Aloha! I'm Coach Lizzy Torres and I've been in and around the water my whole life. Starting at age 4, I joined a year around team called VAST in Visalia, California. My first race at age 4 was a 25-yard freestyle, at that point I did not understand the purpose of a race so half-way through I held on to the lane and waved to my dad on the deck. The whole team was rooting for me just to finish and a few minutes later I came in. You can only imagine the noise of clapping when I finally got to the wall at 3 minutes flat, lol.
Over the next decade I was taught by one of the greatest coaches and swimmers, Matt Vogel, a previous gold medalist in 1976, in Montreal. My father who played water-polo and swam all his life made sure that swimming was a part of all of his children’s lives to the point where he had a 2-lane lap pool of 25-yards built in our backyard. We hardly had a chance to swim in it due to daily double practices, but it was there for our fun night swims with our Labrador, Max. Swimming for me growing up wasn’t just a part of my life, it encompassed our daily schedule/routine. We planned vacations around swim meets and new pools to explore.
From growing up as a competitive swimmer to playing ocean water polo in recent years, I am never too far away from the pool or ocean! I started a teaching service - Water Fun Hawaii - (waterfunhawaii.com) to help swimmers 1 on 1, from young children who have never got into the water to adults who just want to get faster. I am currently training for a marathon and riding my bike in hopes of doing the 70.3 Ironman next year. I'm a current open water competitor.
My greatest joys are my family, husband Randy, and daughter Elise, 5 years old and helping people swim. My happy place is being sweaty fresh off a run or wet with a swim cap on in the water.
