Our goal at SwimBox is to help you swim better, safer, faster, and injury free. Every one of our swim instructors has been in the swimming world the majority of their lives and has been trained with our swim lesson protocols. Our swim lessons and swim workouts are for swimmers of all ages* and abilities. We want everyone to know how to swim, let's get started!
NICK MCDOWELL
Nick McDowell recently relocated to the Arlington, VA area from Ohio and is looking to make his mark on the swimming community in Northern Virginia. Nick was Team Captain of the Varsity Swim Team at Purdue University, graduating in 2020. The main highlight of his competitive swimming career was participating in the 2016 Olympic Trials. Nick has previously worked as an on-deck coach, writing swim practices and swim workouts for competitive age group swimmers. In addition to his swim coaching experience, Nick has a great background with video analysis work, making SwimBox’s setup perfect for him to hone these skills and really pinpoint your areas that need improvement in the pool. Having the opportunity to keep swimming in his life is why Nick loves to coach, and being able to share his passion for the pool and a sport he truly loves on top of that is just the cherry on top of the sundae. His person-ability is unmatched when it comes to his clients, and you’ll be hard pressed to leave your lessons with him without a smile on your face and excited to come back for more.
JESS DIAZ
Jess grew up in the water and hasn’t left the pool since. She started swimming at 6 months old and never looked back after putting on her goggles for the first time. Once her family moved to Virginia, Jess joined the Countryside Waves summer swim team. Jess started lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons at 15 years old and hasn’t stopped since. Swimming is truly Jess’ passion, so much so that she made the decision to go back to school for a degree in Recreational Aquatic Therapy to help her learn as much as possible about body movements and how they change/work in the water. Jess has been coaching for the local PVS swim team The Blue Waves for the last ten years and currently holds her ASCA Level 2 Swim Coaching Certification. Jessica loves working with competitive kids and masters swimmers looking to refine their swim techniques and efficiency as well as adults learning to swim for the first time.
BEN SKELDING
SwimBox Arlington
Ben’s swimming journey began at the age of 10 in Southern California and has not stopped since. Being one of the premier swimmers in Los Angeles he received a scholarship to swim collegiately at Howard University in Washington DC and has been in the area ever since, Ben became a fast West Coast transplant. Graduating in 2015 with a Bachelors Degree in Sports Medicine, Ben began working locally with the community to coach the DC Parks and Recreation Swim Team until he shifted his focus onto learn-to-swim athletes. Ben has worked with numerous businesses to develop his coaching style thoroughly and enjoys working with athletes of all ages and abilities. Away from the pool you can find Ben cooking something delicious or out and about in nature enjoying the sunshine. Ben, being out of the competitive side of swimming he knows so well, now derives his passion for his lessons from the years and years spent at the pool and the quality of swimming he knows everyone is capable of.
JARED MILLER
Jared Miller first dipped his toe in the pool at the tender age of three, quickly advancing to his first swim competition a year later. As an instructor at SwimBox, Jared is known for his enthusiasm and dedication to teaching the art of swimming to novices of all ages. His illustrious swimming career at Howard University, where he currently still holds nine school records in freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly events, underscores his deep connection to the sport. Jared credits swimming with teaching him invaluable life lessons, including discipline, hard work, and perseverance, which have permeated every aspect of his life. Beyond the pool, Jared’s interests are as diverse as his talents; whether he’s strumming his guitar, engaging in sports like football, basketball, and skateboarding, or contributing to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Jared embodies a well-rounded individual whose life is enriched by his varied passions and achievements. His belief in swimming as a catalyst for personal growth, friendship, and essential survival skills informs his approach to coaching, making him a cherished member of the SwimBox team.
RYAN STRAKA
Ryan Straka, a recent George Mason University graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology, hails from Oakton, VA, where he embarked on his swimming journey in middle school. His passion for the sport led him to specialize in sprint freestyle and butterfly, competing for Machine Aquatics, the James Madison High School Varsity Swim Team, and the Marymount University Varsity Swim Team. Ryan’s experience extends beyond the pool; he honed his teaching skills as a swim instructor at Lifetime Fitness, where he introduced children to swimming and refined their techniques. His academic background in kinesiology ignited a fervent interest in biomechanics, particularly its application to swimming, fueling his desire to explore injury prevention strategies and enhance swim performance. At SwimBox, Ryan applies his deep understanding of the technical aspects of swimming to help clients achieve their personal goals, whether they are learning to swim for the first time or seeking to improve their competitive edge. Having been with SwimBox for over a year and a half, Ryan is committed to evolving as a swim coach, leveraging his expertise to foster a safe, effective, and enjoyable learning environment for swimmers of all levels.
