Jay Morissette, far right, stands with members of the Long Reach Swim Club team after the 2025 YMCA Maine Championships. Courtesy of Bath Area Family YMCA

After 40 years of coaching swimmers at the Bath Area Family YMCA, Jay Morissette is stepping aside.

“It felt like the right time,” said Morissette, who will retire after the upcoming summer season. “It’s been 40 years, it’s a nice round number. I’m going to be a grandfather soon. It’s just time.”

Morissette joined the Bath YMCA in 1985 after finishing his collegiate swim career at the University of Maine. He didn’t initially plan to go into coaching, but a phone call from his mother let him know about the open position with the Long Reach Swim Club team.

“Oh, that sounds like something to do, so I applied, and being the lowest bidder, they gave me the job. And I was not very good for a number of years,” Morissette said. “It took me about five years to figure it out, and then you discover winning tastes good, and we just kept getting faster and better. The Y kept supporting whatever it is I was doing, and before you knew it, it was 40 years. I had a career under my belt, and a lifetime of great memories.”

Over the course of his career, he saw the facility go from a four-lane pool to an eight-lane pool and the program participation grow to over 200 swimmers. Morissette helped lead teams to 37 YMCA state titles, including 35 straight, and 16 of the last 21 U.S. League winter state titles. Over 200 swimmers have been nationally ranked in the top 16 within YMCA competition, while 16 became national champions and two set national records. 

Morissette is a seven-time Maine YMCA swim coach of the year. A member of the Maine Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame, Morissette is also the state’s only American Swim Coaches Association Level 5 certified coach.

“Jay Morissette’s legacy at the Bath Y and in the greater swimming community is truly remarkable,” Rob Gray, CEO of the Bath Area Family YMCA, wrote in a news release. “His passion for coaching and his unwavering dedication to our athletes have shaped generations of swimmers, instilling in them the values of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. His contributions will be felt for years to come.”

Morissette has built an impressive list of accolades, but said the number of relationships he has made is just as valuable.

“There’s things like that, but then I think of things like 54 kids have gotten the Long Reach tattoo, and I’ve been in five swimmers’ weddings,” Morissette said. “The relationships I’ve had with a lot of the kids, a lot of my favorite swimmers were not the fastest in the country, they were just great people. There’s been so many of those, it’s hard to narrow down a few things.”

Morissette plans to spend retirement by traveling, finishing writing projects, riding his moped and spending time with his soon-to-be-growing family.