Coach Waz began his rowing and coaching career at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, where he rowed for four years on the Occoquan Reservoir under head coach Bob Spousta.  He served as team captain for two years at GMU and was a member of the inaugural GMU boat to compete at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s (IRAs) National Championship in 1998, where he and his teammates went on to place 5th in the Men’s Open Four.  He finished 5th again in the finals at the 2000 IRA Championship, also in the Men’s Open Four Event.  Coach Waz continues to train on the Occoquan and competes for the Occoquan Boat Club.  In 2004, he competed in the Head of the Charles (HOCR) finishing 7th (out of 43 boats) in the Men’s Club Four and received an automatic bid for the 2005 HOCR. Coach Waz’s coaching career started in the spring of 2001 at Hylton High School.  He split the novice boy’s coaching responsibilities with his future wife, Katie, and in their first year coaching at Hylton, their novice boy’s third eight went on to finish third at the State Championship Regatta.  In the fall of 2001, Coach Waz and Katie took over a young, two year old program at Lake Braddock High School.  Coach Waz and Katie coached the Lake Braddock varsity girl’s crews from 2001 through the spring of 2005.  In the fall of 2005, Coach Waz was selected as the new head coach for the Robinson Crew Team. In 2007, his 2nd year as head coach, the Robinson Womens 1st & 2nd 8s placed 1st and 2nd, respectively, at the Virginia State Championships.  Under his reign, many athletes have been recognized as Washington Post All-Mets, earned college rowing scholarships at some of the most prestigious rowing programs in the country, and participated in junior national team development camps.  Coach Waz & his wife Katie were named the 2007 Washington Posts ALL-MET Coaches of the Year.  Coach Waz is a level II certified coach by the US Rowing Association, a commercial banker at SunTrust Bank in Washington, DC and is currently pursuing his MBA at the George Washington University.  He resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife Katie and their chocolate lab Reese.
 

Varsity Women's Coach:  Katie Wasalaski  email:  ramcrew911@yahoo.com

2007 Washington Post ALL-MET Coach of the Year

Dr. Katie started her rowing career at George Mason University where she was a scholarship athlete rowing four years under former Olympian Elena Bratichko. While rowing at GMU, Katie was a team captain and stroked the varsity 8 to many wins, finishing her career placing 6th in the women's open four event at the Dad Vail regatta in Philadelphia. Katie began coaching the novice Boys 3rd eight at Hylton high school in 2001. Katie and Waz then continued coaching the following four years at Lake Braddock High School. In their first year at Lake Braddock, Katie coached the lightweight women to a 6th place finish at the State Championship Regatta in 2002.  Katie then spent the next 3 years working with the varsity girls first and second eights.  Katie & Rob left Lake Braddock SS and began coaching for Robinson SS in the fall of 2005.  In addition to coaching at Robinson, Katie is also the girl’s head coach of the Northern Virginia Rowing Association’s (NVRA) competitive fall rowing program.  NVRA is a fall composite program that combines the best female rowers from a number of Northern Virginia high schools, including Robinson. Katie continues to row competitively and she trains on the Occoquan with several of her former teammates from GMU. Katie is a level 3 certified US rowing coach, holds a BS degree in Biology along with a minor in Business from George Mason University, and has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently a pharmacist for Target.

Varsity Men's Coach:         Jon Barrett  email:  jbarret4@gmu.edu

Coach Barrett brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Robinson coaching staff.  Coach Barrett started his rowing career at Hylton High School where he rowed for four years and medaled at the prestigious Stotesbury Regatta.  After high school, Coach Barrett went on to row in college at George Mason University where he rowed for four years under former U.S. National Team member Bob Spousta.  While rowing at GMU, Coach Barrett was a member of several IRA fours, compiling two top five finishes in the open four.  In addition to coaching at Robinson, Coach Barrett is also the men's novice coach at George Mason University.  Coach Barrett is dedicated to the fundamental aspects of the sport and coaches a number of novice development programs during the summer and fall seasons.  Coach Barrett continues to row competitively with Head Coach Waz.  The two of them train on the Occoquan along with several other former teammates from GMU.

Assistant Men's Coach:    Garland Moore  email:  robinsoncrewcoach@yahoo.com

Garland’s rowing career began in the fall of 2000 at George Mason University.  The following summer he went home and bought his first single and has enjoying the sport of rowing both sweep and scull ever since.  After graduating from Mason, Garland joined Robinson crew in 2005.  He is currently coaching all levels of rower on the Occoquan.  Garland lives in Woodbridge and enjoys anything outdoors. 

Assistant Men's Coach:     Kendal Wolf  email:  kwolf@eecs.tufts.edu

Coach Kendal joined Robinson Crew in the 2008 season and is excited to bring his extensive crew experience to Robinson.  Coach Kendal started his rowing career as a freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT), where he was a coxswain and a rower for four years.  During these high school years, Coach Kendal coxed his varsity boat to medal at the prestigious Founder's Day Regatta; the same boat medaled at Nationals the following year.  Coach Kendal was recruited to participate in collegiate rowing and he started a winning tradition his freshman year at Tufts University (Medford, MA).  He has won medals at the high school, collegiate, and international levels, in head, stake, and sprint races.  He has trained up and down the East Coast, including with the U.S. National Rowing Team; he also competed with rowing clubs in France.  Coach Kendal has also coached at the masters level and is a Level 2 certified U.S. rowing coach.  An aspiring high school French and Social Studies teacher, Coach Kendal is working towards his Masters in Education at George Washington University.

Assistant Men's Coach:      David Currie  email:  ramcrew911@yahoo.com
Coach David began his rowing career as a senior at Oakton High School in 2005. He continued sweep rowing with Clemson University, and earned a Silver Medal at the 2007 SIRA Championships.  Currently he rows for George Mason University in the Varsity Eight  The crew placed 8th out of 72 in the Club Division at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in 2007.  David also sculls competitively, placing well at both the Independence Regatta on the Schuylkill and the Capital Sprints on the Anacostia.  David has taught
sculling at Thompson Boathouse, and coached at Sandy Run's summer camps as well.  He looks forward to sharing such a challenging and rewarding sport with the incoming novice and freshman rowers at Robinson High School.

Assistant Women's Coach:     Kate Laczynski  email:  Katherine.Laczynski@fcps.edu

Assistant Women's Coach:     Audrey Shankles  email:  audrey0605@gmail.com

Audrey began her rowing career at TC Williams in Alexandria. After a novice year of rowing, she moved to coxing the Varsity Lightweight girls for two years winning medals at local and international regattas. She has won state championships and is most proud of her bronze medal from the Canadian Scholastic Championships. She began coaching the fall of her senior year and has loved it ever since. When she’s not on the water with Robinson, she is coaching master rowers in Alexandria on the Potomac or coxing the Men’s team at GMU on the Occoquan where they have also won several medals.  She is also involved in summer and fall learn-to-row programs as well as winter conditioning for local teams. She is a level II US Rowing certified coach. Audrey loved her high school crew experience and can’t wait to bring the excitement to the novice girls at Robinson!