Coach Rob is in his 16^th year coaching with the DC Wave Swim Team.  He swam three years Varsity at St. Albans School for Boys, and three years in the Prince-Mont Summer League for Takoma Park-DC All Stars.  In addition to swimming, Coach Rob also lettered in Football, Basketball, and Track & Field while at St. Albans.  After graduating high school in 2003, Coach Rob went on to attend the University of Maryland at College Park, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology in 2008. 

Coach Rob has gone on to coach hundreds of young swimmers through DC Parks & Recreation’s competitive swimming programs as well as the Takoma Park-DC Swim Team. Coach Rob also serves as the Meet Director for the Annual Black History Invitational, DC Wave Distance Meet, and Winter Invitational. Rob has also served on the Potomac Valley Swimming Board of Directors as the Chair of the Diversity, Equitiy, and Inclusion Committee from 2015-2021. He currently also serves as a member of the USA Swimming Diversity Council. Coach Rob has experience coaching on the Potomac Valley Zone Team, Eastern Zone and National Diversity Select Camps, and has coached numerous Sectional and Futures level athletes.       

Coach Rob is a lifetime resident of the Washington, DC Metropolitan area and a current member of the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and USA Swimming. Rob and his wife Jennifer have two children (Miles and Ellis), and enjoy bike rides and the going to the beach. His favorite color is Orange, and he loves peanut butter.  His favorite stroke is Breaststroke, and his favorite event is the 200 IM. Coach Rob loves coaching because it gives him a chance to share his passion for swimming with younger generations of swimmers, and help them develop life skills through sports and physical activity.    

BORN & RAISED: Taegu, Korea(
SWIM: JH & HS in the Republic of Panama(
FAVORITE Stroke: Changes depending on how my body decides to move that day. Trying to currently master the butterfly and making the 400 IM my favorite event in SCY, I have not yet attempted this event LCM, but hope to one day. I am definately a better Long Axis Swimmer.

LANGUAGES: Fluent Korean(
MARRIED: 21 years this year(
CHILDREN: 2 amazing human, Logan 20 & Kayla 19, who help me grow everyday. I learn A LOT from not only my children everyday, but from all the swimmers I coach as well. They help me grow. My son, Logan, Swims for Frostberg State University. His events are 200 IM, 200 Breast, 100 Breast, & 100 Fly 
AIR FORCE VETERAN(
PETS: Wheaten Terrier named Ollie and 1 cat named Trooper 
FAVORITE FOOD: Korean, all Asian food really, Kimchi is a staple in my house
WORK BACKGROUND:(Life Guard / WSInstructor(Air Force Flight Medic(Air Force Public Health Technician(Yu Ying Physical Education teacher assistant(
GW graduate: Exercise Science & Public Health(American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 3(
COACHING: 11th year coaching with DC Wave and I don’t think I’ll ever leave. I love coaching with this team. I love seeing all our swimmers grow not only as swimmers, but as people.(
PHILOSOPHY: Practice what you preach. I continue to train my swimming skills and compete as a US Masters Swimmer. This way I have the ability to demonstrate for my swimmers when necessary because most people are visual learners. My goal as a coach is to provide my swimmers and their families a safe space to feel seen, heard, and understood while building my swimmers confidence and their sense of self and I get to do it while coaching, what I feel, is the greatest sport EVER…you can always keeps swimming whether your 8 years old or 80 years old, you can always come back to this friend we call water.

Coach Marques Ross is a DC native who swam with the DC WAVE from 2006 to 2014, and RMSC from 2010 to 2013. He also swam competitively at Jackson-Reed High School (formerly Woodrow Wilson Senior High School) and was team captain in his junior and senior years. During the summers, Coach Ross competed with the TPDC Allstar Swim Team and was a junior coach for 2 years.

Coach Ross attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) where he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in Communications Media and Strategic Communications respectively. While attending IUP, he participated in the IUP Masters Swim Team and fulfilled the roles of Secretary and Meet Coordinator.

This past summer, he head coached TPDC in their first year back to competition since 2019; along with being the assistant coach at School Without Walls High School during the high school season, and competing with the DC Water Wizards.

Mary Woodward (she/her/hers) is a DC native and is entering her 11th year at DC Wave (2012-2021; 2024-present). She has coached both Developmental and Age Group swimmers at both Rumsey and Turkey Thicket.

As a kid, she only did summer swimming (Cheverly) doing on other sports/activites during the school year. During college she competed in triathlons and rowed (stroke) for her school’s crew team. Today she is a couch potato who asipres to be active.

Outside of coaching, she enjoys traveling, reading, and baking bread. (She is a part-time coach whose other job does not involve chlorine.) Her favorite color is orange, her favorite stroke is backstroke, and she likes all events except the 50 FR. 

Mary earned her bachelor's degree in visual arts from Roger Williams University and her master's degree in arts management from George Mason University. She, her husband, and their daughter live in DC  along with their 3 fur babies.