Rowers Choice - Innovating Rowing

3 time Olympian. 3 time World Champ. Who wouldn't want to row for Bryan Volpenhein. Penn's Heavyweight mens rowing coach, Bryan Volpenhein, is a fierce competitor and is bringing that energy to Penn. Late to the sport, Bryan started rowing at Ohio State and quickly climbed the USRowing ladder. After a heartbreaking silver at the worlds in 2003, his race in Athens was legendary. Now Bryan is buildi...

Asiya Mahmud got her start at a small program in Oak Crest, NJ. Now she is the Associate Head Coach of Rowing at Drexel University. Additionally, Asiya spent the summer of 2021 coaching the US Junior National Womens 4+ to Gold at the world championships! She is an amazing leader around the water and Drexel is very lucky to have her. To learn more about Drexel Rowing and connect with Asiya, check o...

Martin Stone got his start as a freshman at St. Marys College, started in a wooden Pocock 8+ and he was hooked! After coaching at Navy for a few years, Martin had the opportunity to build a program at Notre Dame and jumped at the opportunity. After taking the job in 1997, Martin has spent the last 25 years building an incredible program at Notre Dame. To learn more about Martin and get in touch wi...

He could have been a landscape architect... If it wasn't for a quick conversation with his coach Stew Stokes on a dock when he was a senior at UMass, Eric Carcich may have never ended up in coaching. After graduation, Eric got into coaching, starting at Umass, and quickly had the coaching bug. Over a 20 + career at starting at UMass, Yale, Penn, George Washington, and Cornell, Coach Carcich is now...

Cory Conzemius has been around rowing for a long time. He is constantly making programs faster, first up and down the east coast, then in the midwest, and now in the central plains. Cory's willingness to grow and try new things has given him the opportunity to grow into the great coach he has become. Now at Oklahoma City University, Cory has a vision to make Oklahoma City into the powerhouse progr...

Things could have turned out much different for Columbia University coach Nich Lee Parker. The goal was music, the result is being one of the top lightweight mens rowing coaches in the country. Things weren't always perfect for Nich, but after a humbling introduction to rowing a 2000m piece [thanks to Olympian Bryan Volpenheim], Nich got hooked on rowing and never looked back. Ohio State, Purdue,...

"Tall Athletes Wanted; or those tough enough to make up the difference!" Looking for something to do while at college, Rebecca wasn't going to shy away from that note. Rebecca first learned to row at UCSB, and now, just a few years later has worked her way up and earned herself the head coaching role at Fordham University in New York City. Alex and Rebecca have a great conversation about her path...

Rowers Choice Live - January 2022 - Dallas On January 31, 2022, We brought two coaches to Dallas to talk rowing. Dave O'Neill of Texas and Nick Johnson of Barry came to Dallas with us to discuss three main topics. 1. The Future of high school, college and national team rowing. 2. How do you prepare for the transition between High School and College? 3. What is the best way to navigate the recruiti...

Its very fitting that John Boyd is now the head coach at Iona College, after all it is where he first learned to row! John was part of a successful Iona team as a student, and in 2019, returned to Iona to take the helm. Alex has a great conversation with John, discussing his journey through coaching, starting at Radnor in Philadelphia before his return to Iona. If you are interested in learning mo...

Sam Pratt was 5 years old when he first sat on a rowing machine. Son of two British rowers, Sam was destined to be in and around rowing. Alex has an excellent conversation with Sam about his journey through rowing to his current role as head coach of Adrian College Crew.

2022e2 Nick Johnson Barry University Nick Johnson is the head coach at Barry University and has been coaching for quite a while. He started as a high school coach, gaining some great experience working with a number of teams in the Washington DC area. Now at Barry University, he has a great squad and year round rowing in sunny Miami! Interested in rowing at Barry University? Check them out here: h...

