Coaches

Steve Wagner - Director

Steve has been directing very successful sculling programs for the past 25 years, providing outstanding coaching and a relaxing, supportive and fun environment. Once again, he has brought together a great group of coaches.

Steve has been the Head Coach at Rutgers University for the past 20 years. Under Steve's coaching, Rutgers has produced many Olympic and National Team Oarsmen, and many fine crews. Most recently, his 2003 Men's Varsity Heavyweight 8 made the Grand Final of the EARC Sprints and went on to the Final of the Henley Royal Regatta in England.

Jim Barker

Jim Barker has been coaching sculling at the Undine Boat Club and the Haverford School for over 40 years. He has mentored many National and Olympic Scullers, including three Diamond Sculls winners and two World Champions. Under his direction, the Haverford School has won more National titles than any other school in the history of high school rowing. Jim has been US National Team sculling coach several times.

As a competitor, Jim won 24 elite National Championships. Jim was inducted into the US Rowing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Jim Joy

Jim Joy has had a distinguished career as an athlete, coach, and as Director of the Canadian National Team. For the past 35 years, he has been a leader in the area of coaching education, putting together seminars for coaches all over the world. His "Joy of Sculling Coaches Conferences" have become the top program of it's kind, and his many years of teaching sculling clinics and camps makes him unique in the sculling world.

Dan Roock

Dan is the Director of Rowing and Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew at Cornell. His 2002 Varsity squad placed 5 crews in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship finals. Before his tenure at Cornell, Dan was the head coach of the Princeton Women's Crew, leading them to three consecutive National titles. He has been a coach for the National Rowing Team several years, and in 1999 was named the United States Olympic Committee Development Coach of the Year for his work leading the under 23 US National team to a gold medal at the World Championships.

Melanie Onufrieff

Melanie Onufrieff, who forged a strong women's crew program at Cornell during six years as the crew's head women's rowing coach, was named head women's rowing coach at Columbia last September. At Cornell, she was named the 2002 NCAA Regional Coach of the Year, leading the Cornell Varsity 8 to the NCAA Championship Regatta for the first time ever. Before taking over the Cornell program, Melanie served as Novice Coach at Princeton for two years, leading the first eight to a silver medal in at the 1997 Eastern Sprints, and winning the title the next year. In 1996, she coached the Rutgers Novice eight to a silver medal at the Sprints, the best finish ever for a women's eight at Rutgers. Melanie was captain of the University of Pennsylvania Women's Crew for two years and was twice named to the Academic All-Ivy Squad.

Linda Muri

Linda is the Freshmen lightweight Crew Coach at Harvard. Linda's coaching experience includes four years at the Middlesex School, Community Rowing, and several rowing clinics and camps. Before arriving at Harvard, she spent three years as the Freshmen lightweight Coach at Cornell where she led her top freshmen 8 to a silver medal at the 1999 Eastern Sprints.

Linda has won 18 National Championships as a competitor, and is a nine year member of the U.S. Rowing National Team as both a sweep oarswoman and a sculler. She is a three-time World Champion, and also has won a bronze and a silver medal at the World Championships. Linda has twice won the CRASH-B Indoor World Championship.

Brian Thorne

Brian Thorne has been a successful sculling competitor and coach for the past 35 years. Brian represented Canada in the lightweight single scull from 1974 - 1984, winning two World Championship medals. He won the Championship Single at the 1976 Canadian Henley and the 1976 Olympic Single Scull Trials. Brian won a silver medal in the double at the 1987 Pan American Games, and this Fall will compete in his 29th consecutive Head of the Charles. Brian has represented the St. Catharines Rowing Club as a competitor and coach for almost 40 years.

Peter Olrich

Peter is currently the Associate Director of College Counseling and Head Crew Coach at the Brooks School. He served as Director of the Florida Rowing Center for four years, Program Director and Head Coach of the master's program at Community Rowing of Boston for two years, and was Coach for Boston College for two years. He has coached many camps and clinics over the past 18 years.

As a competitor, Peter is a 3-time NEIRA Singles Champion and spent his college carreer on the Harvard Lightweight Varsity. After college, Peter continued to compete at the highest level in sculling, winning two National Championships and two Canadian Henley Championships as well as competing in the '96 Olympic Trials.

Dan Perkins

Dan is currently the Freshmen Crew Coach at MIT. He has also served on the coaching staff at Tufts University, the Cincinatti Junior Rowing Club, and various sculling camps and clinics the past several years.

Dan's competitive career began while at Kent School, and he won a Bronze Medal at the Junior World Championships. Dan went on to Dartmouth, where he was Varsity Heavyweight Captain for two years. He sculled in the under 23 World Championships, stroking the US Quad, and was a sculler on the US National Team in 1999 and 2001.

Jaclyn Wagner

Jackie has served on the coaching staff at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols School and at Community Rowing of Boston. She has coached at numerous sculling camps and clinics over the past 7 years. Jackie learned to scull at an early age, and went on to Rutgers, where she was captain of the Varsity Women's Crew and qualified for the NCAA Championships her senior year.

Prescott Huidekoper

Prescott is currently coaching sculling at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia. He was a member of the University of Pennsylvania Heavyweight Crew for four years. He went on to coach at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols, Episcopal Academy and Haverford School, working under head coach Jim Barker. Over the years he has produced several Philadelphia Freshmen/Novice City Championship Crews. Prescott has over 25 years of coaching experience and has been featured at several sculling camps and clinics. He is also a teacher and a Ceritfied Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach.