Coach Bios
John O’Neill, Owner, Director
Kyle Browning, Senior/National Coach, Site Director, Bryant
Mike Lane, Senior/National Coach, Site Director, Providence
Eric Hecker, Assistant Coach
Anne Marie Estrada, Assistant Coach
Bill Evans, Assistant Coach
Stephan Joe, Assistant Coach
Kevin Salisbury, Assistant Coach
Nicole Mancini, Assistant Coach
Amanda Alferos, Assistant Coach
Kristina Lamoreaux, Assistant Coach
Shannon O’Neill, Assistant Coach
Cindy O’Neill, Team Administrator/Business Manager
Program Director John O’Neill brings over 25 years of successful coaching experience to the Club’s programs. Currently, Coach O’Neill currently serves as Head Swimming Coach and Aquatics Director at Providence College. From 2001-2006, Coach O’Neill served as Head Coach of Swimming and Diving at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Prior to that, O’Neill spent 17 years as Aquatics Director and Head Coach at Providence College. He formed and was Head Coach of the successful Providence Aquatic Club. O’Neill also served three years as Assistant Coach at Brown University, and six seasons as an Assistant with the Little Rhody Aquatic Club. O’Neill’s athletes were finalists at both 2006 US Nationals and the 2005 US Open, and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials. Coach O’Neill has had over 25 years of success in local, regional and national competitions and has qualified swimmers for Olympic Trials. In addition, O’Neill has mentored many Masters Swimmers, two of whom broke multiple world records.
O’Neill, a graduate of Springfield College (’81),earned his Masters degree from Providence College (’87). Locally, he is an inductee of both the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame (1994) and the Cumberland High School Hall of Fame (2004). He and his wife Cindy are residents of Cumberland and have three children, Shannon (23) a Springfield College graduate and Graduate School student at Providence, Tom (22) a graduate or Providence and programer at Johnson and Wales University and Meghan (16).
Coach O’Neill is proud and excited to bring LRAC back to Rhode Island and New England Swimming and looks forward to the club’s continued growth. He is the owner and serves as the Director of the Club, coordinating all the club’s branches and activities.
Kyle Browning, Associate Head Coach.
Coach Kyle Browning brings 16 years of coaching experience to the staff of Rhode Island’s fastest growing competitive swimming program and will head the club’s programs at Bryant University. In addition to his duties with the Club, Kyle will serve as an Assistant Coach at Bryant University. The 2007 American Swim Coaches Association New England Age Group Coach-of-the-Year, Browning founded and built the Adirondack Aquatic Club team into one of New England’s top programs. AAC finished in the top ten at New England Age Groups each year since they began the program in 2001 and had multiple top 16 times and Junior National Qualifiers.
Prior to founding AAC, Kyle served as Head Coach of the Hockomock YMCA Lightning. Kyle is a 1996 Bridgewater State College graduate with a BS in Psychology and a minor in coaching. He is also an AFPA certified personal trainer and a steadily improving tri-athlete. Kyle, along with wife Sarah, reside in Norfolk, MA with their black lab, "Jack."
Mike Lane, Assistant Head Coach.
Mike is a third generation competitive swimmer who has over ten years of coaching experience. Mike has worked with swimmers on almost every level of the sport, ranging from beginners to some of the best swimmers in the world. On the club level he has worked with multiple Olympians, World champions, NCAA champions, American Record Holders, Olympic Trial Finalists, Senior and Junior National champions. His age group swimmers have included multiple national top 16 athletes, age group champions, and New England record holders. On the college level he has worked with Olympians, NCAA Qualifiers, Ivy League team and individual champions. Mike is a two time recipient of the American Swim Coaches Association Coach of the Year for New England Swimming. In 2003 he was selected to coach the US National Team Distance Training Camp.
As a swimmer, Mike has over thirty years of competitive swimming experience. During that time he was a 16 time All American and a 5 time national individual and relay champion in collegiate and masters swimming. In 2006, at the ripe age of 35, Mike was a finalist at the 2006 Speedo Sectional Championships in both breaststroke events. In the summer of 2006 at the Fina Masters World Championships he took 3 individual top 5 places and 3 relay top three finishes including a World and American record breaking finish in the 200 medley relay. In 2008 he was the first finisher at Rhode Island ’s Annual Save the Bay Swim. Mike is also an active Tri-athlete. He has qualified for and will compete in the 2009 Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater FL this fall.
Mike is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale FL. In 1999 he was inducted to the BCC Hall of Fame and in 2008 he was inducted to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Hall of Fame. He graduated from Martin High School in Arlington , TX . Mike is heading into his third year as Assistant Coach with the Providence College Team. He resides in East Providence.
Eric is an Assistant Coach with the Little Rhody Aquatic Club and has also served as Head Coach of the Barrington YMCA, Taunton Boys and Girls Club, and Moses Brown High school. Eric, along with Chris Wood and John O’Neill, launched the Providence Aquatic Club at Providence College. Eric has experience teaching recreational and competitive swimming with all age groups from preschoolers to Masters. The YMCA of the USA chose Eric as a national faculty member to teach competitive swimming and he has trained YMCA coaches across the eastern seaboard.