2022e1 Jaclyn Smith Long Island University Rowing Jacklyn Smith got her start on Long Island, so its only appropriate that she is now the head coach of Long Island University. This brand new program has an experienced, Olympian leading the charge for their brand new program. Listen to Alex and Jaclyn discuss her introduction to rowing, her path to the Olympics and her new role as the head coach at...

We end this years podcasts with an awesome conversation with University of Minnesota Womens head coach, Alicea Strodel. Alicea took over the Gophers mid pandemic, and has been working to create an exciting new culture. She has a long history of rowing at Syracuse University prior to Minnesota as well. This is an excellent way to end our 2021 podcasts! Be sure to check out University of Minnesota W...

Kate Sweeney was born to be a part of Ohio State. A third generation Buckeye, Kate attended and now is the head coach at Ohio's most prestigious institution. Listen to this great conversation between Kate and Alex. Find out more about Ohio State Rowing and connect with Kate at https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/w-rowing/

Gregg Hartsuff started rowing by accident. He was supposed to be playing football! Considering he was a 'late starter', it's incredible that Gregg has been the head coach at University of Michigan Men's rowing since 1992. His rowing knowledge is seemingly endless, he is a founder of ACRA rowing and he has made Michigan rowing a powerhouse program. Don't miss this podcast and be sure to check out M...

Debbie Prowse had an amazing high school and college career at Holy Spirit High School and Boston University, before taking time away from rowing to raise her family. Now she is back in the mix as the head coach at Liberty University!

Craig White is on a mission. He has a vision and a drive to change the sport for the better and knows what it is going to take to get it done. He isn't the loudest out there, but he is talking about what needs to happen, and is actually making the changes and doing the things that the sport of rowing needs to improve. This wasn't our traditional 1-on-1 podcast. Craig brought along some of his athl...

November 2021 - USRowing has recently voted to change the by laws and try to guide USRowing in a positive and forward direction. Alex had the chance to sit down with USRowing Board of Directors President Nobu Ishizuka and discuss the changes, what USRowing is trying to accomplish with the changes, and the future of USRowing.

Brian Conley is the Head Coach at Lehigh University. With experience at St. Joes Prep, Penn, Lower Merion, Dartmouth, and now Lehigh, Brian has been in and around rowing for a long time. He has used this experience to build one of the fastest programs in the Patriot League. He is an amazing coach and Lehigh is an amazing place to row. Check Lehigh Rowing out at https://lehighsports.com/sports/wome...

Stephanie Ricker is the new head coach of Bryant University. She has great experience from a number of good schools, has overcome some difficulties, and is now on track to lead the new D1 team at Bryant University. Be sure to check this podcast out!

When describing Bebe Bryans, "Successful" might be an understatement. With 13 consecutive NCAA appearances, she is clearly on another level. BeBe and Alex sit down and talk about her start in rowing, coaching at Georgetown, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, and the time she could have run over Bill Clinton. She was a wonderful guest and we hope you enjoy this podcast!

2021e9 - Rowers Choice Podcast - Falesha Thrash Alex sits down with Texas Rowing Center head coach Falesha Thrash to talk about her rowing background and he finds out about something that the Texas Rowing Center offers, that we have, literally, actually literally have never heard of. This concept is an awesome idea to grow the junior rowing! Check the podcast out!

Alex and John go back a long way! This is a great interview with one of the best rowing coaches in the country, Stockton University Head Coach John Bancheri. Its a dont miss interview where John and Alex talk about Johns rowing background, his coaching styles and his new coaching role. #rowing #usrowing

2021e6 - Rowers Choice Podcast - Anita DeFrantz At this point, we have done a number of great podcasts. This one is one of our best yet. Alex gets the chance to sit down with and have a great conversation with rowing legend Anita DeFrantz. The have an amazing conversation about her start and career in rowing, and everything that we can continue to do to move the sport forward.

Cam Kiosoglous has been a USRowing coach since 2002. He grew up in Australia and moved to the US some 20 years ago. His passion and knowledge of rowing is extraordinary. He and Alex sit down and have an awesome conversation! Enjoy!