October 23, 2011

Head of the Charles, Boston 

 

Coast Crew at Harvard's Newell Boathouse

Fall racing season kicked off with a bang last weekend with Coast Crew competing in the premier Fall regatta, Boston's "Head of the Charles."  Unlike the Spring "Sprint Season" of 2000 meter races, the Head of the Charles is a grueling three mile race against the clock. Boats twist and turn under bridges and try to pass or not be passed by their competitors.  Approximately 9,000 competitors race, making this the largest two day race in the world.   The banks of the Charles River are overrun with upward of 300,000 spectators who are a combination of friends, parents, competitors, alumni, riggers and coaches. It's a Who's Who of American rowing intermixed with world renowned athletes from around the globe.

 

Coast sent one eight of varsity oarsmen to compete in the 40 boat strong Collegiate Eights event.  On race day, the team uncorked a fantastic performance, passing three boats on the race course and finishing fourth overall, just ¾ of a second out of third place.  This was the best result ever by a Coast Crew at this regatta, with the team defeating several ECAC (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference) powerhouses. 

Indoor rowing tanks at Harvard

Rowing out of the Harvard boathouse, the team experienced the rich history of US rowing (158 years and counting), mingling with the many current and former Olympic and National Team rowers that were there.  Harry Parker, who is celebrating his 50th year as Harvard's Head Coach, greeted us on arrival and loaned us a beautiful Empacher eight for the race.  Coach Dave Grant also made the trip to Boston, and was there to offer words of wisdom and encouragement as the team launched their shell.

 

After the race, the team celebrated their success at the historic Durgin Park restaurant, a fixture in Boston since 1827, and then visited Paul Revere's home, the Old North Church, and Bunker Hill. Overall, it was a short, but incredibly rewarding experience and a great showing for OCC on the East Coast.

 

Racing under the Weeks Footbridge

 

 August 4, 2011

Pat Gleason Named Novice Coach

Pat Gleason has been named to the Coast Crew coaching staff as the Freshman / Novice coach.  Most Coast alumni will recognize Pat from his long association with Coast Crew, and many have either rowed with, or have been coached by him.

Pat is a Coast Alum, starting his rowing career on the '81 and '82 crews, and later transferred to Washington for the '83 and '84 seasons.  He came back and coached the Coast Varsity for a year in '86 when Dave Grant took a sabbatical.  He then spent many years training and competing as an international level triathlete, competing in two Ironman competitions in Hawaii and winning a US National Sprint Triathlon Championship title.  In 2002, he returned to Coast to coach the freshman teams, and won multiple WIRA Championships, and two ECAC National Championship titles over the next seven years.

Pat's deep knowledge of physical training techniques, combined with his experience in the unique challenges of the Coast program will be a huge asset to the team. 


June 17, 2011

Prioleau Named Head Coach

Former Assistant Coach Paul Prioleau has been named as the Head Rowing Coach for the Coast Crew program, beginning in the Fall 2011 semester.  Prioleau has been closely connected to the program for many years, and most recently coached the Novice team for the 2010-11 season.  He brings a wide range of experience to the program, from technical rowing knowledge to personal connections with Head Coaches of many top collegiate rowing programs.  More information on his background can be found in the "Coaches' section of this website.

Many thanks to former coach Matt Chapman for his leadership last year and good luck to him and his young family in his new career.  We know that he will always be a strong supporter of the crew, and look forward to his continued involvement in the future.

May 2, 2011

WIRA CHAMPIONS

WHAT A WEEKEND COAST CREW FANS!

The Orange Coast College Men’s Crew finished the WIRA Championship with a fantastic haul of medals and results, with one Gold, two Silvers, an eighth and a ninth place finish.

The weekend began with very windy conditions on Friday and Saturday, with the wind crossing the course out of the North, from Lane 6 to Lane 1. The wind caused wild racing on Saturday as crews battled the wind as much as each other, but highlighting the best crews of the regatta, as the quality crews handled the conditions the best. But then the conditions calmed, as if on the pleading of the regatta organizers, the conditions became flat, calm, and quite fair.

The Heats on Saturday set up long-awaited showdowns in the Grand Finals for the Men’s Crew with UCSD in the 1st Novice and the JV 8+, while advancing to the Petite Finals were the Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ after tough heats and full efforts.

