Meet The Coaches
Grace Pyne, Founder
Assistant Coach, Maple (Grace’s dog/best friend)
A 2018 graduate of Northeastern University with a BS in Business Management, Grace has always loved being in and around the water. Her love of swimming started at an early age and she began swimming competitively at seven years old. She continued to swim competitively through high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, where she was the recipient of the Bob Burns Award for Excellence in Swimming her junior year.
Grace has extensive experience teaching lessons to children and adults of all ability levels. She has been teaching on Nantucket for the last six years with Swim with Grace, conducting thousands of cumulative lessons. Her past experience includes years of group and private lessons taught at the Middlebury, VT Town Pool where she was also a lifeguard. Grace also has a year of experience as a Nantucket Lifeguard where she patrolled all the town beaches. Grace desires to share her love of the water with others and help them feel safe, comfortable, and confident no matter the aquatic environment.
Swim with Grace was started in 2018 from Grace’s love of swimming and desire to have fun in the sun!
Grace holds the following American red cross certificationS:
Water Safety Instructor
Lifeguard
CPR/AED
First Aid
Sophie Phelps, Coach
Sophie joins us for her fourth summer on the Swim with Grace team. She is about to start her freshman year at Brown University in the fall. Sophie grew up on Nantucket Island surrounded by all things aquatic. Her love and passion for the sport only expanded as she began participating in frequent swimming competitions. When she swam for the Nantucket Dolphin Swim Team, she was named “Swimmer of the Year” and an “Outstanding Swimmer” multiple times.
Sophie spends most of her time in the water, whether for swim practice or coaching the younger swimmers. Her love for teaching kids how to become confident and safe in the water has enabled confidence for people of all ages. Sophie is happiest in the water!
Kaki Holcek, Coach
Joining the SWG team this year is Kaki Holcel. Kaki hails from Alabama where she went to school for Speech-Language Pathology. She put her degree into practice at Nantucket Public Schools, where she sees kids of all ages. Kaki spent her summers in college working as a lifeguard and teaching swim lessons at the Enterprise, AL YMCA. She especially has a passion for teaching beginner swimmers. In her free time, she loves spending time at the beach, reading a good book, and taking yoga classes at 1111!
Jack Vargas, Coach
Jack returns to the team this year as a rising senior at Summit High School in New Jersey. He started swimming at the age of six and has not stopped since. He loves being in the water getting stronger and swims year-round. Jack is on the swim team in Nantucket during the summer and the swim team in New Jersey for the rest of the year. He is a perennial swimmer in state championships. Jack also enjoys being in the water while catching waves on his surfboard. Jack loves anything outside, especially camping and biking. He loves helping new swimmers grow their confidence in and out of the water!
Travis Nichols, Coach
Travis grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and joins us again on the island after working as a director for the YMCA for 5 years. This is his third summer on the SWG team. He has always loved being on the water, whether ocean fishing off Monomoy or teaching kids to swim at summer camp. Having been a certified lifeguard for the last six years, Travis loves to see progress in new swimmers. When he is not in the water, you will find Travis at the pickleball courts or enjoying the beaches. Travis loves sharing his passion for swimming and safety, and nothing is better than seeing someone go from being nervous around the pool deck to diving in!