DEVON CREST COACHES

Head Coach Jim Mercurio

Jim Mercurio literally doesn't remember a time in his life when he wasn't poolside. From the time he was a baby, his parents had him in swimming lessons to learn the valuable life skill. He joined his first competitive swim team at the age of four.

His family moved to the Harrisburg area when he was 8 and Jim joined the Colonial Country Club swim team.

Jim swam for Colonial through high school. He also swam for Bishop McDevitt High School and was part of the inaugural season of the former Lower Paxton Aquatic Club (LPAC) in 2000.

Jim attended Harrisburg Area Community College and Penn State Harrisburg.

In 2004, he began coaching the Devon Crest Swim Team and officially took over the role of head coach four years later.

The team celebrated a Mid-Penn Swim League Division A championship in the summer of 2021 and an undefeated championship in the summer of 2023.

But it's not necessarily winning that motivates Coach Jim.

"The greatest accomplishment is the impact I've been able to have on the kids, the community, the memories these kids are making and the work ethic they're learning," he said. "That's the real reason I do it. Win or lose, as long as the kids are having fun and improving, that's all I care about."

All of these years later, Jim is still drawn to the pool.

"Swimming is just so much different than basketball or football," he explained. "You can see your times, you can see where you're improving...it's a great sport to teach you how your work ethic pays off."

He also loves the family aspect of the sport, noting that a 5-year-old swimmer can compete on the same team as an 18-year-old swimmer.

Jim is a history teacher at Bishop McDevitt and married his wife, Laura, in 2023.

"Hard work always pays off," he said. "Always."

Coach Megan deManincor

Coach Megan de Manincor started swimming at the age of five. She was at a pool watching her cousin's swim meet, when it became clear that one of the team's relays needed a fourth swimmer to compete. Megan's aunt thrust her into that relay and the rest is aquatic history.

Megan grew up in Coal Township and graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes Regional High School. Her first love was basketball, which she played year-round. But every summer she returned to the pool to compete on a summer swim team.

Despite only swimming in the summer, her times got her noticed by college coaches and she was recruited to swim for Susquehanna University, where she enjoyed competing in the butterfly and backstroke.

Megan majored in exercise physiology for her undergraduate degree and earned a master's degree in health education.

She began her career at Shamokin Area Community Hospital, where she taught classes on everything from car seat safety to blood sugar screenings.

After getting married, she moved to Harrisburg, where she welcomed her two children, Gio and Harper. She joined the former Friendship Center and started lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons. She also teaches lifeguard certification classes.

Megan has a self-proclaimed "horse obsession" and still competes in dressage.

A coach of age-level swimming since college, Megan joined the Devon Crest Swim Team in 2019. Both of her children compete on the team.

"I love being a part of the Devon Crest Swamily," Megan said. "I think summer swimming is a great entry point to start competitive swimming. The races are shorter, the weather is amazing and the atmosphere is incredible. I love watching the parents, families and swimmers cheer for each other. That is my favorite thing. I think our team is one of the best to build a swimmer's confidence and improve on their technique. I love working with the staff, swimmers and their families."

Megan is also the head coach the Friendship YMCA competitive swim team.

When you see Megan watching her athletes in the pool, you will no doubt notice her megawatt smile and calm presence.

Assistant Coach Justin Pitassi

Justin Pitassi is a natural with the Devon Crest Swim Team's athletes. It wasn't all that long ago that he was a Gator himself.

He joined the Devon Crest Swim Team when he was 7, competing between the years of 2009-2020.

"I love the community," Justin said of the team. "I get to spend my summers coaching a team full of talent alongside my best friends."

A talented swimmer himself, Justin competed at Susquehanna Township High School and qualified for the PIAA AA State Championship meet in each of his four years. He placed 8th in the 100 yard backstroke in both his sophmore and junior years. He was also the District 3 AA 100 yard backstroke champion his junior year.

Justin's senior swim season in 2020 was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. Although he qualified for states in two events that year, the 100 yard backstroke and 100 yard fly, the meet was canceled at the last minute.

Justin is a natural with the younger swimmers and has a unique understanding of the pressures of the high school athletes.

When he was a young swimmer on the Devon Crest team, he recalls breaking his arm and being given a coach's shirt for the championship meet.

"I was hooked on it after that," he said. "I kind of realized all the things I loved about swimming; being around the team, the camraderie, the sportsmanship...I got it all through coaching."

Justin says swimming is a unique sport because kids of all ages can compete with a common goal.

"There's nothing else where an 8-year-old girl can score as many points in a meet as the senior boy who swam for 12 years," he said. "I think it's really cool how swimming invites opportunities for leadership, because you always have older swimmers to look up to."

Justin is also an Assistant Coach for the Central Dauphin High School swim team and an instructor at Floats to Strokes infant aquatics. He plans to work toward a college degree and would like to eventually coach swimming full-time.

"Seeing a kid's smile when they finish is my favorite thing," Justin said. "When somebody learns something new and they're stoked about it, there's nothing better than that."