Coaching

Bruckner completed his first Ironman distance triathlon in 1985, and he competed as a professional triathlete in the sport's earlier years long before aero bars.  His endurance career has also included ultra-distance running and now he spends most of his training hours miles into the open waters of South Jersey or American Samoa.  Bruckner began coaching age group swimming in 1989, and he is the founded of the Ocean City Swim Club.  He is an Instructor & Surf Sports Coach for the Upper Township Beach Patrol.  Bruckner competes in both swimming and ocean lifeguard craft events at the elite level around the world in a variety of disciplines, distances and conditions.  To learn more about Bruckner...

• Believes that performance is more closely linked to the mental approach to training and racing with 3 core focus areas:  Balance - Power - Peace
• American College of Sports Medicine - Professional Member
• American Swim Coaches Association - Level 1 Certified Coach
• American Swim Coaches Association - Level 5 WOWSA Open Water Coach
• American Swim Coaches Association - Level 1 Adaptive Swim Coach
• USA Swimming - Coach {Inactive}
• US Masters Swimming - Coach, Team Founder & Athlete
• Technical Director of Competition, Athletes and Safety for Red Bull Surf and Rescue professional surf lifesaving event
• US Lifeguard Association - Professional Member
• Member Upper Township Beach Patrol
• BA, Exercise Science - Rice University
• CPR, First Aid, Ocean Lifeguarding
• NOLS Wilderness First Responder
• Rice University Swim Team - Division 1 Swimmer & Letter Winner

From surfing in Monterey Bay to wetsuitless races in Alaska to paddling off American Samoa you will not find a more passionate Waterwomen with a better understanding of how to put aside preconceptions and head out into the waves for everything from a first open water swim to an epic island circumnavigation.  Michelle has swum and coached from the age group to Masters level, and she specializes in inspiring other women to find their own place in the water.  She combines a wealth of water knowledge with PhD that focused on mindfulness programs to positively impact how we react to our world. 

• Specializes in helping athletes respond to and move through fear which is informed by her published research on Mindfulness Meditation
• Loves working with women looking to redefine what is possible as an athlete in the water at ANY age.
• Assistant Professor in Psychology, Rowan University
• PhD Social Welfare with focus on mindfulness meditation, neuroscience and adolescent brain development, University of Pennsylvania
• Rutgers University - Division 1 Swimmer
• Ocean Positive, Inc. - Grants, Program and Curriculum Director

Like Bruckner, Billy Bob was originally a landlocked Southerner who now calls the Ocean and South Jersey home. Originally from  Kentucky he was a collegiate swimmer at Western Kentucky University. He has been coaching for over 20 years  working primarily with age-group athletes from the beginner to elite national level. He coached an aging Bruckner while he was the head coach of the C-Cerpants in Ocean City, and he currently coaches for the Seahawks. He has 20 years of experience as an ocean lifeguard working for both the Cape May and OC Beach Patrols. As a surf lifesaving athlete he has competed locally and nationally, and he is using this experience to develop the OCBP's Junior Guards.

Have some unique goals or needs to move forward in your ocean or open water journey?   E-mail us.  Our years of experiences in oceans and communities around the world have helped us create one of the most extensive networks of endurance sports training and competition in the world on both land and in the water.