Jarrod Hunte, or better known as Coach JRod to his swimmers, follows that path every day. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, he credits the sport of swimming as the vehicle for his achievements. Although he started swimming competitively at the age of 6, he discovered the spark that ignited his passion for the sport when he moved to the USA with his family. In Florida, Jarrod swam for Fort Lauderdale Swim Team (FLST) under the leadership of International Swimming Hall of Fame Coach Jack Nelson and Coach Duffy Dillon, the current ASCA International Speaker. Jarrod considers these two coaches to have had the most influence on his dreams and subsequently, his life. Using Coach Nelson’s quote, “Access to Success is Through the Mind” as a guide, Jarrod achieved success at Fairmont State University, where he was a four-year letter winner, a member of the record setting men’s 800 freestyle relay and swim team captain during his senior year.

Moving from the pool to the deck, coaching swimmers became a primary passion for Jarrod. Before joining DCS as Head Coach in 2017, Jarrod led the Mako Swim Team in Valparaiso, Indiana, guiding swimmers as far as the Junior and Senior Nationals and the 2016 Olympic Trials. Jarrod was recognized as a World 100 18 & under coach by USA Swimming in 2017, and was placed on the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 USA Junior Team coaches list. In 2019, he served as a Head Coach for the USA Swimming Select Camp for Diversity and Inclusion.

As DCS Head Coach, Jarrod fuels the passion and focus of our team. We witness the results of hard work in our swimmers' successes as they travel across the USA to compete in National, Sectional, State and Local competitions.

Coach JRod believes that a swimmer’s environment is tantamount. At DCS, Jarrod Hunte creates an atmosphere where all swimmers enjoy the levels of competition and training through these key components: Respect, Responsibility, Discipline, Determination, Desires, Dreams, Humility, and most of all — FUN!

Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, and surrounded by health and fitness from an early age, Coach Daniel Jackson’s participation in athletics blossomed into a great interest in physiology, psychology and kinesiology.  Trying his hand in many sports, he eventually decided to pursue swimming in college and swam at the University of Evansville for his first couple of years as an undergraduate. Transferring to Indiana University as a Junior, he traded his swimsuit for a coach’s whistle and began an intense interest in the discipline,  working as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach with Bloomington High School South Boy’s Swimming and Diving team for the remainder of his time as an undergraduate.

From 2013 to 2022, Coach Dan experienced a whirlwind of challenge, change and focus. As the spouse of an active duty service member (US Army), he, his wife and three young daughters moved frequently which forced him to develop his coaching experience from swimming and strength and conditioning into the CrossFit world.  He completed his Masters in Coach Education and Athlete Development from Xavier University and began a second Masters in Education program with Mizzou (Positive Coaching and Athletic Leadership). He is concurrently pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership: Health and Human Performance from Concordia University-Chicago. Coach Dan never stops learning! He is particularly driven to pursue anything within the spectrum of sports psychology, a field in which he intends to thrive.

Today, Coach Dan continues to help teach elite-level CrossFit athletes how to swim. He is Head Coach/Owner for the Gainesville Wild, Professor in Health Promotion and Physical Education at Kennesaw State University, Head Coach of the Kennesaw State Masters Swim Team, a part-time lifeguard and instructor, and Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game collector and seller. To keep busy, he spends the majority of his time having philosophical, theoretical, and applicable conversations on how to improve the physiological parameters and psychological well-being of athletes.

A native of Venezuela, Coach Igor Molina wowed his home country as both a champion distance swimmer and water polo player. Between the lane ropes, Igor earned a position on the National Team, specializing in the 800m and 1500m freestyle and was the anchor of a record setting Medley Relay with teammates who went on to compete in World Championships and the 2004 Olympics. Despite his early success as a swimmer, Igor pivoted to the sport of water polo and became Captain of the Venezuelan National Water Polo Team. Representing Venezuela on the global stage in multiple international tournaments, championships, and training camps, he was named Water Polo National Champion in his country and High Performance Player of the Year in 2004. His talents in the water translated to the pool deck as well. As water polo coach, he obtained the Pan American title with his Venezuelan team in Orlando in 2013. Upon immigrating with his family to the USA, Coach Igor continued to pursue his passion for aquatics, winning the Georgia High School Water Polo League with Chamblee High School and consecutively being named “Coach of the Year” within the state of Georgia in both 2019 and 2020. Coach Igor is also a sought-after referee with USA Waterpolo, officiating several tournaments in the United States each year.

Coach Igor aims to promote and develop the sport of water polo in Georgia, helping athletes receive academic opportunities at major universities and playing tournaments across the country and the world. Additionally, he views aquatic sports as a mechanism for positive change within American society. He sees water polo as a refuge for young people, helping to transform challenges into successes.

Coach Igor attributes the discipline of training as an athlete with his academic success and pursuits. He earned a Postgraduate degree in Data Science and Business Analytics as well as in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Application from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Master’s degree in Petroleum Geosciences and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering. Coach Igor worked in the demanding world of the oil and gas industry for fourteen years.

Coach Johnny Thonn has a broad and diverse history in aquatics as both an athlete and a coach. Growing up in Orange County, CA, Coach Johnny competed in both water polo and swimming as an age grouper and then as a student at Santa Ana College. He used his knowledge as a competitive swimmer to teach swimming lessons from beginners to advanced while a student in high school. As an undergraduate, he began his coaching career at El Modena High School as an assistant and then Head Coach. Coach Johnny's hallmark is his focus on fundamentals and the technical aspects of swimming.

Since moving to the southeast, Coach Johnny continued to develop his coaching craft. He joined the coaching staff of Y-Sparta Aquatics (YSSC) and Team Greenville (TG) where he developed and conditioned 13-18 year old swimmers, preparing them for the next level as well as helped athletes qualify for Winter Juniors, Summer Junior Nationals and Olympic trials. Both South Carolina clubs won numerous state swimming championships. Coach Johnny was also a member of the coaching staff of the ORCA water polo team that won the water polo 18 & Under Junior Olympics three years in a row. As a head coach, he led several Greenville, SC summer league swim teams to numerous divisional championships. Additionally, he has coached swimmers with special needs; one of his swimmers set an American Record in the 400IM and was selected to be a member of Team USA for the 2021 ParaOlympics in Tokyo.

In Georgia, Coach Johnny was most recently a member of Chattahoochee Gold Swimming, where he developed NSCA, Age Group Sectional, Senior Sectional, Age Group Zone, and Futures qualifiers. Under his guidance, swimmers achieved several team records, and became Age Group Sectional Champions and State Champions. He has also been selected to the Georgia Zone coaching staff.

Still an avid water polo player, he plays wherever he can find a match! Coach Johnny is also a veteran who served in the USMC.

Coach Mario began his professional journey in aquatics; swim instruction has been his one and only career. Over the past 10 years, Mario has poured his heart into ensuring his students the feeling of comfort and safety in the water and helping them develop their swimming abilities. Thousands of new swimmers have benefited from his patient and dedicated approach. For Coach Mario, water instruction isn't just a job —it's his life's calling! Each lesson he gives rekindles the passion that set him on this path of teaching and mentorship … and he has no plans of looking back!

Coach Mario Ingram brings enthusiasm and love of swimming to DCS. He creates a safe, secure and fun environment where all swimmers are structured for success both in and out of the pool.