Coach Development: Continuing Education

Hey coach, what’s your plan this year for professional development and continuing education?

Doctors, lawyers, and accountants—real professionals in the eyes of society—all have continuing-education requirements for certification in most states. For accountants, it’s usually 40 hours.

Like lawyers themselves, the requirements for attorneys vary widely, but ever-changing laws compel professional development.

To maintain their board certifications, physicians must complete continuing medical education (CME) every two years (in most cases). An entire industry of conferences—in appealing destinations—has grown to address the necessity of CME.

We rowing coaches want to be respected as the legitimate professionals we are, but what’s our record when it comes to professional development and continuing education?

Mixed, at best.

USRowing offers certification levels, currently from 0 to 3, that enable rowing coaches to earn credentials from the USOPC-recognized national governing body of our sport. While those certification levels get plenty of criticism from veteran rowing coaches (some of it deserved), third-party validation is invaluable, especially for schools, which are understandably risk-adverse and sensitive to liability.

The safety training required for Level 1 certification alone is worth the relatively minor investment of time, money, and energy. Anyone who purports to be a rowing coach in America should have at least that level of certified professional skill.

USRowing Level 1 certification, like most rowing continuing education and professional development in the post-Covid era, is available online. That’s great for containing costs and making it accessible. In other words, no excuses.

If you’re not pursuing continuing education and professional development, “you’ve stunted your growth,” said Peter Steenstra, head rowing coach at Bates College, which has won the NCAA Division III national championship five times. “You’re not getting better.”

Steenstra and his college boatmate Mark Davis, head coach of Seattle Prep, run The Conference for Rowing Coaches, successor to the late Jim Joy’s Joy of Sculling Conference.

Ohio State head coach Emily Gackowski agrees with Steenstra that the greatest benefit is the in-person experience. The casual atmosphere of a coaching conference fosters serendipitous exchanges and provides opportunities to learn that just don’t happen looking at a screen.

“Conferences are a chance to acquire contacts and establish a connection with others,” said Gackowski, who attended the 2023 Women’s Coaching Conference on a Shimano scholarship as an assistant coach before becoming head coach in 2024.

“I found the conference to be extremely insightful. A lot of coaching staffs, at both the club and collegiate level, end up in an echo chamber because we don’t want to show our cards and give away our competitive edge.

“That makes it tough to bring in new ideas and thought processes, and ultimately coaches fall into the trap of hearing only voices that agree.

“Attending a conference gives you the opportunity to learn from others and talk with others without feeling like you’re giving away your edge. It allows you to expand your network.”

The most valuable lessons of a conference commonly occur between the formal presentations. Chance encounters, friendly introductions, and impromptu conversations spark discussions, offer insights, and start relationships that can be far-reaching and transformative. You enhance your odds of success when you surround yourself with other rowing coaches who are just as motivated to improve.

“Just being together is what makes that happen,” Steenstra said. “When you hear stories from older coaches about how they dealt with conflicts on the team or with administrators—stuff for which there’s no playbook—you learn from those experiences.”

Not to mention getting your next job or hiring your next assistant.

“This is how I met Mari Sundbo, the person I ended up hiring as our recruiting coordinator,” Gackowski said. “I often thank myself for going outside my comfort zone to get to know others, because Mari is incredible, and I never would have known her had I not attended the WCC.”

Act like a real professional and attend a rowing conference this year.

Chip Davis is the founder and publisher of Rowing News. An oarsman from birth, he rowed on championship crews at St. Paul’s School and Dartmouth College, where he captained the lightweights. Now he sculls in Vermont when the weather is suitable and ergs the other half of the year.