Edward John Zawatski III

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Born on April 17, 1997, Edward John Zawatski III is the eldest son of Billie Jo and Edward Zawatski Jr accompanied by his brothers Josh and Jared. Raised in Larksville, PA, Eddy was introduced to the sport of swimming at an early age for the purpose of water safety for family-friend festivities and or beach vacations along with health issues of asthma to increase lung capacity. Eddy joined many Luzerne County based swimming programs such as Mommy & Me classes that transitioned to competition teams. The WVW Fast Program in Plymouth, PA and CYC Sealions/Rally Aquatics in Wilkes-Barre, PA housed and fueled Eddy’s passions for racing. Dubbed the nickname “Fast Eddy” comedically for being the youngest and slowest kid on these teams, Eddy took ownership in the moniker by racing his best with each opportunity presented: win, lose, or draw.

Success and friendships were made as Zawatski build his athletic resume by racing in all levels of competitions such as local NEPAGSL, Keystone State Games, State Games of America, PIAA District, PIAA State and USA swimming competitions (Junior Olympics, Middle Atlantic Zones, Sectionals, Junior Nationals, Grand Prix’s, Nationals, and even the 2016 Olympic Trials). Many championships and records (that still stand today) were obtained at each level as Ed earned a scholarship to the prestigious Purdue University to compete for the Boilermakers during their 2015-2019 seasons. Zawatski was vice-captain his senior year and was a continual competitor for their individual freestyle sprint events along with relays for their Big Ten championships and travel meets all four years of his eligibility. Zawatski graduated with a degree in Secondary English Education with minors in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, LGBTQ Studies, and Anthropology to become an educator.

When the swimming competition came to an end, Zawatski was driven to help others succeed but this time in the role of a coach. Zawatski became an undergraduate coach under the direction of Dan Ross for the 2019-20 Purdue Men’s swimming season. Later in 2021-22, Eddy became a graduate assistant coach for Concordia University-Irvine in CA receiving his master’s degree in Curriculum & Instruction. Zawatski served as an assistant coach for both the CUI Men’s and Women’s Swimming programs under the direction of head coach Bert Bergen. As a first-year coach at the colligate level, Eddy assisted with the CUI Men’s team to capture the NCAA Division II PSCS Conference title. In addition, for the past several years, Zawatski has been an active member in his community in Pennsylvania working as a program coordinator and head coach for the team of FAST Aquatics to redefining stroke mechanics for competition swimmers and educating their own learn to swim program students for water safety of all ages with his friends and brothers.

This journey is not over though; it is merely the beginning. Zawatski continues to inspire, innovate, and develop everyone he meets within academics (as an educator) or through athletics (as a coach) for the opportunity to represent himself, his family, the Wyoming Valley, and Luzerne County proudly.