Nick Kaufman – FINS Founder – Program Director

Coach Nick’s love affair with swimming began in his parents’ backyard pool in Argentina, where he and brother Tommy held weekly ‘Championship’ races every Sunday. The fun, friendship and excitement shared on that pool deck a half-world away is the driving inspiration behind the FINS Swimming coaching philosophy. Shortly after moving to the Washington area, Nick joined his neighborhood swim team – the Tilden Woods Dolphins of the Montgomery County Swim League. Nick eventually became a coach at Tilden Woods, and spent 12 years working with Dolphins of all skill sets.  Throughout his coaching tenure, Tilden Woods enjoyed tremendous team success thanks to an atmosphere built on community, inclusion and overwhelming spirit.

In 2009, Nick founded FINS Swimming in hopes of offering outstanding year-round coaching and instruction to swimmers of every age and ability. Under his guidance, the staff at FINS provides swimmers with techniques to improve while also inspiring achievement through positive reinforcement. A member of the Argentine Senior National Team from 2007 to 2012, Nick finished 2012 with one of Argentina’s top 5 times in the 50 freestyle. Borrowing from the experience gained in international competition, Nick co-founded the Sprint Squad – a masters club devoted to finding new and exciting avenues for adults to enjoy competitive swimming in their post-collegiate years. As Coach Nick always says:
“Swimming is for everyone, and no matter your age OR experience…there’s always a place for you in the water!”