Head coach Jorge D. Silva has served as a head coach in many area leagues, including MCSL, MCPS (high school), and Potomac Valley Swimming, where he got his start at the Ward’s Wolverine Swim Club. He is the current Head Coach of the Hydro-Sonic Tiburones Swim Club which he started in January 2002.
He has trained MCPS County champions, MCSL Champions, Metros’ finalists, PVS Sr. Champs champions, Zone team members, Junior National and Olympic Trials qualifiers. In addition to coaching the top tier of the Tiburones program, Jorge continues to work regularly with all practice groups; he especially loves to coach the youngest swimmers in the developmental programs!
When it comes to swimming, Jorge “knows his stuff,” and he really cares about the young people he coaches. In order to keep up with the latest developments in the world of swimming, Jorge researches extensively and is a member of the American Swim Coaches Association. Jorge is a perfectionist when it comes to correcting stroke mechanics; he believes that developing proper stroke technique is the foundation to successful swimmers. “With good technique speed kind of happens”
His goal is for the swimmers to love the sport and to want to continue swimming through high school and college; therefore, he deliberately places the emphasis on quality over quantity when training his younger athletes. Finally, what makes swimming with Jorge fun is his sense of humor. Come watch a workout or two, and you’ll see Jorge joking with the kids and creating laughter all around.
When not coaching, Jorge enjoys reading, crossword puzzles, cooking, collecting shark memorabilia, and scuba diving.
Rachel just graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a degree in Public Health. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine and plans on attending medical school next fall. In her free time, she enjoys paddleboarding, cycling, running, spending time with her dog Zoey, and really doing anything outdoors. Rachel has worked with MVF since 2018 as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and now this summer will serve as the swim lesson supervisor overseeing lessons at MVF - so if you see her at one of the pools, definitely say hi!. She also worked as a swim instructor and swim lesson supervisor at the Rockville Swim and Fitness Center for over two years. She currently holds both American Red Cross Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor certifications. Rachel, who was a competitive swimmer and Laser herself for ten years, is so excited to be back with the team and is looking forward to working with all our swimmers this summer!
Rachel has swam for the lasers since she was five years old and started competitively swimming year round for: JFD, RMSC and TIBU throughout her swimming career shortly after that. She has swam at both Coaches long course, Junior Olympics and Allstars over the years, and had a few team records at Lake Marion for a while. She also swam for her high school team at Richard Montgomery, where she was the swim team manager for a year as well. She now attends Syracuse University studying Architecture and swims whenever she gets the chance with her busy schedule. She is excited to come back to Lake Marion again this year to help coach the younger swimmers and create amazing summer memories like she had when she was younger.
Andrew swam for the Lake Marion Lasers for 10 years. He just finished his freshman year at Towson University studying Mass Communications. He swam for the Good Counsel varsity swim team all 4 years he was there. He is currently in his third year of lifeguarding for MVF. He is very eager heading into his first year of coaching and he can’t wait to help the swimmers become the best they can be.
Jack has been a Laser since he was 7 years old and loved being a swimmer so much is returning this summer as a super senior swimmer! He is looking forward to his second season as a swimmer coach this summer. Jack swam for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, where he was a captain in his senior year. He kept busy during high school, totaling 7 seasons of various varsity sports over his high school career. Jack has also served as a lifeguard also spent his time last summer as a lifeguard for MVF and will do so again this summer. He just completed his freshman year at University of Maryland College Park, where he is studying Engineering.
Izzy has been a Laser since she was 6 and loves to swim. When not swimming for Lake Marion she swims for the Gaithersburg High School’s varsity team and Hydrosonic Tiburones club team. At Gaithersburg she has won the swim team's MVP award 2 years in a row, went to states, and Metros. She is head designer and CEO for her family’s small business “Frizzy’s Tees & Things.” In her free time she likes to do any sort of art projects or watch Marvel or Star Wars movies or tv shows! She is excited to be coaching the next generation of swimmers and is looking forward to making this sport as fun for the kids as it is for her.
Melanie has been a Laser ever since 5 years old when she joined in 2014 and continued swimming all-year-round since. She swam for JFD for several years and swam for Gaithersburg High School Swim & Dive for her freshmen year of High School. Not only does Melanie do swimming she also is a part of the Low Brass Section for Gaithersburg High School Marching Band! Melanie loves to assist younger swimmers during competitions and practices. Last year she helped out as a CIT for Pre-team which gave her the motivation to coach this year as a swimmer coach! She’s super excited to put her thoughts and creativity to the team and hopes that her ideas help support the Lasers.