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.    

My swim journey began in high school in the Republic of Panama.  I did not have a great coach nor supportive parents, but my circumstances made me a very empathic person who holds a lot of compassion for others.  My goal is to ensure every swimmer that connects with me feels seen, heard, and understood so they can have a positive journey in the sport of swim.  Every swimmer that is a part of our team will build competency in this sport whether it is at a novice level or as an international competitor.  By helping my swimmers focus on their own journey and encouraging them to journal their experiences I help them build confidence within themselves and see their own progress.  I ensure that they understand that comparing themselves to others in their journey is what takes the joy out of the experience.   Character devopment occurs through discipline, time management, work ethic, and taking accountability of their own journey in life all while having a great time meeting friends, enjoying the water, and fostering connection with what I feel is the best community in the world ensures their success.  As a person who never felt seen, heard, or understood in her own nuclear family I try to ensure that every swimmer and their family members feel a part of this special place.  A safe space to learn and grow and make life long friends and build family.   
 
Although I traveled to places like Korea, where I was born and raised for 11 years, Sasebo, Japan, and the Republic of Panama.  My life finally began when I joined the United States Air Force at 20.  I served as a Flight Medic and Public Health Journeyman for 8 years.  I served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Southern Watch.  I had the opportunity to see places such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.  I have earned several Achievement medals not only for my service as an Aeromedical and Public Health Journeyman, but also as a member of the Base Honor Guard and Color Guard.  I was awarded the Expeditionary Medal and presented with the Air Force Coin for my service in the Middle East.   The military brought me structure, discipline, and a sense of purpose.  I eaerned my Associates Degree in Public Health during my active duty service.  
 
It also introduced me to my husband of 21 years, to my best friend and biggest advocate and we have 2 children together who both swam on the DC Wave Swim Team.  Logan is 20 attending Frostburg State University pursuing his Engineering Degree and swimming at a Division 2 level as a 200 and 100 breaststroker and is their “A” Team Medley Relay breaststroker.  My daughter, Kayla, is now pursuing a career in the Culinary Arts in hopes to open her own business someday.  My greatest accomplishment is providing my children a safe space to feel seen, heard, and understood.  A place where they could practice their boundaries and show us who they choose to be.  I am very proud of the people they have become, I enjoy the journey of their growth everyday, and love that my home is filled with love and support, something I never had growing up.  
 
I earned a Yellow Ribbon Scholarship along with my GI Bill and attended George Washington University and earned my Bachelors of Science Degree in Exercise Science and minored in Public Health.  This lead me to become a Swim Coach with the DC Wave Swim Team back in 2015.  I have coached hundreds of swimmers over the last 11 years and although I am proud of my swimmers that excel in this sport my proudest accomplishment as a coach is being able to bring out the best in my shyest most insecure athletes.  Every athlete that comes to me will get something out of my program.  My program has become the framework to by pass the trial and error period of new coaches joining the team.  I have also built a 9 week prerequisite Junior Wave Program that continues to evolve and is used as the framework for all Junior Wave programs in the city.  It is also used as the framework for our DC Summer Swim League program across 8 wards of the city free to our youth.  I am proud to call Washington DC my home, my community, my family and a very proud to be a coach for this special and unique team.  I continue to train my own biomechanics in the sport of swim with the Water Wizard Masters Swim Team under Coach Luis Salazar as my mentor and friend.  This place has healed a lot of my inner childhood wounds and I hope it does the same for you.  This place is truly special and like no other competitive team.  We are a family, a community of people that support and love one another and anyone who becomes a part of it and truly immerses themselves in our culture will feel it too.  

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.