USRowing Announces U19 National Team Coaching Staff

USRowing is pleased to announce the 2024 Under 19 National Team coaching staff, which will lead the team that will represent the United States at the 2024 World Rowing Championships and CanAmMex regattas this August in St. Catherines, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico.

Eric Gehrke returns as men's head coach for the under 19 program, while Caitlin McClain returns as the women's head coach. Supporting Gehrke on the men's side will be boat coaches Matt Grau and Jamie Hamp, while Helen Tilghman and Sarah Gehrke will work with McClain as the women's boat coaches. Nick Haley will return to the U19 Team as the team manager for 2024 and will assist the head coaches with all areas of running camp and leading a successful campaign at the World Rowing Championships. 

USRowing will also welcome Abigayle Young as the lead coach for the CanAmMex Crews that will compete in Mexico City August 6-11. Supporting Coach Young will be Noah Axford and Maddux Castle as assistant coaches for CanAmMex.

"We are very excited for the U19 coaching staff and the consistency we are able to have with Eric Gehrke and Caitlin McClain at the helm," said Brett Gorman, Director of High Performance Pathways. "Our coaches have a strong understanding of the technique and the long term plan for our young athletes in the Pathways program."

Meet the Coaches

Eric Gehrke, Men's Head Coach

Eric Gehrke has been coaching in the USRowing system since 2009. Most recently, he has been the Head Coach of the Men's Under 19 National Team since 2021. During that time, he has coached the eight to two medals, gold in 2021 and bronze in 2022. He is very excited about the connection between the senior national team and the U19 team through the USRowing Pathways system. 

Outside of USRowing, Gehrke is the Director of Rowing at OKC Riversport. He has always tried to challenge himself to create speed at the highest level he could – with coaching stops at Gonzaga College High School, Nashville Rowing, University of Southern California, Saratoga Rowing Association, and George Washington University. His boats have made Youth Nationals grand finals in six different boat classes across sweep and sculling, won Stotesbury and SRAA medals, won the B-final at the IRA National Championships, as well as qualifying for the NCAA Championships. 

Caitlin McClain, Women's Head Coach

Caitlin McClain has been coaching in the USRowing U19 system since 2014.  After 5 years as an assistant working with both sweep and sculling boats, she coached the 2019 JW4x in Tokyo.  In 2021, she became the women's head coach and led her crews to A final finishes in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She is excited to be coaching the women's eight this year and working with an incredible staff of coaches toward a more unified and holistic national team system. 

Beyond USRowing, McClain is the Head Coach at Seattle Pacific University, a Divsion II program, that has competed at NCAAs three of her four years at the helm.  Prior to SPU, Caitlin was at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, WA, for 15 years and built the program into a perennial powerhouse, most recently placing third at Youth Nationals in the youth eight in 2019.

Maddux Castle, CanAmMex Assistant Coach

Having coached Olympic Development (ODP) camps for both men and women in the past, Castle is excited to join the women's CanAmMex staff in 2024. He is the women's head coach at Atlanta Junior Rowing Association, having coached at Sarasota Crew and George Washington University, previously.  

Maddux graduated from George Washington with a degree in International Affairs. Before rowing on the Potomac, he rowed for Sarasota Crew. 

Jenny Cook

Jenny is in her second year as the Team Manager for University of Virginia Rowing where she is studying Kinesiology. She started as a coxswain at Holy Names Academy Crew in Seattle, Wash., which led her to UVA to further her coxing career. Her position in the sport shifted after an injury left her unable to cox, but still passionate about rowing and high-performance athletics. Cook pivoted to data analytics and found her love for coaching and finding new ways to create boat speed. She spent the last two summers as Team Manager for the U.S. U23 women and has completed her Level 2 Coaching Certification.

Zach Gerhardt

Zach Gerhardt was a member of the Bucknell University Crew team in Lewisburg PA, and graduated in May of 2024. During his time with the Bison, he was a four-time member of the varsity eight, helping lead the team to multiple conference championships and several top 10 ACRA team points finishes throughout his career. Prior to his Bucknell rowing career, he rowed at Saratoga Rowing Association earning a gold medal at SRAA Nationals, and a bronze medal at USRowing Youth National Championships in the lightweight eight. In addition, Gerhardt also helped run and coach Saratoga's Learn-to-Row program, expanding rowing in the community that helped him so much. This is his second year interning with the U19 national team. 

Sarah Gehrke, Women's Boat Coach

Sarah Gehrke learned to row in high school at St. Louis Rowing Club before going on to compete for Indiana University as a recruited athlete for four years. Her coaching journey has brought her experience across many levels of rowing including youth, collegiate, international, and masters at a multitude of men's and women's teams throughout the country. She intends to lean on her experiences as a 2019 Trials Junior Worlds Coach, HP (now Selection Development), and ODP Coach in order to make the USRowing Pathways system as successful as possible. Gehrke is currently the Head Women's Coach at OKC Riversport.

Matt Grau, Men's Boat Coach

Matt Grau is the Director of Youth Rowing at Three Rivers Rowing Association in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he has worked since 2017.  He started working with the U19 National Team in 2012, and has served in a variety of roles - including as a coach at the Development, ODP, U17 Racing, High Performance, Selection Development, and CanAmMex camps. He received his USRowing Level III coaching certification in 2020.  

Nick Haley, Team Manager

Nick Haley took his first strokes in high school on the River Thames in London in 1984. He coxed at Georgetown University and began his coaching career in 1994. He has been coaching juniors in Portland, Oregon for thirty years and is the founder and leader of the Rose City Rowing Club. Haley was named to the staff of the Junior National Team for the first time in 1999. Since then, he has served the team as a coach and team manager. 

Jamie Hamp, Men's Boat Coach

Jamie Hamp is the Varsity Boys Head Coach at Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA). He has worked with PNRA for seven years. He rowed at Princeton University and was a member of the U23 national team. 

Helen Tilghman, Women's Boat Coach 

Helen Tilghman began rowing in 2003 at Mt. Baker Rowing and Sailing Center before continuing on to row at the University of Washington. After completing her Masters in Education at UW, she coached several Division-I programs before returning to Seattle. She served as the Director of Rowing and Varsity Women's Head Coach at Mt. Baker until 2020. Tilghman is currently the Head Coach and Program Manager of Pocock Youth Rowing. She is also an Associate Director of the Craftsbury Sculling Center. She began working with the USRowing U19 system in 2018 and completed her Level 3 certification in 2020. 

Abbie Young, CanAmMex Head Coach 

Abbie Young joins the staff as the Head CanAmMex Coach, bringing a wealth of experience in and out of the USRowing system. Young most recently coached the 2022 Men's CanAmMex team, and prior to that, spent time coaching both the men and the women at the Selection Development and CanAmMex levels. She has experience coaching a wide range of proficiencies in sweep, sculling, and coxing at both the junior and collegiate levels, and is currently coaching the varsity women at RowAmerica Rye. As an alumna of every level of the USRowing U19 National Team system, Young recognizes the value of a positive camp experience for all athletes. As a coach, she is committed to helping build a culture that supports that experience. To better inform her coaching style, Young earned a master's degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the cultures and practices of high-performing teams. As an athlete, Young spent three summers with USRowing as part of the junior development, high performance, and world championships teams. She went on to row at Yale, where she raced at three NCAA Championships, winning a silver medal in the women's four with coxswain in 2015.