MEET LANES' COACHES

Heather Barna
Head Coach

Heather's smile, warmth, fun-loving attitde mixed with her Can Do/You Will Do coaching style make her a perfect fit for the team and leuadership ranks. Since joining LANES in Spring 2013, Heather has made a (great!) lasting impact in the practice pool, during meets and from the coaching deck.Heather's first memories of swimming date back to swimming in a pond in North Carolina, then to the pool in her apartment complex when her family lived in Iran (yes, really!) and more concretely, to the swim instructor she had back in Indiana who ultimately encouraged her to join a swim team. When not coaching LANES or working as an operations manager for an online virtual tour company, Heather loves cooking and has taken up a strong interest in photography. Above all though, Heather enjoys dog time with Buzzard, cat time with Commando and human time with Ethan. If you have any doubt about how lucky we are to have Heather part of this crazy wonderful LANES family, here's her thoughts on swimming: "I'm a huge fan and believer in Masters swimming. I ended up taking their Coaching Certification Class last spring - they really foster the idea of it being a group for everyone- It doesn't matter if you are a lap swimmer looking for more, a former Div 1 college swimmer, a person looking for a social outlet, encouragement for a fitness program, a triathlete...Masters Swimming is there for every person."

Emily Sanders
Coach

In relocating back to Massachusetts, Emily was looking to take on some additional coaching hours and hadn't found the right fit. However, when not one but two close friends* suggested LANES, she had to try it out. (*These two individuals are among the current LANES coaching staff and alumni). Emily notes that she essentially grew up in the water and has been swimming her whole life. She clearly remembers the first time joining a swim team at the age of 5 at her family's summer pool club. The minimum age might have been 6 to join the team, but an interested mom and Emily made it work. When asked about her favorite stroke, Emily notes "definitely breakstoke. But I loved racing IM the most!" When not pursuing her Masters of Public Health in Healthcare Management at BU, Emily is coaching LANES, working as the graduate assistant to Operations at BU's pool and the assistant coach for the Shamrock Swim Club. And outside "work," Emily enjoys hiking around western MA, taking ("mediocre" - her word, not ours) pictures, and hunting around Boston for the best tacos.

Zach Chertok
Coach

Zach competed for the YMCA of the North Shore (YNS) and Beverly High School when he was younger before heading to McGill where he competed for two years and played water polo. As an adult, he spent 10 years as an avid masters swimmer for YNS and BU Masters Swimming as well as an open water swimmer primarily training at Styles Pond in Boxford.

Zach has coached YNS age groups and masters, Charlestown masters, as well as BU masters before doing his masters degree at Columbia. He's also lifeguarded under the YMCA standard. Since coming back to Boston, Zach works for IDC and teaches remotely for Columbia as adjunct faculty.

In his tenure as a coach, Zach has both coached and been a part of teams that have gone to YMCA and masters nationals. He has also enjoyed helping new swimmers progress and discover their abilities.

Zach has helped colleagues in New York and here in the Boston area build and conduct adult learn-to-swim programs including a program going on right now in Queens managed with friends. Through the same friends, he has also consulted on initiatives for IGLA and the FGG.