A Life in Swimming

Coach Gigi Lawrence has loved being in the water for as long as she can remember. She learned the basics at her local YMCA and began swimming competitively at age six.  She hasn't left the pool since. 

In the summer following third grade Gigi attended Blue Dolphin Swim Camp directed by Grove City College Swimming and Diving Coach Jim Longenecker.

Mornings were spent reviewing films of the stroke of day followed by time in the pool doing drill work. Afternoons focused on the corresponding starts and turns. It was here that she learned about James E. "Doc" Councilman, considered by many to be one of the greatest coaches/scientists/innovators in the sport of swimming, contributing to three diverse scholarly fields: the physiology of sport, the psychology of sport, and human biomechanics.

Efficiency, technical knowledge, and skill are as necessary for speed as they are for enjoying a leisurely summer swim across the lake.

Moving through the water with ease of breath and efficiency of movement became a touchstone for, and symbolic of, the importance of skill and discipline in accessing a more nuanced, sophisticated, and rewarding experience of pleasure.

Swimming, at its best, is a harmony between body, mind, spirit and water.

Experiencing the harmony of swimming to available to anyone. 

Teaching 

The "For the Love of Swimming" program started at Goucher College in 1999. 

• Beginners

• Adults and children

• Competitors of all ages

• Triathletes

• Open-water swimmers

• Swimmers with learning differences

• Swimmers with physical challenges

• Lap swimmers

• Athletes recovering from injuries

Coaching 

College 

• Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach  Western New England College, Springfield, MA

• Assistant Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach | Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland

• Assistant Swimming Coach | Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

USS Aquatics Club

• Gilman Aquatics Club, The Gilman School, Baltimore, MD

   High School and Middle School

• Head Boys and Girls Varsity Swimming | The Shipley School

• Head Boys and Girls Middle School Swimming | The Shipley School

Summer League

• Head Coach for age group swimming teams of over 100 swimmers ages 5-18: 

  • Baltimore, MD

  • Towson, MD

  • Springfield, MA

  • Gladwyne, PA

Masters Swimming

• Goucher College Masters Swimming Team, swimmers ages 24-70

  • Open water: Trained swimmers for the annual 4.4-mile Chesapeake Bay Swim

  • Traditional competition

Competitive Swimming 

Gigi swam competitively year-round from age 6 through college, competing in all strokes at all distances, eventually specializing in the 500-yd., 1,000-yd., and 1650-yd. freestyle events in addition to the Individual Medley events.

• USS/United States Swimming

• YMCA

• Summer League

• NCAA Division III, Mount Holyoke College

• Seven Sisters Athletics - Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley Colleges