The Varsity 4+, turned right around after their heat and raced their Petite Final on Saturday, finishing 3rd, and redeeming defeats of UCSD and USD who had defeated the Coast 4+ earlier in the regatta and the year.

Sunday brought finals for all of the Eights, with the 2nd Novice up first. This group had been chomping at the bit to race, and when Sunday came they blasted off the line and out to an early lead. But somewhere around 750m an athlete jumped his slide and the crew went form a length lead to open water down on the leader. The crew regrouped and made a charge to the line, finishing 2nd with deck overlap.With fire in their belly, this is a group that will lead a great Coast Crew next year.

The Finals continued with the Final of 1st Novice Eight, which saw the Coast Crew strike out to an early lead in the first 500m. Then through the middle thousand, the crew continued to move away from the field, working out to 8 seats going into the last 500m. The Coast Novice Crew then realized their best sprint of the year to cross the line 6+ seats up on Gonzaga and open water up on UCSD. A fantastic race! Dominant from start to finish.

The JV then took the cue, and fired off their best race of the season, and following the established pattern, moved to an early lead by the 500m mark. The JV crew, with 5 novices and 3 varsity athletes, then stretched out to a length lead at the 1000m mark. But they may have burned their matches a little early, and the crew saw the UCSD crew mount a ferocious sprint to come through the Coast JV at the line by three seats. But the 2nd place JV finish was their most impressive result, an incredible, courageous row.

The Varsity finished the day with another strong race, battling the UCI crew all the way down the course. The two crews have fought each other all year, and the previous results held true, with the Duvall Hecht coached crew winning the Petite Final and holding a two second advantage at the line. The Crews went 5:56 and 5:58 respectively, and it was the Varsity’s most complete effort of the year. A race the crew was confidant as their best and fullest pull.

It was a fantastic weekend of racing, with great efforts from all of the Coast crews, and the happy retention of the Novice 8 WIRA Championship title.

Now the Crew will settle the boathouse down and reconvene for a few events during the month of May, including the End of the Year Banquet – May 13 at 6:30PM, a possible trip to visit the US National Team, and a boathouse challenge to finish off the year. 

If you would like to continue your support of the young athletes of the Orange Coast College Men’s Crew, please click the link below and select the Men’s Crew from the pull-down menu: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/occf_donate

Thank you for a great year of support and awesome racing.

GO COAST!

April 18, 2011

Stanford Invitational

Coast Crew Fans, the athletes of the Men’s Crew had a great weekend at the Stanford Invitational. 

The Invitational is a collection of colleges from around the country, who come together to compete against each other in a collection of duel races on a unique race course in Redwood City, just South of San Francisco. The Men’s Crew raced crews from UC Davis, Stanford, and California, with a mix of results, but all told, the crews gained valuable experience on the race-course and as a group ahead of the WIRA Championship. 

Saturday Morning held racing against UC Davis and California, with the Varsity and JV racing in a duel against UC Davis, and the Novices racing in a three-way race against UC Davis and the California 2nd Novice. The Varsity had a close race, after a big move from UC Davis in the third 500 meters saw the crews come level with 400 meters to go, but the Varsity responded with their most mature sprint of the year, putting three seats into Davis by the finish line. (Varsity at left)

Saturday Afternoon, racing in to a building quartering headwind, the Varsity and JV (which consisted of 3 sophomores and 5 freshman) took on Stanford University’s Varsity and JV 8+s., while the Novices had their schedule changed and re-rowed their earlier race against Davis and Cal 2nd Novice. The Coast JV had a great race, which saw the young crew hold onto Stanford and push them all the way down the course; it was a really gutsy effort for a very young crew against a much older group from Stanford. 

For the final racing, Sunday Morning, the Varsity raced Cal’s 3rd Varsity, the JV raced the Cal Lightweight Varsity and UC Davis JV (again), and the Novices raced Stanford’s Novice 8+. The Novices put out the race of the weekend, by streaking out to an early length lead by the 750 meter mark and holding that advantage through the third 500 meters and then pushing away from a talented Stanford crew in the final strokes to win by open water. 

It was a great weekend of racing from all crews. And it was a special pleasure to see former Coast oarsmen having such on the water as well; with Stanford Head Coach Craig Amerkhanian leading a very strong group, Wisconsin Head Coach Chris Clark showing the depth and power of his crews from Madison, Liam Saunders sitting in the three seat in Wisconsin’s JV, and Dane Oatman sitting in the bow seat of Cal’s Varsity.  