As a swimmer, Eric joined the Brown Swim Club (which later became Little Rhody Aquatic Club) and has been involved with Little Rhody as a swimmer or a coach, as long as it has existed. Eric participated in High School Swimming at Bishop Hendricken and was a member of Southern Connecticut State University Swimming team. He has competed in New England, Regional and National Championships through out his swimming career.
Anne Marie Estrada, Assistant Coach.
Veteran Assistant Coach Anne Marie Estrada will also join the Little Rhody Staff and will continue to work alongside Coach Browning at the Club’s Bryant location. Estrada began her coaching at the Woonsoket YMCA and joined with Coach Browning at the Hockamock YMCA. In the Fall of 2000, she and Coach Browing formed the Adrirondack Aquatic Club.
Anne Marie is a registered nurse and veteran swimming mother, whose five children all are swimmers. Swimmers Ray and Christina are now members of the Little Rhody Aquatic Club. Anne Marie will work at the CCRI location and coach with the Junior and Seashore groups. She and husband Mono reside in Bellingham, MA.
Bill is a veteran swim coach who has worked for the Little Rhody Aquatic Club for over two years. Bill’s coaching background includes Head Coach positions in nearby Connecticut with both Cheshire and Wallingford's highly successful YMCA programs. He also served as Head Coach at Seymour High School in Seymour CT.
Bill is graduate of Southern Connecticut State University and is currently a Physical Education teacher in the Cumberland area and serves as an Assistant Coach at both the Bryant location. He resides in Warwick, RI.
Steve is a former Assistant Coach with the Providence Aquatic Club with Coach O’Neill as well as serving as Coach at LaSalle Academy. Steve, a former All-State swimmer at LaSalle, competed for Northeastern University where he was a NAC and America East finalist. After transferring he became a stand-out swimmer at Providence College while swimming for Coach O’Neill where he received the David Hardy Coaches Award following his senior season. Steve is a veteran Camp and Club coach, and he continues to be a top competitor in both Masters Swimming (FINA Top Ten Masters World Rankings SCM 2004. 2005, 2006) and competes nationally in Triathlons. Steve assists with the masters and tri-athletes at Providence.
Kevin Salisbury, Assistant Coach.
Kevin, the Assistant Athletic Director at the Community College of Rhode Island and Assistant Swimming Coach at providence College, is one of the most experienced coaches in Rhode Island. A former standout for Hendricken High School, the University of Rhode Island graduate has coached age group swimming and camps for 20 years.
Kevin has served as Assistant Coach with Brown University and Providence College and was the Head Coach of Swimming at Clark University in Worcester, MA for 10 years. He is a former Board Member and President of the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame, and is also an Inductee. In 1995, he and Coach O’Neill were speakers at the American Swim Coaches Association World Clinic in New Orleans where they introduced their Tape "Take your Mark, A Parents Guide to Age Group Swimming." Kevin will assist with all groups at Bryant and Providence.
Nicole Mancini, Assistant Coach.
Nicole has served with the LRAC for 2 years. She is a Providence College graduate and was a member and captain of the Lady Friars swim teams during her college career. She is a veteran Age Group and Camp coach, having worked in the USA Swimming arena over the past 11 years. Her background includes coaching all age groups with the Providence Aquatic Club, The Providence Swim Camps and the summer Swimming Camps at the US Military Academy at West Point. She served as the Head Coach of Swimming at East Greenwich High School since 2003-2007. The High School program over the 5 years she coached produced a RI swimmer of the year and multiple state finalists. Nicole will assist at the Providence and Bryant sites.
Amanda Alferos, Assistant Coach.
Amanda has served as Assistant Coach at the Little Rhody Aquatic Club for 2 years. She served as Volunteer Assistant Coach with the East Providence High School swimming team and has also worked with youths at the Newman YMCA. Amanda will continue to work with our groups at Providence College and Bryant Univeristy.
Kristina Lamoreaux, Assistant Coach.
Kristina joins the LRAC staff as a veteran of Coach O’Neill’s programs. An original member of the Providence Aquatic Club, Kristina competed for years for Coach O’Neill as well as participated in multiple camps run by the Coach. The Delaware graduate and 4 year member of the Blue Hen program, Kristina is now a graduate student at Providence College. She has served as Co-Head Coach of the Greenwich Club, and worked with the LRAC at both its Bryant and Providence locations.
Shannon O’Neill, Assistant Coach.
Shannon is currently a Graduate Student at Providence College. As a member of the Springfield College team, she competed in the distance freestyle and breaststroke events. Shannon also competed for the Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, NY and Classical High School in Providence, Rhode Island. She has worked Swim Camps at both West Point and Providence College and has taught swimming for many years in both New York and Rhode Island. Shannon runs the Providenc swim lesson program and will help with the Seahorse and Junior groups.
Cindy O’Neill, Team Administrator/Business Manager.
Cindy will run the club’s “dry side,” and handle the club’s day to day business. A veteran swim mother and wife of Head Coach John O’Neill, Cindy began working for swim clubs with the original Little Rhody Aquatic Club back in the 1980’s. Cindy serves as the Club’s safety coordinator and will help coordinate the activities at each club site.