Head Coach Paul Crandell (Seniors/Gold)
Paul is the founder and President of the Flyers organization. He was the head varsity coach of the Queensbury High School Girls Swim Team from 1984 to 2004. Paul also served twenty years as a State Trooper, retiring in 1998. He returned to college at SUNY Albany and earned his graduate degree and teaching certification in history. He taught part time for five years at South Glens Falls High School. Paul started his competitive swimming career at age 10 and continued to swim through college where he qualified for the NJCAA Championships in the butterfly. Intermittently, he continues to swim competitively at the masters level. Right after moving to the Glens Falls area in 1980, Paul had his first head coaching position at the Glens Falls YMCA, and also started a new team at the Glens Falls Country Club. He was the pool director at the Glens Falls Tennis & Swim Club, and a tour guide at Fort William Henry in Lake George. He and his wife Barbara have three daughters and they've lived in Queensbury since 1981.
Coach Chris Utter (Blue)
Chris has been involved in the instruction and organization of our local Special Olympics for the past 20 years. She currently works as a service coordinator for Warren Washington County ARC, while doing some lifeguarding at the YMCA. She swam competitively as a young girl and through college, where she also became involved in synchronized swimming. Chris found her inspiration for competitive swimming from her father who was the head swimming coach at Norwich H.S., NY for many years. Chris has been a member of the Flyers staff for several years, coaching all groups. She lives in Queensbury and has two daughters who were also Flyers swimmers.
Coach Melissa Crandell (White/Silver)
Melissa is Coach Paul's middle daughter! She swam before she could walk! Melissa started with the Flyers and starred on Queensbury's modified and Varsity teams where she was a Sectional finalist in the freestyle and backstroke events. She went on to attend Lycoming College in Pa. where she continued her swimming career in the distance freestyle events. After living in Corning NY, Melissa recently moved back to the area (to her parents' delight!) and is a case worker for the Warren-Washington County ARC.
Coach Mike Anderson (Red/Silver)
Mike is a Flyers and QHS Alumni. Mike started his stellar swimming career by breaking junior high records and went on to star for the QHS boys team and qualify for the State Championships in the sprint freestyle. Mike continued his career at SUNY Plattsburgh where he was a top finisher in the SUNY Conference. Mike earned his degree in teaching at Plattsburgh and is currently teaching social studies at Granville HS. He hopes to coach at the high school level. Mike has several years experience as a state lifeguard and swim instructor at Fourth Lake in Lake Luzerne. He has been a valuable member of the Flyers staff for several seasons.
Coach Jillian Bock (White)
Jillian has the distinguished honor of being the Flyers original Madam Butterfly, competing regularly, and enjoying, the 200-yard butterfly races! As she completes her high school career at South Glens Falls, Jillian has won over many little Flyers fans with her friendly and fun personality. She has been coaching our beginners for several seasons and not only brings her own years of competitive experience to our eager learners, but also her genuine love of the sport and passion for teaching our youngest swimmers.
Coach Emily Hasselwander (Blue)
Emily is another Flyers success story, learning all of the competitive strokes at an early age and going on to be an all-round valuable Varsity swimmer for QHS. Like Jillian, Emily will be finishing up her high school career and has been assisting Coach Chris with the Blue swimmers for several seasons. She also brings a passion for the sport and teaching what she's learned to our developing beginners, and she does it with clarity, precision, and a lot of TLC.
Printer-friendly version
