In Loving Memory of

Coach Pete Nestel
(1955—2026)

Pete Nestel was a dedicated swimming coach whose career spanned decades and touched countless lives. Before coming to Colorado, he served as head coach for men's and women's swimming at Purchase College (SUNY) for over a decade, leading teams to conference championships and earning Coach of the Year honors multiple times.

In the Boulder community, Pete coached with Boulder Aquatic Masters, the Louisville Dolphins, Boulder Swim Team, and Centaurus High School. He was known for his kindness, his teamwork and willingness to help out, and his special gift for teaching beginners the fundamentals of swimming. Many swimmers will remember him from his Wednesday morning sessions at BAM, where he brought patience, expertise, and a genuine love for the sport.

Tribute Swim

BAM will honor Coach Pete’s memory on Wednesday, April 22, during his regular 6am and 7am workout sessions at East Boulder Community Center.

All are welcome to join us as we swim in his memory.

If you have ideas or contributions regarding this tribute, please reach out to manager@bamswimming.org

Memorial Information

This section will be updated as more information becomes available from Pete's family.

Share Your Memories

If you or your family members were coached by Pete, or if you worked alongside him, we invite you to share your memories using this form.

We will be compiling these memories to share with his family.

Memories From the Community

“I took a break from Masters. Pete was one of the reasons I came back because I knew he would welcome me and encourage me. He always made others feel good regardless of ability and swim speed. He treated all alike. He was THE BEST.”

P.S.

“One of the complaints masters swimmers often have is not getting enough feedback on stroke, turns, etc., from those on the deck - Pete was the exception! Pete was always in swim coach mode - looking at his clipboard for the next set and interval while giving constructive and affirming feedback on my stroke and for that, I thank you Pete. Pete and I talked about starts and turn strategy for sprints this past week and he graciously offered to work with me this coming week on these in prep for Masters Nationals - a true coach. Thank you Pete!”

J.L.

“After a long break from swimming, I decided to give masters a shot. The first workout I tried, I was welcomed with warmth and kindness by Pete. During my trial swim, he provided helpful feedback on my stroke and encouraged me to join BAM. I am immensely grateful that I decided to join BAM and continued to go to many of Pete’s workouts.

I could always count on showing up to the pool to be met with Pete’s smile and kind words. His presence on the pool deck always radiated passion and joy. Recently, when I told him about getting a puppy, he lit up and told me about a dog he had many years ago. He shared about the dog always being on deck with him, and his profile picture was of the dog giving him a kiss from the deck when Pete had been pushed into the pool. In the time I got to know Pete, I could tell how much he cared about others and wanted to help everyone around him.

Pete always challenged me to work harder and believed in my ability. I will always remember his encouraging words and I know I am a better swimmer because of him. Pete will be very missed, and I am very thankful to have known him. May his memory be a blessing.”

Z.B.

“I just swam last Wednesday morning at Pete's 6:00am BAM practice. I am surprised and deeply saddened that I won't get to see him again. He was a fantastic coach.

What stands out to me is that as an adult it can feel like you are alone and need to figure out things for yourself. But at Pete's practice, it felt like you were part of his workout and a sense that "I got you." During those hour long workouts, he looked out for all of the swimmers, and would make sure that you had a good workout, were challenged, maybe learned something new - but beyond that - there were many workouts were he would make it clear that he saw you and he would tell you that you were doing a great job.

Coach Pete was one of the good ones. I miss him already. “

L.M.

“Boulder Swim Team would like to thank Coach Pete for his dedication to our team. While Coach Pete has not been directly involved with Boulder Swim Team for the past few years, his passion for swimming is still felt in many of the swimmers today. On deck, Coach Pete poured his love for swimming into the development of young swimmers every chance he got. He showed up for early morning practices, long swim meets, and every team function. Coach Pete made every swimmer feel valued and seen regardless of their performance in the water. His presence in the swim community will be greatly missed; however, his love of the sport will never be forgotten.”

A.H.

“When I joined BAM in 2023 I was a relatively inexperienced masters swimmer. Pete patiently guided me as he helped me become a more proficient freestyle swimmer. We shared our New York background and had fun talking about his coaching at Purchase. I enjoyed seeing him recently as a volunteer timer at the Colorado State Masters Championships and again at the volunteer Scott Carpenter prep session. I was very fond of Pete’s compassionate personality and his love for coaching swimming.“

B.E.

“Pete was the first person I spoke to at BAM, and the reason I became a Wednesday AM regular. He made every newbie feel immediately welcome. As an educator, I can say that his passion for swimming, mentoring, and teaching were genuine and beyond. His reach and impact within the Boulder swim community was long and his loss will be mourned for a long time. He had my family's holiday card on his refrigerator, and we had grand plans with my kids this summer. My heart is empty.”

V.K.

“Pete was a special masters coach. He was kind and welcoming to everyone. He was always present and paying attention to us in the pool. He saw you as an individual and an athlete and genuinely wanted you to succeed and improve. As a masters athlete who believes we can still be athletes, not just getting a workout in, I loved his coaching style. Like my age group coach, I worked harder with him on deck because I knew he believed in me and had expectations, in a good way - he cared, he encouraged. He coached us to be better swimmers in the same way he coached his age groupers and high schoolers, and to me, that was a gift. I wish I could thank him one more time for the thoughtful words about my swimming that made me feel seen and the always interesting and challenging workouts that made a difference in my swimming and my life.”

K.D.

“I remember him being my coach on Seals and thinking he was such an amazing and kind coach, then when joining high school swim, I learned he was my coach again and I am so grateful for the memories and things that he taught me. I’m so grateful to have met Pete and been able to experience him as both a coach and a friend.”