Full Results:        

Saturday Schedule:

9:20AM - UCD Varsity vs OCC Varsity

  OCC V – 6:03.6 / UC Davis V – 6:04.7

10:00AM - UCD 2V vs OCC 2V

  OCC JV – 6:15.4 / UC Davis JV – 6:22.5

10:30AM - UCD Novice vs OCC Novice & Cal 2nd Novice

  Cal 2nd N – NTT / OCC N - +7sec / UC Davis N - +27.4sec

3:10PM - Cal 2nd Novice vs OCC Novice & UCD Novice

  Cal 2nd N – 6:23.3 / OCC N – 6:28.8 / UC Davis N – 7:11.5

3:40PM - Stanford 2V vs OCC 2V

  Stanford JV – 6:36.5 / OCC JV – 6:45.9

4:10PM - Stanford Varsity vs OCC Varsity

  Stanford V – 6:20.5 / OCC V – 6:42.3

Sunday Schedule:

9:50AM - OCC Varsity vs Cal 3rd Varsity

  Cal 3V – 6:05.4 / OCC V – 6:13.2

10:50AM - Cal Lwt Varsity vs OCC 2V

  OCC JV – 6:18.9 / UC Davis JV – 6:28.1 / Cal Lwt V 6:30.2

11:00AM - Stanford Novice vs OCC Novice

  OCC N – 6:10.0 / Stanford N – 6:14.1

Next Up: WIRA Championship, Lake Natoma, April 30-May 1, 2011.

We hope to see you there to cheer on the Giant Killers!

April 11, 2011

Great Racing at the Newport Regatta

This past weekend, the Orange Coast College Men's Crew hosted the 47th Annual Newport Regatta in wonderfully flat and fair conditions.

With rain on Friday night, and downpours of rain and hail until 6:00AM Saturday, the coaches were hugely worried about the racing conditions, but as if on command, by 6:30AM, the clouds parted, the sun came out, the wind laid down, and perfect racing conditions were on hand.

The Newport Regatta saw a mix of results but all solid performances from the 46 Orange Coast College Men's Crew athletes involved in the racing.

The Orange Coast Novice 4+, of oarsmen Scott Moso, Corey Bell-Wheelans, Joe Heiman, David Seo, and coxswain Brandon Bartlett, opened up the morning with a solid win, showing the great depth of the Crew.

The 1st Novice race turned out to be a barn burner, with UCSD and OCC going right at each other all the way down the course. The UCSD crew was determined to reverse the finish order from the Crew Classic and came through the Coast Crew with less than 100meters to go in the race. But it was a fantastic show of rowing from both crews, battling well in front of the rest of the pack. (Novice race on the right)

In the JV and Varsity races, UCSD put in an incredible display of force as they won both events by clear water. Zach Johnson, Head Coach of the UCSD Men's Crew has done a great job getting three very competitive varsity boats together for race day, and it was a sound defeat of both fields.

In the Varsity and JV races, the script ran very much the same, UCSD took a solid lead by the 750m mark, and then pushed again just after the thousand, breaking loose from the field, and free to fly to the finish. The Coast Varsity and JV crews mounted challenges past the boathouse and on to the 1500m mark, but ultimately couldn't keep pace. (Varsity race to the left)

The positives from the weekend lie in the experience of the oarsmen and the races they put together. Both the Varsity and the JV have had improving performances all year, and each crew was well in the hunt in both of their races all the way down the course. They're a young group, learning how to win and trust their fitness.

The results of the racing at the 47th Newport Regatta are below:

Thank you to all of our many spectators! The coaches received many comments about the great crowd, one of the largest in years - we heard.

And another BIG thank you goes out to all of our parents and supporters who brought food and drinks. It is a huge help and it makes the athletes feel appreciated. Thank you.

Now the Orange Coast Men's Crew heads north to Redwood Shores, to compete against UC Davis, Stanford and Cal at the Stanford Invitational. Coast will be bringing the 1st Novice, JV, and Varsity.  If you are in the Bay Area, we would love to see you at the course Saturday and Sunday morning.

See you there!

GO COAST!

