BEVERLY — The USA Swimming National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has selected YMCA of the North Shore’s Sharks Head Coach Dave Modzelewski as the recipient of the 2025 Jimi Flowers Disability Coach Of The Year Award at a recent awards ceremony in Denver.
This prestigious award, established in 2009, recognizes coaches who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to promoting the inclusion of swimmers with disabilities and advancing disability swimming within their coaching sphere.
“I am so honored to have been selected for this award,” said Modzelewski. “I feel so lucky to be recognized for doing something that I love.
“Through this amazing sport, I have had the opportunity to meet and train with so many incredible athletes who inspire me and encourage me to continue to do my part to spread awareness about this community of elite athletes,” he added. “My sincere thanks go to USA Swimming & US Para Swimming for this award, and to the YMCA of the North Shore for their support to be able to pursue this side of the sport.”
Modzelewski, who lives in Beverly and has been with the YNS for the last four years, serves as head coach of Competitive Aquatics for the YMCA of the North Shore Sharks Swim Team, as well as the New England LSC’s Disability Coordinator.
He has also been on staff for numerous Para swimming events, including the 2022 Allianz World Championships, 2023 Parapan American Games, and was Team USA’s Head Coach for the CITI Para Swimming World Series in Scotland.
Modzelewski was one of only eight coaches selected by the U.S. Paralympics Swimming to serve as an Assistant Coach for the 33 American swimmers who competed in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Most recently, he was named head coach of the Team USA Para World Championship Team, leading Team USA to 18 Gold Medals (3x more than the last Para World Championships) and a second place finish on the Medal Table.
“Dave’s dedication to our swimmers with disability goes beyond the pool,” USA Swimming’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Team said in a statement. “From coaching achievements at the international level to his efforts pushing grassroots initiatives, his unwavering dedication to advancing inclusion for swimmers with disabilities has created meaningful change at the local, regional, and national levels.”