M

“Pete joined our club (Denver Athletic Club) at the beginning of this season and was instrumental to continuing our swim team program here and rebuilding the team. When I first interviewed Pete for the job, I was impressed by his lifelong coaching experience and multiple pages of swim coaching experience in fine text on his resume. He didn’t bat an eye at coaching a smaller team that had just lost a great 10-year long coach or that he would be driving all the way from Boulder each day for practice and long meets. I knew he was the man for the job and this was a labor of love for him. I’m sad he only was able to spend a season with us but grateful for the lasting impact he will have. He was a compassionate and enthusiastic coach that developed swimmers to the best of their ability while maintaining the joy of the sport. My last memory of Coach Pete will be him consoling a swimmer, sitting next to them on our bleachers.”

Keegan (DAC Aqua Manager)

“Coach Pete was my first introduction to BAM. In my first practice, he was very encouraging but also told me I’d be a lot faster if I fixed my pull. I had no idea what he was talking about because I’d swam for 15 years and no coach had ever commented on my pull! But sure enough, I take his advice to slow it down and it immediately made me faster and more efficient. Pete was a brilliant and enthusiastic coach. Even if I had just a second between intervals, I’d always hear him yelling to keep it up and that I was doing it great. He knew just how to push us and make us better swimmers. Pete will be very missed.”

O.R.

“Pete was one of the kindest coaches I’ve ever come across, both in my masters swim world and as a swim mom. I’ll always remember this past winter break when my son swam with BAM. Pete made him feel so special with sincere compliments and attention. He didn’t need to say anything to a drop-in college kid, but he did. What meant even more was that it didn’t stop there. After my son went back to college, Pete would still check in and ask how he was doing at his meets. He made an extra effort to cheer him on, after coaching him at just two Wednesday morning practices. Pete was a wonderful person.”

C.S.

“Pete was the first BAM coach I met when moving to Boulder. He was welcoming, engaging, and endearing. His sessions immediately became my favorite and I often decided what my swim schedule was based on when he was coaching. He was always up for a good chat and I could count on him to be a friendly face at the pool. I only knew him for a few months but I will hold his friendship dearly <3“

K.S.

“Pete was a great coach-always positive, always made it interesting, and gave everyone, regardless of whether they were fast, or "less fast,” equal attention and coaching. Even when I was having a bad day, he would say, "great job today." Interestingly, Pete and I both shared memories of being from New York and having ski raced on the east coast. I felt like I had a special bond with him in that respect. I'll miss him dearly.”

K.L.

“My daughter was only coached by Pete this season, but we really appreciated his dedication and support. He really helped my daughter improve and gain confidence. I enjoyed speaking with him throughout the year and am sad that he won't be able to see his efforts pay off as my daughter continues to grow. He will be missed.”

D.R.

“Pete always greeted me with a warm smile, and I truly valued our joyful conversations on the deck before practice. He never seemed to mind my delay in getting into the water. I will miss that. Pete was so kind and his genuine care for every swimmer was evident in the excellent technical tips he provided.

I also enjoyed catching up with him at high school swim meets, where it was clear how much the students loved him. Pete was a wonderful person and will be deeply missed by so many of us.”

D.S.

“Pete always had the best workouts for us at BAM! They were always interesting and challenging and fun. Just like him. He was so kind and supportive every time I saw him. I will really miss him.”

O.L.

“Pete was the most complimentary coach - always telling me what a pretty backstroke or underwater kick I have. It sounds like such a small thing, but it was a sweet way to start the day, with a little boost of confidence. I hope all his swimmers had the same experience.”

T.S.

“During my first workout with Pete, it was raining at Scott Carpenter pool. For warmup, he confidently told me to do 150s LCM (middle 50 non-free) on 2:15. Baffled, I asked "1:30 base for warmup?" To which he responded "Yes, you have a pretty stroke. You can do this."

Later, I came to learn that this was a theme for Pete: he believed in me more than I believed in myself. He saw things in us that we could not see. He was known for his "optimistic intervals" and genuine encouragement. Once, during a summer workout, Pete asked us to do 200s max effort. And we did. And then he asked us to do more 200s even faster ("maximumer effort" as we coined it). At every Pete workout, you could look around the pool and not be able to tell the difference between smiles and grimaces (sometimes people were wearing both at the same time). With the way he coached, you learned to smile through the pain.

Pete was also incredibly generous with his compliments, warming everyone's hearts at each and every workout. But he also liked to lightly tease people, knowing that humor could inspire just as effectively as a hearty compliment. As a coach, I aspire to teach and motivate as effectively as Pete did. When Pete coached intro sessions, I saw swimmers go from hardly able to float to doing pretty darn good freestyle and backstroke within an hour. He once asked my opinion on a swimmer's stroke. What I said amounted to highly technical gibberish that he translated for the swimmer so easily that the swimmer implemented the correction immediately thanks to Pete's expert instruction and technical fluency.

I will miss Pete's genuine smile, hearty compliments, and robust laugh. Mostly, I will miss the positivity that he brought to each and every conversation I had with him -- the marvel with which he viewed the world and the love and kindness he exuded. He made a tremendous impact on Boulder Aquatic Masters and the swimming community at large. And he made all of us better by sharing his immense gifts.”

C.M.

"My wife and I just met Pete two weeks ago at a BAM workout. Pete was covering for another coach. I am recovering from shoulder surgery. Pete gave me some valuable insights on my stroke to help with my recovery. He was very positive and encouraging. Both my wife and I commented several times after the workout on what a wonderful coaching experience we had with Pete. Sadly, we were both looking forward to seeking out future workouts with him. Please share our condolences with Pete's family."

A.F.