stamina and multiple stroke skills. This is a competitive U.S. swim club and therefore your child will be chosen based on the skills demonstrated during the tryout as compared to the other children trying out. We normally take approximately 20 developmental swimmers a year. This is our beginning program where development of freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly strokes are taught. Children in our higher level groups are taken based on space availability and skill.

Check our Tryouts page for information on when the next tryouts session will be held.

Q-What type of commitment is expected? What are the practice days and times?

A Developmental swimmer is expected to be at practice 3 days per week. 

An Intermediate swimmer is expected to be at practice 5 days per week. 

Junior Elite swimmers swim 5 days per week

Elite swimmer has practice 6 days per week.

The Novice group swims 1 hour per week on Saturdays.

In addition, children on the competitive team may be entered into several swim meets during the year, which are held on the weekends. These are full 1/2 day commitments. A high level of commitment is expected from both swimmer and parents.

Q-Are there any other costs?

Our club is a NON PROFIT organization and run by a NON PAID parent board. Fundraising is a necessary component in order to keep the dues at a reasonable level. Other costs include the purchase of a team swimsuit, goggles and team uniform.  

Q-What organization is the Team Suffolk Swim Club a part of?

We are a member of  United States Swimming. This is the organization that oversees a nationwide group of local swim clubs and regional organizations. US Swimming is also the governing body over our Olympic team.

Q-How good a team is Team Suffolk?

We have been in existence since 1982, for 39 years and during that time we have been known for our swimmers achieving top 16 national times by age group, zone and sectional champions, 8 & under champions and Olympic trial qualifiers.

More importantly, our kids are winners in life. Each year we have graduating seniors who attend the most competitive colleges whether or not they continue to swim in college. Among our most recent graduates are students at Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan University, Brown University, Boston College, Amherst College, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Trinity, Case Western Reserve, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Dartmouth, and the U.S. Naval Academy.  Many of our swimmers receive athletic and/or academic scholarships at Division 1 schools. We are very proud of our alumni who come back to visit us regularly and continue to practice with us during their school breaks.

Q-Do you do more than swim?

We have our end of year awards banquet usually held on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  Other Ad hoc events have included Adventureland, movies and bowling outings.

Q-Where are the meets held?

There are several locations, however the Developmental swimmers will usually have meets at Ward Melville High School, Hauppauge High School, Mt Kisco, Felix Festa and Eisenhower Park. Swimmers in our more advanced programs attend meets at Rutgers University and other venues such as Valley Central High School and Newburgh Academy. Check out our Meet Schedule.

Q-Do the swimmers train at the same location year round?

Our swimmers swim the short course season (25 yard/meter indoor season) for 10 months at our home pool at the Half Hollow Hills Natatorium located next to the HHH West High School on Wolf Hill Road in Dix Hills as well as the Deer Park High School on Falcon Place in Deer Park. We also have a short (4-6 week) summer long course season (50 meter outdoor pool) held at Hidden Pond Park in Hauppauge. This is usually from the first week of June until approximately mid August.

Q-What about the coaches?

The coaching staff is the strength and heart of our team. Our Head Coaches, John Pisano and Frank DeGrazia, has over 3 decades of experience.  Our Assistant Coaches are uniquely qualified and bring years of diverse experience and talent. The coaching staff is among the most stable in the field, which has enabled our club to sustain its unparalleled success for 38 years of existence.  Between our Head Coaches and Assistance Coaches we have 140+ years of Coaching experience.

Q-Why should my child and I want to make this level of commitment?

There are several reasons. The biggest have little to do with swimming. Our kids learn and experience the discipline and self confidence of making it happen in the pool each day. This sense of achievement prepares them for the challenges they face during their elementary school years and beyond. The friendships they make at our club are lifelong and the positive influence of our coaches is another key element in their overall life foundation. Your necessary involvement as parents tends to ensure that our children are in a healthy and positive environment. Since all the kids at our club have involved parents, they tend to be better kids, and although this is not a guarantee, these are  certainly the surroundings that we want our kids to be in. Our children become part of a big swim family. Like all families, there can be disagreements.  However, we all tend to come together when an extended family member needs us.  If you become a member of Team Suffolk Swim Club, you will become much more than a family involved in your child's sport, but rather a part of a wonderful program that breeds athletic, academic and overall well-rounded success.