Our Story
French Creek Racing and ETA Coach Announce Partnership
November 11th, 2025
French Creek Racing (Bridgeport, PA) and ETA Coach (Medford Lakes, NJ) jointly announce a partnership for the upcoming season. Included in this partnership, French Creek Racing will acquire ETA Coach open water training swims in Medford, PA. FCR and ETA will work together in 2026 with FCR taking over operations completely in 2027 and beyond.
With this partnership, French Creek Racing will continue to expand its open water swimming options, now with swim events available in 5 states (PA, NJ, DE, MD, and VA) and open water training options in 3 states (PA, NJ, and DE). ETA Coach has been a pillar in the South Jersey swimming and triathlon community hosting swims for the past 19 years. ETA will continue to work with FCR this season to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“We are excited to continue the tradition of open water swimming at YMCA of the Pines in Medford, NJ. We know that ETA Coach has a legendary following throughout the community. We plan to keep the core experience strong and prominent. We’ll continue to provide regular clinics with frequent training swims and complement them with new events and timed race opportunities. Swimmers will get to join us at any of our 3 open water training locations at one unlimited yearly price. We’ll be adding Medford, NJ to our Newark, DE and Norristown, PA locations giving us the 3 closest open water locations to the City of Philadelphia. It is our mission to provide as much open water swim opportunity as possible, including creating new open water venues and preserving those already in place. We’re grateful for the opportunity to serve the swimming and tri community in the South Jersey area and beyond. We welcome ETA Coach and past participants to the French Creek Racing family.” said John Kenny, Owner & Founder, French Creek Racing.
“We are proud to have served the triathlon community in the footsteps of Jason Kilderry, the founder of ETA Coach. As a premier open water management company, French Creek Racing will help provide expertise and longevity for the community. We believe they are the ideal company to pass on the tradition of ETA Coach because their goals align so closely with ours. This is extremely important to me, as a personal friend of Jason’s, and it’s my goal to see these swims thrive and provide many more years of use and enjoyment to the swimming community. We are excited to pass these swims on to French Creek Racing as we believe they’ll continue to thrive under their management.” Said Meg Smith, Owner and Operator, ETA Coach
For more information about French Creek Racing, visit https://www.frenchcreekracing.com
Jason Kilderry
1982-2017, Founder
ETA Coach was the brainchild of its founder, Jason Kilderry. Through his science-based training method, fighting Irish attitude, and love for teaching, Jason touched many lives. After coaching and owning ETA for 11 years, Jason was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in 2017. Up until his last day, Jason continued to work hard for ETA and his athletes. Most importantly, he was an amazing and dedicated father to his young son, Finn (pictured). He passed away on December 18th, 2017 at the age of 35.
Meg Smith
Owner, Head Coach
Jason left ETA in the hands of Meg Smith, his trainee at the time. During her first 5 years with ETA, Meg managed things from afar while she earned her MS and PhD in exercise physiology and human aging at Colorado State University. She recently moved back to the area with her husband Andrew and dogs Pie and Maple, and is a Professor of Health Sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Meg is passionate about making open water swimming accessible and safe for everyone. She enjoys teaching clinics and swim lessons at the lake and spending as much time outside as possible!
Matt Ciociola
CLO
Matt is our CLO (Chief of Lake Operations) and is one of our Assistant Coaches. At his day job, Matt is a high school administrator and lives in Swedesboro with his wife Michelle, their dogs Luna & Jake, and cat Guinness. They are also expecting a son this fall! During open water swim season, you'll find Matt at the lake making sure everything runs smoothly and welcoming new swimmers.