Wallis Lahtinen-Hicks
Wallis brings extensive teaching experience and knowledge of kinesiology/ body mechanics to her swimming lessons and swim coaching instruction. She started teaching and coaching swimming in 2014 as a volunteer for the US Masters Adult Learn To Swim program (USMS ALTS). Wallis is a USA Swimming Certified Coach and Adult Learn To Swim Certified swim instructor. She coaches for The FISH swim team and Tsunami Master's in Tysons Corner. Wallis brings a unique understanding of both adult and young learners through her journey from recreational swimmer to competing as a Masters swimmer and open water swimmer. Her patience and kindness in her teaching lends extremely well to adult learn to swim beginners, competitive kids working on their stroke technique, and competitive adult swimmers looking to improve their efficiency and strength for meets, triathlons, and open water swimming races alike.
SYDNEY BRIGHT
Sydney graduated from Bridgewater College where she swam for 3 years on the Varsity Swim Team, specializing in sprint freestyle with degrees in both Political Science and French. She grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti where she spent her childhood swimming and continued to swim with the YMCA Alexandria Sea Dragons Swim Team when she and her family moved to the states. After graduating, Sydney moved back to the Washington DC area to attend graduate school at American University. Currently, she also coaches the junior and senior swim groups with NCAP. Sydney enjoys the process and mechanics of swimming and is eager to share that joy with others as they work together to reach their swimming goals.
LISSA LATELLA
SwimBox head coach & co-owner Lissa Latella started swimming at the ripe old age of 6 and has been living with pruney fingers ever since. She grew up swimming on local NVSL Swim Team the Dunn Loring Dolphins, local PVS club swim teams Potomac Marlins & Machine Aquatics, and finished out her swimming tenure on the Varsity Swim Team at the University of Mary Washington. After graduating from UMW, Lissa took up crossfit and dove back into competitive swimming for another year before hanging up her goggles and settling down with SwimBox for the long haul. Specializing in butterfly, breaststroke, & freestyle, her love of swimming is comparable only to her obsession with food, which she’ll definitely find a way to bring up during her lessons. Lissa likes to say that swimming has given her everything, and she loves to give back to the sport by sharing her knowledge, compassion, and devotion with her clients looking to fine tune their technique, improve their times & efficiency in the water, learning to swim for the first time, or simply wanting to gain that little extra edge over their competition.
SwimBox co-owner Coach Dominic Latella is the only US Masters Swimming (USMS) Level 4 (the highest certification available) certified coach in VA. Dominic also owns & runs TriSwimCoach, SwimBox’s online swim & dryland training program & in person camps for triathletes, open water swimmers, & competitive swimmers. He is an instructor for USMS Certifications and the USMS Adult Learn to Swim program, as well as the lead presenter for all SwimBox Certification Courses. Dominic has also been appointed twice - the maximum amount - as the lead swim coach for USMS High Performance Camp, in addition to working with the swimming rehabilitation and adaptive swimming programs at Bethesda Naval Hospital for the Wounded Warriors. Dominic’s philosophy focuses on the execution of proper swimming technique to achieve improved efficiency and prevent injury. This way of swim coaching allows swimmers to not only reach personal bests, but do so in a way that allows their bodies to keep up their love of swimming for a lifetime. Fewer injuries and happy swimmers are Dominic's favorite things to see.
*we do not work with children under the age of 7 unless they can make it across a 25 meter/yard pool on their own
Our Arlington, VA site is located right off of Route 29 (Langston Blvd) at the intersection of N George Mason Drive. SwimBox Arlington provides private swim lessons, private adult learn-to-swim lessons, and private swim training to Arlington, Alexandria, Washington DC, McLean, Falls Church, Fairfax, Crystal City, Rosslyn, Tysons, Annandale, all of Fairfax County, as well as accessible coming from Maryland as well.
Our private one on one swim lessons are perfect for adult beginners learning to swim for the first time, competitive age group swimmers working to prevent injury, refine their technique/efficiency & get those best times, masters swimmers, beginner, intermediate, and advanced triathletes, and everyone in between who’s just looking for a swim lesson at the highest caliber. We also promote TheHomeSchoolMom Home Schooling Resources!
