Team
Coaches
Dan McNair - Team Director & Men's Head Coach |
Coach Dan started rowing in Augusta in 1992 and coaching in 1998. A national championship gold-medalist as a high school oarsman, in college Dan co-founded and coached the Wake Forest University Rowing Club. After graduation, he assisted the St. Andrew Rowing Club for two years before accepting the Head Coach position. In four years the team grew to record size and the crews posted some of the team's best results to date at Head of the Charles, Schuylkill, "Hooch", the SE Regional Championship and the Youth National Championship Regattas. Over the next 2 1/2 years at Georgia Tech Rowing, Coach Dan assisted with the varsity and novice men's crews. Both squads enjoyed great success nationally and especially as "2nd Place Overall Men" finishers at the Dad Vail Regatta two years in a row. Dan is also a sculling coach at the Atlanta Rowing Club working primarily with new members in small groups. He also coaches private lessons at ARC and founded the "North Rowing" sculling camp. Off the water Dan also consults several college club programs on organizational development and coordinates ongoing coaching education events. By profession, Dan coaches business leaders through organizational development and small business management. He is excited to return to SARC and will continue to assist GT from time to time.
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Men's Squad
Peter Zakshevsky - Varsity Assistant Coach |
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Peter rowed at Saint Andrew for four years and competed as a collegiate lightweight at Tulane University. He's been a member of the SA coaching staff off and on since 2004 and is looking forward to working with the Varsity Men for another season.
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Paul Merrion - Freshmen/Novice Assistant Coach |
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Paul began rowing at St. Andrew in the spring of his freshmen year, where he continued to compete until he graduated. His many seasons at SA were highlighted by several trips to the Youth Invitational Championship Regatta. In addition to racing at nationals as a sophomore, Paul served as an alternate his junior year and was awarded Most Valuable Oarsman, then competed again his senior year as the bowman in the men's eight that set a (then) team record with a 6:01.4. Paul is USRowing level I certified, coached for SA for two and a half years from 2003 to 2005, and had a boat that finished third at Southeasterns in '05. Paul has taken a two year break due to schedule conflicts with his studies as an Art Education major at Kennesaw State University, but is glad to be back with the team and anticipates as much or more success with the novices this season.
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Women's Squad
Katherine (Kat) Mejias – Varsity Coach |
Katherine rowed from 1997 – 2002 for Georgia Tech Crew. She competed as a lightweight, finishing in 4th place at Dad Vails in the light 8+ in 2002. She then got a job in Aiken, SC, and spent one year coaching novices for the Augusta Junior Rowing Club and two more years helping and rowing with the Augusta Master’s. A job change brought her back to Atlanta and she began coaching the Novice Women for Saint Andrew in the spring of 2006. Katherine is working on her Level III Coaching Certification. She is a nuclear engineer working at NISYS where she watches neutrons collide (or scatter) and keeps the world safe from nuclear disaster. She is recently married and she and her husband Nicholas are the proud parents of two adorable puppies Lucia & Pablo.
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Erin Toole - Freshmen/Novice Coach |
Erin was a coxswain for Wake Forest University, spent a year coaching Novice Men at the US Military Academy at West Point, and came to SA in the Fall of 2006 coaching the Novice Women. In her free time she is an assistant manager at Bloom Boutique.
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Ford Heiner - Assistant Coach |
Sculling Program
Bridget Blair – Lead Coach |
Bridget brings nearly fourteen years of junior, collegiate and masters coaching experience to St. Andrew's. She got her start coaching in her native Pittsburgh at the Allegheny River Rowing Club, where her junior crews enjoyed success in both sculling and sweep events at head and sprint races across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic circuit and at US Nationals. After moving to Atlanta, she coached at the Lake Lanier Rowing Club, Brenau University and at the Atlanta Junior Rowing Association. She served as competition secretariat coordinator for rowing at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and served for six years on the USRowing board of directors. She is a USRowing Level II certified coach and will receive her Level III certification in December. Bridget is self-employed as a home structural repairs specialist and has a large family of quadrupedal creatures at home.
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Bridget Fowler - Assistant Women's Coach & Sculling Coach |