Matthew Chapman                                        Paul Prioleau

Head Coach                                                   Novice Coach

In other races, OCC’s Novice crews won in convincing fashion.  The Novice “A” boat powered out to a three length victory over USD with UCLA finishing third.  In the Novice “B” event, OCC’s “B” and “C” boats staged a fierce battle between themselves, with the “B” boat ultimately claiming victory over the hard-charging “C” boat.  The UCLA Novice “B” crew finished a distant third.

In the Open 4 event, disaster struck the OCC “B” boat.  Leading by two boat lengths, half-way through the 2000 meter race, the stroke man’s oar caught a wave in the choppy water, throwing the oarsman back on his seat.  He was hit on the head by the oar handle of the man behind him, suffering a momentary blackout.  The crew had to retire from the race, and USD went on to defeat UCLA in a photo finish.  OCC’s “A” boat finished less than a second behind in third place.

Their next home regatta is the 47th Annual Newport Regatta on Sat, April 9 against USC, UCLA, UCSD, USD, and UCI.

Results

Varsity 8:

UCLA 6:36.2

OCC 6.39.2

USD 6.43.2

Open 4+:

USD 7:43.0

UCLA 7:43.1

OCC A 7:44.0

OCC B DNF

Frosh/Novice 8:

OCC 6:49.8

USD 6:58.9

UCLA 7:51.8

2nd Frosh/Novice 8:

OCC A 7:00.5

OCC B 7:05.4

UCLA 8:11.5

GO COAST!

Matthew Chapman                                        Paul Prioleau

Head Coach                                                 Novice Coach

The Newport Sprints was raced over 3 kilometers, with three race categories: Novice, JV, and Varsity. The Men’s Crew raced against UCI, USC, UCLA, LMU, the NAC, and showed great speed after a Fall of hard work. The Orange Coast College Men’s Novice Crew was particularly impressive. The Coast Novice ‘C’ and ‘D’ took a great win by finishing 1st and 2nd in the Novice race, beating USC and two UCLA boats. The Coast Novice ‘B’ raced to a commanding victory in the JV race, besting UCI, LMU Varsity, and the NAC. In the most hotly contested race of the day the Coast Novice ‘A’ showed great fitness and aggression to row in the mid-pack of the Varsity race, finishing 6th.

The Orange Coast Varsity crews put together a decent showing in the Varsity race, but felt it wasn’t their best piece. The Varsity was again, as at the Head of the Harbor, split into two even speed boats for the 3K race, and rowed at the front of the race all the way down the course. But ultimately, they succumbed to a charging UCI Varsity, who showed great poise and fitness to win by a length.

Now the Men’s Crew will finish the Fall with a challenging week of training, as they compete against one another in on- and off-water skill and fitness challenges. The Crew will then be off for three weeks for Finals and the Christmas Holiday, but will resume training on January 5th.

Finally, thank you for all of your incredible support and encouragement this Fall. It has been a fun season of training and preparation. We now set our sights on our coming Spring Campaign.

Is an unassociated final note, our esteemed former Head Coach and Orange Coast College President Emeritus Dave Grant will be sworn in as a Coast Community College District Trustee, on Wednesday, December 8th, 6:30 p.m. in the Coast District offices at 1370 Adams Avenue (just across the street from campus on the north side of Adams). If you would like to join us, the Crew would like to show our support for Dave and his election to this influential public position.

GO COAST!

November 22, 2010

Coast Conquers the Head of the Harbor

Saturday, in wet and windy conditions, the Orange Coast College Men’s Crew showed their strength by dominating all three races on the schedule, the Novice 8, Open 4+, and Varsity 8. Raced over 4 kilometers, with a mass, staggered start, featuring crews from OCC, USC, UCLA, LMU, and CSULB, the Head of the Harbor proved to a be a great race and a clear indication that the Fall training is taking effect.

The Men’s Crew boated even eights, meaning the coaches tried to put two even speed boats in both the Novice 8 and Varsity 8 categories. By mixing the Varsity and Novice crews in their respective racing categories, the coaches hoped to provide opportunity and competition within the squad, as crew members continue to compete for top intra-squad ranking.

The Novice 8 race was held under fairer skies, than the later Varsity race, but still provided a mix of conditions to challenge the young coxswains and oarsmen. In a lineup of eight boats across, the Novice race proved a great show of strength and stamina for the Coast Novices, as they raced to a First and Second place finish and a comfortable margin over the Third place crew.

