I began swimming at the age of 5 in Marshalltown, Iowa under Coach Linda Bloom. I swam competitively until I was 16 years old and then began working for the Community Y of Marshalltown in 1999. I continued working there until graduating from Marshalltown Community College in 2005 then I took an opportunity to work for the Collegiate YMCA on Iowa State's campus in the Fall of 2005. I transferred to the Boone County Family YMCA in September 2006, graduated from Iowa State University in December 2008 with a degree in History. I continued working in Boone until May of 2009, then I accepted a full-time position within the YMCA at Walnut Creek in Windsor Heights, Iowa. While I spend most of my time at the YMCA or around the pool, I enjoy spending time with my family, keeping up with the Chicago Bears and Cubs and traveling when I can.

I swam competitively for many years, first with the Gainesville, GA Swim Team and then with the Starlit Swim Team in Northern VA, competing for at least 3 years at the national level. I started coaching my neighborhood league team at age 14 and continued until going away to college. I began teaching swimming at Walnut Creek YMCA in 1994 and after 2 years was asked to start the Walnut Creek Y Dolphins Swim Team, in 1996. We started with 13 kids and grew to over 100 swimmers within 3 years, improving and becoming more successful each year. In the last 3 years, more than 75% of our swimmers have qualified for the State Championship Meet. I enjoy watching and helping each swimmer grow in skill, confidence, and individuality.

Julie Sedore
Swim Team Coach

I have always LOVED the water! I started competitive summer league in my home town of Marcus at the age of 8 and continued until I graduated High School. During college I started my coaching career at the Spencer YMCA for 3 years before moving to the Des Moines area. I then coached 1 year at the Ankeny YMCA. I took a break for about 3 years and started at the Walnut Creek YMCA teaching swimming lessons. Kim recruited me to help part-time with coaching in 2002, and I became a full-time coach for the 2003 Fall Season. I enjoy working with all the swimmers and feel a sense of pride when they accomplish their goals through swimming.

Peggy Tippin
Lead Swim Team Coach

I can't remember NOT being around the water! My dad is a retired YMCA director, so I grew up with the Y and the water. I started swimming competitively at the age of 8 with the Marietta (Ohio) Marlins. My family moved to Kansas when I was 13, and I continued swimming until I was 15, but my high school did not have a swim team, so I joined the tennis team! I started teaching and life guarding in high school .... and never really stopped! I started at the Walnut Creek YMCA in 1995 with the swim & gym program, then later teaching lessons. My oldest daughter joined the swim team in 1999 and I began coaching shortly after that. I love the water, the kids, the YMCA values, and the joy of watching the kids succeed.

LeAnn Williamsen
Lead Swim Team Coach
Wavemakers Head Coach

Hello! This will be my fifth year with Walnut Creek, and I am excited to be back. I have been swimming off and on since I was six. In high school I swam all four years, and much as I loved the swimming aspect, I also loved the team camaraderie and the ability to work towards goals that came along with it. While I haven't been on a team in a while, I spend my time training for various races throughout town, my latest being the Hy-vee Triathlon. I have been coaching teams since high school and have taught lessons in one form or another for as long as I remember. I am involved in the Wavemakers program here at the Y and love to see my little swimmers graduate to team status. When I'm not at the Y, I teach 7th grade science at Indian Hills Jr. High. It's fun to see familiar faces of swimmers around the building.

Meghan Murfee
Lead Swim Team Coach

I swam competitively at Dubuque Wahlert High School. I have been teaching lessons for the past 10 years at the pool in Galena, then at Drake University during college. I started coaching YMCA swimming at the Riverfront YMCA, while in college. I started in 2006 coaching for the Walnut Creek Swim Team.

I am a long time competitive swimmer starting at Hyperion Country Club, YWCA Aquaducks, AAU summer swim teams, and Hoover High School coached under Mark Wagner and Dave Linder. I taught swim lessons for 6 years in high school and college summers. I have 3 adult children; all of whom were swimmers and lifeguards. I am a co-owner with my husband of mail order company and a current volunteer at the Des Moines Community Playhouse, Sacred Heart Catholic Church (pastoral council president and choir member). I have worked 15 years as volunteer in many capacities and many boards of my children's schools from Montessori pre-school, grade school, middle school, high schools, and religious education. I also worked for 3 years with the Project Connect Mentoring program, and am a 25+ year member of the Walnut Creek YMCA. I believe that my best time investment is in giving to children...our future. I love the sport of swimming, and support the values of the YMCA...so here I am!

I have been an assistant coach for the Dolphins since the 2009-2010 season. I began swimming for the Newton YMCA swim team at the age of 7. As an 8 & Under, my freestyle and medley relays were the teams to beat at State. Our adrenaline got the best of us, however, and both relays were disqualified. (Our nickname: The DQ Queens!) So I’ve had experience. I swam until high school when I decided to add other sports to my repertoire. My summers through college were spent lifeguarding and teaching lessons. The smell of chlorine has always triggered warm memories, so as I sat watching my two daughters swim lap after lap at practice I decided I needed to be more involved. By day, I work full time as SuperMom to Layne and Ryleigh and Wife to Jeff. I also work part-time as an assistant at Northwestern Mutual and as a freelance proofreader. When not working, I sing in a quartet at church, read mysteries, cycle on RAGBRAI, and hit the gym at least 5 times per week. I LOVE coaching the Dolphins and am so glad I was led to Walnut Creek!

I started swimming with the Wave Swim Team in La Crosse, Wisconsin at the age of 10, after attempting nearly every other sport, from hockey to basketball to tennis. When I was in 8th grade, I needed to do a service project for confirmation, and started volunteering as a coach's assistant on the Wave. This position led to my first actual coaching job at the end of my freshman year in high school. I loved coaching so much I made it a priority to find a coaching job as I came to Des Moines for college, and I'm very excited to have landed here at Walnut Creek! For my "day job," I'm a student at Drake University, double-majoring in Political Science and Secondary Education. As far as swimming is concerned, my favorite strokes are Freestyle and Butterfly, and I like swimming sprints because they're fun!