For Immediate Release Contact: Steve Edwards
September 25, 2019 Coordinator of Policy and Communications
Release #675 540-662-3888 x88235

James Wood High School Names New Swimming Coach
James Wood High School has named Jessica Barr its new swimming coach. Barr, who
is a STEAM teacher at Frederick Douglass Elementary School in Winchester, succeeds Alan
Cavanagh who resigned after leading James Wood’s swimming program the past two years.

Barr is a native of Shenandoah County and began swimming with the Valley Swim Team
Phoenix in 2007. She swam for five years with that team and was also a member of the Central
High School Swim Team from 2008-2011. Barr attended the University of Virginia and was a
member of the UVA Club Swim Team from 2012-2014 and volunteered with a USA swim team
in Charlottesville. Barr began serving as an assistant coach with the Valley Swim Team when
she returned home for the summers during her time as a student at the University of Virginia.
Since 2015, she has been coaching part-time with the Winchester Swim Team.

Barr says, “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to coach at the high school level and
lead the James Wood High School Swim Team. Swimming helped to teach me many valuable
life lessons and I’m looking forward to using my experiences as both an athlete and coach to
grow the swimming program at James Wood and help each member of the team reach their full
potential.”

James Wood High School Coordinator of Student Activities Craig Woshner says, “Coach
Barr brings a unique perspective to this position in that she has been a swimmer at both the
high school and college levels and has coached swimmers of different ages and abilities. She
is passionate about swimming and recognizes that athletics can help teach students valuable
lessons about teamwork, commitment and perseverance which will benefit them throughout
their lives. I’m confident her experiences as a high school and college swimmer combined with
her coaching experiences will benefit our students and swimming program.”