The Bayshore Project was founded by Mike Bedke, John Connery, Matt Markowski, and Clay Thomas in 2017 to fill a need for a youth running program in the South Tampa community.
In July 2022 Bayshore Project’s first and only head coach, Matt Markowski, and long-time coach Pete Fournier retired from coaching at Bayshore Project.
Volunteer Coaches Jen Harkins and Jackie Cahill took over for Matt and Pete. Tim Scheu joined in 2023.
Meet Our Coaches
Our coaching staff is made up of experienced runners, most with children of their own on the team. Drawing on our coaches’ experience, our founders’ training and racing backgrounds, and advice from local Hall of Fame high school cross country coaches, we’ve built a program designed to help every Bayshore Project runner improve while staying mindful of the risks of injury and burnout.
How We Coach
Runners come to us at every level, so our coaches are organized around where each athlete is in their development. Runners are not locked into a group: as they build fitness and confidence, they move forward.
- Developmental — For beginner runners. The focus is on building base endurance and establishing consistent training habits.
- Progression — For intermediate runners who have built endurance, train consistently, and are ready for structured pace coaching and speedwork. The goal is building to three runs per week and introducing sustained anaerobic work such as tempo runs and lactate threshold intervals.
- Performance — For advanced competitors focused on speed, race results, and running in high school. Most are already running three or more days a week and want guidance on reaching the next level, through extra intervals, structured tempo and fartlek runs on Thursdays, increased long run mileage, and adding a fourth or fifth training day.
Coach Jackie Cahill — Club Director
Strategy and operating structure, speedwork design, new member welcome, Stack Team app maintenance, team historian, and large initiatives.
Coach Jackie discovered competitive road racing at age 30 and has since run more than 100 races, at distances from one mile to the marathon. She qualified for and ran a 3:29:48 personal record at the Boston Marathon, and twice placed third overall female in the Gasparilla Jeep Liberty Challenge, which combines the 15K, 5K, and Half Marathon. She frequently joins practice runs with her son Nicky.
Coach Tim Scheu — Head Coach
Practice and training lead.
Tim grew up playing (and still plays!) sports of all kinds. For several years he coached his daughters’ Little League softball teams and fancies himself an excellent pitcher. He now channels that same enthusiasm into coaching middle school cross country and track. A lifelong runner, Tim has completed eight marathons — his favorites in pretty places like Big Sur and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tim lives in South Tampa with his wife, three daughters, two pups, a cat, and a bearded dragon, and is on a lifelong quest for an affordable pet sitter.
Coach Kelly Verra — Conditioning Coach
Conditioning, uniforms, and race registration.
Kelly brings a deep knowledge of conditioning to the team and leads our warm-ups, making sure every runner starts practice ready to work and finishes it in one piece. A runner herself, she knows firsthand how much the unglamorous parts of training matter. Kelly lives in Tampa, where her daughter runs with the Bayshore Project.
Coach Stephanie Frans — Developmental Coach
Beginner runners, member payments, and athlete experience including social events.
Steph is a lifelong runner who has completed three marathons and loves inspiring young athletes to find their stride. When she’s not running, she enjoys boating with her family, cheering on the Florida Gators, and spending time with her family. Steph lives in South Tampa and is excited to share her love of the sport with the middle school cross country and track teams.
Coach Sydney Bice — Progression Coach
Intermediate runners, website maintenance, and social media.
Sydney started running in middle school and competed all the way through high school, then ran with the club team at Georgia Tech. These days she focuses on marathons and triathlons. Having found the sport at the same age as the runners she now coaches, she especially loves watching kids discover a passion for running.
Coach Thure Caire — Performance Coach
Advanced competitors and race goals.
Thure ran at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is still running today. He enjoys pushing the runners who want to get better and run in high school.
NO COMPENSATION:
None of the Bayshore Project founders or coaches receive a coaching fee or any other compensation for work on behalf of the Bayshore Project. We are all unpaid volunteers motivated by our love for the sport and desire to share our passion with middle school runners. We would be thrilled if many of our Bayshore Project runners become successful high school cross country and track runners. Some of the best high school runners in our area started running with a club team before high school. More than a dozen runners in our early Bayshore Project classes have had great success and great experiences running cross country and track in high school. Several members of our earlier classes of runners are now competing at the collegiate level.
VOLUNTEERS:
To provide the best experience for Bayshore Project runners we rely on parent volunteers for track meets, including time keepers, stats, & race bibs. We encourage parents to share pictures on our closed Facebook group—Bayshore Project. Please let us know if you are able to volunteer!