Physical fitness – whether achieved through team sports or fitness classes – is part of the total educational experience at Madeira.
Madeira’s athletic and fitness program has something for everyone: competitive interscholastic varsity teams, developmental interscholastic junior varsity teams, and instructional fitness classes.
The Athletic Department is on a trimester calendar. To meet the graduation requirement, a student must earn at least eight Activity/Athletic credits during the 12 trimesters of her high school career. Students may satisfy their Activity/Athletic requirement through participation in fitness classes, dance, riding or aquatic classes or in the interscholastic sport teams program. For more on athletics requirements, including information on independent projects that qualify for athletic credits, see the Athletic and Activity Requirements page.
Rod Montrie began working at Madeira in 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Under Coach Montrie’s guidance, Madeira has remained at the top of the Independent School League, winning the ISL pennant in 2003 and 2016, and the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association State Championship five times - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Coach Montrie also garnered VISAA Coach of the Year accolades on five separate occasions, and in 2007, was selected as the recipient of the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association's David H. Robertson Award for Coaching Excellence. In 2015, he and the 2003 Swim and Dive team were inducted into the Madeira Athletics Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Coach Montrie has led the Snails to 25 consecutive winning seasons, 24 consecutive top-ten state finishes, six individual and twelve relay All-Americans, three VISAA Swimmers of the Year, one All-Met Swimmer of the Year, and over 50 All-League, All-State, or All-Met swimmers. He has also helped over 25 Madeira swimmers advance to compete at the collegiate level. Coach Rod Montrie has solidified himself as a staple of success for Madeira Athletics, and has become a fixture in the swim community in the DMV.
Ka'Shauna Cook comes to Madeira after receiving her Bachelors of Arts in Business Marketing at West Virginia State University and her Masters of Art in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University. While receiving her Masters, Ka'Shauna served as a head coach for the Germantown Lady Panthers organization and the Varsity Head Coach at Col. Zadok Magruder High School. During her tenured at Magruder, Ka'Shauna received Montgomery County 3A Coach of the Year and led the Colonels to their second regional finals appearance in the last decade. Ka'Shauna is passionate about helping female athletes develop a strong educational foundation while pursuing their athletic endeavors.
Jon DiCandilo comes to The Madeira School with 20 years experience educating others in fitness and health. Jon is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). Most recently, Jon worked in Japan for three years with a professional men's basketball team as their strength coach. Prior to that, Jon was the Head Athletic Trainer at The Hill School in Pennsylvania. Jon has spent over 15 years of his career working with high school athletes. Both of Jon's previous roles provided him with a strong understanding in athletes development and best practices to return to sport concluding injuries. Jon loves working with students in their life long pursuits of learning.
Tavis Laws comes to Madeira with over 10 years of coaching and athletic administration experience. Most recently he served as the Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach, Head Varsity Girls Soccer Coach, and Director of Athletics and Physical Education at Congressional School in Falls Church.
During his tenure at Congressional, Laws was able to develop a championship caliber program that focused on educational athletics. He oversaw the addition of boys and girls lacrosse as an interscholastic sport for Congressional and developed one of the top middle school cross country meets in the metro area which included over 300 runners from 20 schools. He served as the President of the Capital Athletic Conference the last two years of his tenure. Prior to Congressional, Coach Laws spent time as an Assistant Athletic Director and Teacher at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA.
Coach Laws received a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Shepherd University and was a member of the baseball team. After graduating, he played in the professional arena football league.
Coach Laws has a passion for helping coaches and athletes strive for excellence and creating winning cultures with education-based athletics, where everyone matters.
“It is with great pleasure that I begin to serve the students and community at The Madeira School. I am truly grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to lead Madeira Athletics into the next charter of success. I believe that athletic fields and courts are the greatness classroom and teaches life lessons that are invaluable. The Madeira School has a rich history of academic and athletic excellence and it that my hope to continue to launch women who change the world. Go Snails!”
Elle O’Brien comes to Madeira after earning her bachelor's degree in Sport Management and her master’s degree in Exercise Science from George Washington University. While receiving her masters, Elle worked as a strength and conditioning coach for George Washington University’s sports teams including; women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, sailing, men’s squash, and women’s water polo. As a coach, Elle strives to elevate and empower female athletes through sport.