Published: 11/15/2025
Mike: 1992-2001
Shirley: 1990-1998
When/how did you meet?
Mike: Shirley and I met on my first day of practice at Dynamo. She had moved to Atlanta in elementary school and was already on the team, swimming in Age Group 1 for Kathy McKee. I moved to Atlanta in middle school and after going to a practice at both Swim Atlanta and Dynamo during a house-hunting trip, decided Dynamo was the right fit for me. That decision proved quite fateful. My mom and I got lost on the way to the Chamblee Swim Center that day (no Google Maps back then), so I was super late on my first day. When I got there, Kathy pulled the whole group out to introduce the new kid from Texas, and that introduction was followed by a lot of random people screaming their name at me and everyone jumping around me, probably because they were just happy to get out of a little bit of practice. But I do remember meeting Shirley that day. She certainly stood out in my mind (nevermind that I confused her name with her friend Merritt’s for the first day or so) and the rest is history.
Shirley: I remember a cute, kinda shy guy showing up to practice once summer day;-) One new boy and lots of silly middle-school girls equals what I imagine to be an Age Group coach’s worst nightmare! There was a lot of flirting, a lot of “grab-ass,” as Kathy called it (it was just underwater tag - I promise!), and a lot of notes written at school and passed at the end of practice. I have a note I wrote to my best friend when I was 13 that says, “He’s such a dork. But I know I’m going to marry him.” TRUTH!
Favorite or funniest or most embarrassing swimming memory:
Mike: Lot’s of “most favorite” memories…being a part of Dynamo’s first victory over Swim Atlanta at a Prelims/Finals meet (Woodie B.) in YEARS; hanging out with teammates at Waffle House or going on Hostess Thrift Store runs after practice; ridiculous haircuts, bleach and dye, new ear piercings, rookies vs. vets rivalry, greasing up with Doug Coer’s patented (and probably illegal) motion lotion to cut down on drag, shave parties, and all the other crazy things we did to have fun and swim fast at Juniors A couple “least favorite” memories that are still important parts of my overall positive experience…listening to Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits (again) and getting up to a heartrate of 250 doing Pierre’s “jumpy things” exercise on the old universal machine at 5:00 AM three times a week; beaching myself on the lane rope on my backstroke breakout in the finals of the 400 IM at Juniors for all to see, and almost being left at the pool while pouting about it.
Shirley: Most of my favorite memories were from swimming under Kathy McKee in Age Group 1. I remember doing a 200 back “get-out” swim alongside Jonathan Gadd at the end of Christmas training. The desire to get out of practice a mere 10 minutes early united a small army of awkward, exhausted, middle schoolers… they all rallied around us, whooping and hollering. When we touched the wall, Kathy asked what we thought our times were. We both knew we had let her and the team down, shared our best guess, and then waited with anticipation as she shared our times with the group. Both of us were shocked and amazed that we had both gone best times! I think my most embarrassing swimming moment came at my last swim meet. I had gone to Junior Nationals 8 times, never having finaled. I knew it was my last meet, and my mom made big sacrifices to be there to cheer me on. Once again, I added, I didn’t make it back to finals, and worst of all, I wouldn’t have the chance to redeem myself. I share the memory not to be a “Debbie Downer,” but to remind other swimmers that my life didn’t end there. I left that meet with the same loving, supportive family and friends, the same work ethic and the same self-worth.
Your pinnacle/ peak performance:
Mike: I had a handful of big swims big meet qualilfications throughout the rest of my career, but my peak, or at least favorite, “total performance” was at Age Group Regions in Spartanburg, SC as a 14-year-old. I didn’t win a thing at that meet, but I kept grinding and had strong finishes in every race. I was 2nd in 9 of the 10 races I swam, (3rd in the 10th race) and that was enough to win High-Point. It would’ve been nice to have been champion in at least one race, but I was really proud to score the most points by being tough and consistent across the board. This was thanks to the old-school Dynamo mentality of training the hardest of any club in the state and the coaching and preparation I received from the amazing Kathy Mckee.
Shirley: My fastest meet was in Nashville, Tennessee at the Tracy Caulkins Natatorium at Winter Junior Nationals in 1996. The whole team was pumped and showed our spirit by shaving, dying and styling our hair in the most peculiar ways! To this day I remember being shocked at my times at that meet. I think the lesson for me was that I wasn’t hyper-focused on the outcomes. I trusted my training, I did what I needed to do in terms of sleep, warm up, etc, and then I just had fun.
How has your time at Dynamo impacted your life:
Mike: Most importantly, Dynamo is where I met my future wife, Shirley. If it weren’t for that, I would have none of the amazing blessings that have flowed from our 30+ year-long relationship and 22+ year marriage. In addition, the mantra of success coming through hard work, and not shying away from challenges has served me well through college swimming, medical school, residency, academic career and the challenges of “large family” life.
Shirley: My time at Dynamo has brought me the most loyal, faithful and doting husband and the blessings continued with eight amazing children! We have several lifelong friendships that flowed from our time at the pool and even a goddaughter who is a gift harkening back to relationships that sprang from the trenches of our days at Dynamo!
Where are you today?
Mike: Shirley and I now live in North Augusta, SC, just across the Savannah River from Augusta, GA. I work at the Medical College of Georgia in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, taking care of head/neck cancer patients and teaching med students and residents. Shirley has the much more monumental task of rearing and homeschooling our 8 children. Her fortitude and grace in this endeavor are unmatched! We have two daughters in college studying nursing. Sophie (20) is at Texas A&M and will be getting married in March to her fiance, Reagan. Lily (19) is at Berry and competes on their varsity swim team. That leaves six kids at home; George (17), Karoline (15), Kathryn (13), John David (11), Damien (10) and Fulton (8). They all swim for Aiken-Augusta Swim League (ASL) and are all-around great kids. We also have a little mutt dog named Axl. We are really blessed that through homeschooling the kids spend a ton of time together as siblings AND teammates. As for hobbies and exercise…having 8 kids doesn’t leave a ton of extra time for either, but we do some running, lifting and the (very) occasional swim. Shirley has her regular book club and Bible study and I’m the nerd who became ASL’s board president and meet referee.
Shirley: Mike and I are even better teammates now that we were 30 years ago! While I swore our kids would never swim (I was NOT driving to morning practice!), he insisted it was good for them. He was right. We’re raising 8 swimmers who not only swim themselves - they coach, teach lessons, are captains, etc. Mike continues to be a swim freak. He knows all the kids on our team, and knows when they’ve had a good meet and when they haven’t. He’s always there to offer encouragement, mentorship and enthusiasm to every swimmer he knows regardless of their team! He’s a meet ref, trains future officials, and performs all kinds of other swimming-related jobs. I tend to focus on the fun, the food and the friendships. Some things never change;-) Outside the pool, we rely on the lessons we learned at Dynamo. We work hard. We encourage each other. We don’t give up when things are tough. We trust our efforts will pay off even when the goals we set aren’t achieved on our own timelines.