Hello Lake Marion Lasers! Keep reading for 3 important things!

1. Our registration opens on Thursday, April 23. We will send a message with registration details in the next few days.
2. Mark your calendars for our ice cream social on Friday, May 8 from 6 - 7:30 PM at the Lake Marion Community Center. You will have an opportunity to purchase towel pants after a free custom fitting with Just Add H20!
3. We are excited to introduce Head Coach Dana Sato! Please keep reading for her message to our Laser Family.

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Daria, on behalf of the LMST Board

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Q: Why did the laser win the race?

A: Because it was light years ahead! (Or - hear me out - because it was a Lake Marion Laser!)

Hopefully you also enjoy corny jokes and puns, because I have a lot of them and I'm so excited to share them with you this summer. My name is Dana Sato, and I am here to introduce myself to you as the new Head Coach for Lake Marion.

Swimming has been a lifelong love affair for me; according to my mother, she threw me in the pool at six months old and I haven't stopped since. I grew up on the West Coast, where I competed from 1988-2002, specializing in the 200 meter butterfly and the 200 meter IM. Unfortunately, my undergraduate college of choice did not have a swim team, so I went to the next best thing: coaching. I began coaching for the YMCA Silver Spring Piranhas in 2004, and stayed with that team for eight years. In 2008, I added MCSL into my rotation and I've been all over this county over the past almost-20 years: Forest Knolls, Kenmont, Flower Valley, and Whetstone.

Onto the important stuff: My overall coaching philosophy comes down to transparency. Transparency for the swimmers - to correct stroke work or skills, to explain how and why line-ups are put together in any given week, to explain why we do certain drills or sets, etc. Transparency for the parents - to get information out early, to be accessible outside of practice time to answer questions, to provide feedback and in-depth knowledge about the sport, and more. Swimming is and always has been one of the greatest joys in my life, and I love sharing it with younger swimmers and their families. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or get clarification! I welcome the conversations.

Outside of the pool, I am an English teacher and I've been teaching in MCPS since 2008. My love of swimming can perhaps only be matched by my love of the written word and the stage. Oh, and travel. I love to travel - if I'm not in school, in the theatre, or at the pool, you'd best believe that I'm probably on a plane somewhere new. I have two children, twin 9-year-old boys, who are pumped to swim with Lake Marion this summer! We have been MVF residents since 2022 and we're excited to get to know even more of our neighbors.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you in the coming months. Go Lasers!