In the Open 4 race, four of the Men’s Crew’s top Novice oarsmen were boated to compete against Varsity crews from LMU and USC. The Coast Novices dominated the race, winning by nearly half a minute over LMU.

Amidst a deluge of rain and wind, the Varsity 8 race was a much tighter affair, with the Second through Fourth place crews in a tight bunch as they came through the last 1000m. Lined NINE boats across, the first of the Coast Varsity Crews took a commanding win, with a clear 14 seconds over the Second place UCI crew, while the second Coast crew came up a little short with a Fourth place finish.

The 2010 edition of the Head of the Harbor was a solid regatta for the Orange Coast College Men’s Crew, and a great show of depth and fitness, from all our crews

GO COAST!

See pictures from the regatta HERE.

November 8, 2010

Strong Showing From COAST CREW

The Orange Coast College Men’s Crew had a great day at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival, this past Sunday, November 7^th, showing early speed and great depth. The Men’s Crew put seven 8’s on the water Sunday, the most for any school at the regatta, and performed well on the 2.8 mile course around Newport Harbor.

With two Varsity 8’s starting back in the pack, the Orange Coast Men’s Crew “A” boat finished as the third college in the Open 8’s Event, behind perennial national power Stanford and defending National Champion UC Berkeley. The Men’s Crew finished their Varsity crews in 7^th and 19^th out of 26.

In the Frosh/Novice 8’s event, the Men’s Crew put a mammoth group on the water, with five 8’s in the event. The Men’s Crew showed their early season form and depth with an incredible finish, placing all five boats in the Top 9 of 16 entered. Finishing 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 7^th, and 9^th, the Men’s Crew is off to a great start with the Novice squad.

The Men’s Crew now settles in for two weeks of training before their next race, November 20^th, in the Port of Los Angeles, against local foes USC and UCLA.

See NARF race pictures here!

2010 Orange Coast College Men’s Crew Newport Autumn Rowing Festival Results:

Men’s Open 8 Final Result                     Men’s Frosh/Novice 8 Final Result

1^st UC Berkeley “A”                             1^st UC Berkeley “A”

2^nd Stanford “A”                                   2^nd UC Berkeley “B”

3^rd UC Berkeley “C”                             3^rd OCC “A”

4^th UC Berkeley “B”                             4^th OCC “C”

5^th The Little Knights                             5^th OCC “B”

6^th Stanford “B”                                    6^th USD “A”

7^th OCC “A”                                        7^th OCC “E”

…                                                         8^th UC Davis

19^th OCC “B”                                      9^th OCC “D”

November 3, 2010

Congratulations Dave,

David A. Grant

COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Governing Board Member, Trustee Area 5a

A huge Congratulations goes out to legendary Head Coach and President Emeritus David A. Grant on winning his election to the Board of Trustees for the Coast Community College District. Dave ran in a county wide election for a seat on the five member Board of Trustees. Dave's incredible knowledge of the district, great wisdom, steady hand, and love for the Coast Community College District Students, Faculty and Staff will help guide the district to deliver the very best student experience.

An incredible accomplishment indeed!

Thank you Dave.

August 26, 2010

Last September the Crew moved into a wonderfully renovated boathouse. It is an impressive structure that provides the best possible rowing experience for the athletes (if you haven’t come by to see it, we really encourage you to come down and take a tour).

Now, the finishing flourish for the new boathouse is about to be complete, with the installation of signage, on the PCH side of the building, reading “David A. Grant Collegiate Rowing Center”.
 
The Crew will be hosting a commemoration for Dave and the building late this Fall, but we have one final detail to properly mark the building - a bronze plaque. We, coaches, alumni, staff, and friends of the Crew, want to recognize Dave for his incredible work and devotion to the Crew. So we are looking for a quote, a saying, or a statement of Dave's, or otherwise, which properly represents the character, leadership, and teaching that Dave has provided the athletes of the Men's Crew.
 
We are eager to hear your thoughts and input. You can submit your quote by sending an email to Head Coach Matthew Chapman - mchapman(at)occ.cccd.edu or submitting your quote to any of our other online platforms.
 
Thank you for all of your wonderful support.
 
Go Coast!