MEET DCS COACHes

Jarrod Hunte

DCS Head Coach

EMAIL: jrod.hunte@swimdcs.com

“The path to Success is guided through belief, desires, and dreams. When each individual finds that spark that makes them champions from within their body and mind, Success can be a reality.”  — Jarrod Hunte

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. 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.

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!

AND FOR ALL MY PARENTS! 

This Passage from Scripture has really helped me with my kids.

"Believers can rejoice in suffering because it produces endurance, which in turn produces character, and ultimately, hope." 

- Romans 5: 3-4

May Jesus Christ Bless all of you.

Ryan Bried

Lead Head Coach - Kennesaw Satelite

EMAIL: ryan.bried@swimdcs.com

“To be successful at anything in life, you need to have a good attitude, commitment, and effort…ACE.”  — Ryan Bried

Coach Ryan’s passion for coaching began in 1997 with a small club team in Florida. In 2001, he and another coach co-founded TBAY (Tampa Bay growing it from a one-pool and 5-swimmer club to a 7-pool, 500-swimmer club that won LC JR Nationals in 2006. In 2008, he moved to Atlanta to Coach with Dynamo Swim Club, helping win 4 straight age group state titles and another JR National title in 2011. In 2012, he moved to SwimAtlanta, helping rebuild the Roswell site from 100 swimmers to 350. Those swimmers contributed to winning age group & Sr state titles every season. In 2018, he founded ACE Aquatic Club. Leading the team to multiple top 10 age group and SR state finishes with one of the smallest clubs in GA.

Ryan has coached 4 athletes who have gone on to swim in the Olympics, a dozen Olympic trials qualifiers, numerous state record holders, and dozens of state champions.

He has 2 sons, a dog named Pudding, and loves outdoor activities, especially if they include water!

Dan Jackson

Head Dryland Coach & High Performance Teams Associate Coach

EMAIL: dan.jackson@swimdcs.com

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 at 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 the Bloomington High School South boys' Swimming and Diving team for the remainder of his time as an undergraduate.

From 2013 to 2022, Coach Dan experienced a whirlwind of challenges, 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 Master's in Coach Education and Athlete Development from Xavier University and began a second Master's 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 Pokémon 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.

Igor Molina

Age Group Coach & Associate Lead Sport Science Coach

EMAIL: igor.molina@swimdcs.com

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 a 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.

Johnny Thonn

Age Group Coach & Lead Senior Coach

EMAIL: johnny.thonn@swimdcs.com

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 Paralympics 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 for 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.