Meet our instructors
Patrick Sweeney (Owner and Head Instructor)
Hi everyone! My name is Patrick and I'm the owner/founder of Aquatics United. Having started out as a lifeguard in my hometown (Galloway, NJ) at the age of 15, I've witnessed firsthand the impact that lifeguarding can have not only on the communities that lifeguards serve, but also on the lives of lifeguards themselves. In the face of nationwide lifeguard shortages, I founded this company in 2018 to provide our local communities with affordable, high-quality lifeguarding instruction so that they don't get left behind. Outside of lifeguarding, I was a breaststroke/ distance swimmer for the Cedar Creek High School Pirates and went on to attend Princeton University, where I graduated in 2023 with a degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering. Although the team has grown quite a lot over the past 5 years, I remain passionate about teaching and try to make it out to every class I can. Feel free to reach out to me at patrick@aquaticsunited.org with any questions you may have - I hope to meet you soon!
Matt Soper (Head Instructor)
Hello prospective candidates and current lifeguards! I am Matt, one of the head instructors for Aquatics United. I have been a beach patrol lifeguard since 2005, and a fire department and beach patrol EMT since 2016. The countless emergency scenarios I have been a part of have made me appreciate the value of good education in the first responder world. I use these real life (and death) scenarios to make our Lifeguarding/CPR/AED/First Aid class simulations understandable and substantive for effective lifeguarding. Beyond lifeguarding and teaching, I have been taking other related courses through the Red Cross and fire department in order to become a better first responder and instructor. Apart from the EMS world, I grew up in Audubon NJ and attended the University of Maryland, graduating with a BA in Theatre Production and a BA in General Communications. If I have learned anything from this wide array of subjects, it's that we are always students and there is always something more to learn. I hope to meet all interested potential/current lifeguards at Aquatics United so we can learn together!
Stephen Barnard (Head Instructor)
Howdy ho' folks! I'm Stephen Barnard, head instructor with Aquatics United. I started out early in my aquatics career as a competitive swimmer when I was five years old. I always knew that I was going to have a life revolving around the pool. My first job at age 15 was lifeguarding, and at the first class I took, I seriously doubted if this was the right path for me. The class was boring, the instructor was rude, and more importantly I wasn't so sure I'd be able to find a job. I stuck it out anyway, and I'm glad I did. That first job I had lifeguarding gave me some of the best summer memories of high school and college. It wasn't until I was 19 that I became a lifeguard instructor, and right away I knew I could do better than what I had experienced to give young lifeguards a class they would enjoy and get excited about. I've been working as a lifeguard instructor ever since, and I do my best to stick to my mission of making lifeguarding fun. I've since become a teacher working in special education, and I work every day to better my skills as a teacher. I absolutely love teaching and I hope you will enjoy our course as much as I enjoy teaching it!