HS SWIMMING: Blue Mountain coach steps down

Apr. 14—ORWIGSBURG — It was a decision Rob Marra had considered making for more than a year.

In the end, spending more time with his infant son, Samuel, was the deciding factor.

Marra submitted his resignation as the Blue Mountain head swimming coach Friday, stepping down after a four-year run that was the best in the program's history.

His resignation letter will need to be approved by the Blue Mountain School Board at its next meeting April 22.

"It was a very tough decision," Marra said Monday. "I told the team that this was something that was a year in the making. I was on the fence last year with everything that was going on, knowing that the baby was coming and having to juggle everything with a family. It's tough being at the pool every day for 6 months-plus a year.

"With COVID, I wanted to come back this year and have some closure with these kids, especially after everything was canceled last year. But Sam goes to bed around 7 (o'clock) and I don't get home until 6-6:30. I realized the toll it took on me not seeing him during the week. Being home for a while with him recently made me realize how much I missed out on over the last couple of months."

The impact Marra had on the Blue Mountain program over the past four years is remarkable, as the Eagles have become the premier swim program in the Schuylkill League and District 11 Class AA.

Since taking over in 2017, Marra coached the Blue Mountain boys' team to a 49-4-1 overall dual-meet mark and the girls' squad to a 49-5 overall record. In Schuylkill League play, the Eagles' girls went 40-0 under Marra, winning four straight league crowns. The boys were 38-2 in that span, winning the past three Schuylkill League crowns.

Blue Mountain has won the past three District 11 Class AA team titles in both the boys and girls after both teams finished as district runners-up in his first year in 2018. He produced 13 District 11 champions over the past three seasons — Ty Rabenstein (200-yard freestyle), Katherine Sarnes (500 freestyle twice), Olivia Haas (50 freestyle) and Hannah Magdeburg (50 free, 100 free) as individuals and eight relay golds.

In four years Marra's squads sent 39 swimmers to states, including double digits the last three years. At this year's PIAA Class AA Swimming Championships on March 19 at Cumberland Valley, the Eagles came home with four state medals, as Sarnes was sixth in the 500 freestyle, the quartet of Morgan Yuengling, Victoria Ellex, Maria Lopez and Magdeburg took fifth in the girls' 200 freestyle relay and eighth in the girls' 400 freestyle relay, and the foursome of Derrick Yuengling, Miko Barbe, Matheson Bair and Sean Sopko placed eighth in the boys' 200 freestyle relay.

"I'm just blessed that the kids came in and accepted the way we ran the program," Marra said. "They are the reason we've had success. I can make lineups and put people in events, but they're the ones swimming, coming to practice, putting in the extra time and digging into everything we do. I'm proud of what we've done, but it's definitely the kids that's the reason for everything that's going on."

Marra, 30, moved to Schuylkill County in 2016 after growing up in the Pittsburgh area. He was the head coach of a small YMCA program in Pittsburgh for one year and an assistant swim coach at Canon-MacMillan High School for four years.

Professionally, he is an inclusion facilitator with the Hamburg Area School District, working with special education teachers in both of the district's elementary schools. He and his wife, Lauren, a music teacher at Blue Mountain High School, live in Cressona and are the proud parents of Samuel, who turns 1 year old Friday.

While he's stepping away as the high school varsity coach, Marra plans to stay active in the Blue Mountain Recreation youth program. He said he'll miss the close-knit family atmosphere that exists with the Blue Mountain High School program, especially his dealings with parents and volunteers.

As an example, his swimmers and their parents held a drive-by parade for Marra and his wife after their baby was born last year.

"This team has been my family for the past four years," Marra said. "From baby showers to dropping off meals after long nights ... it's hard to step away, but it's the right thing for me and my family at this point.

"It was amazing to watch these kids grow," he continued. "This year was the first crew that I got to coach all four years. There's a lot of close-knit involvement with swim meets and a big part is the parents and volunteers, staying after meets to help out, doing concessions, running the boosters. At Blue Mountain, the coaching staff is very much involved with all of that. The families, parents and volunteers are a huge part of everything.

"My wife and I could not be more grateful for all of their support over the last four years."

Contact the writer: Lboyer@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6026; @pubsportsboss on Twitter