Philip Abundo

Fun Fact:
As a self-taught swimmer, I have developed a unique perspective on technique, learning, and athlete development. My expertise has led to invitations to work alongside two Team USA Olympic Head Coaches and collegiate coaches within their elite swim programs.

I was also featured in a Business Insider article highlighting the muscular benefits of swimming. The article garnered more than 20 million views and was featured on the front page of Yahoo News in 2023, helping raise awareness of the sport’s physical and performance benefits.

Why did you go into Aquatics instruction?
For me, swimming is absolute freedom and the ultimate workout. A majority of my understanding of the human body comes from swimming and the omnidirectional resistance it entails. Swimming started as a personal project to get a lifeguarding job the summer of my junior year of high school. Even though I started as a lifeguard, I decided the best way to keep my residential pool safe and stress-free was to simply teach guests to swim when I saw they were struggling.

I wanted to see the heights I could reach despite being self-taught and ended up swimming for Scarlet and the Masters Swim Team in college, where I placed in all my mid-distance and backstroke events. I would later work under Team USA Olympic Head Coach Chuck Warner and his swim school- The Little Dolphin Swim Academy, as a coach for Rutgers Prep High School, and as a coach for the Club Arete Elite Swim Club with Colorado Mesa Head Coach Mickey Wender throughout the past few years. Coaching for the Princeton Barracudas is my latest step in my career, and it has been one of the best coaching experiences I’ve had. There are great names who back my ability to coach, and thanks to them, I have had Olympic qualifiers, D2-D1 swimmers, and record holders in their respective programs come out from under my wing. I hope to coach for a university program soon and, hopefully, open my own swim school.