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Dan Roock Named SBTC Lead Coach

23.Nov.2011

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center is pleased to announce that Dan Roock has accepted the position of Lead Coach of its Small Boat Training Center (SBTC) program. He will be joining us in this capacity on a year-round, full-time basis after the completion of the collegiate season this spring.

Coach Roock has an extensive background coaching men, women, and lightweights to success across the full gamut of ages from junior to post-collegiate seniors striving for international success. Dan's hire marks a return to the Center of sorts as he has coached many summers at Craftsbury's sculling camp. His depth, experience, and results across a diverse variety of crews makes him well-suited for our program which accepts rowers in a similarly broad range of ages, boats and background.

An area for growth of the SBTC of particular interest to both the Center and Dan is expansion of senior training opportunities. Presently, many senior aged rowers give up their rowing careers quite early, or never even start them after college. Given that most rowers peak athletically in their late 20s and early 30s, increasing the sporting tenure of elite rowers must be a high priority if American boats are to realize their potential in international competition. We look forward to working with Dan to develop a viable living and training option that allows senior athletes to pursue rowing into their prime athletic years.

“The SBTC’s initiative to support senior athlete training is really exciting,” Roock said. “We’ll take full advantage of the existing resources of the Center:  its excellent water; fantastic cross-training; and a supportive community. But we’ll also be working on new angles like further employment opportunities, and searching out a southern site for more early spring training. Ideally, our goal is for SBTC senior athletes to enjoy a sustainable lifestyle that includes career-enhancing employment, family, friends, and high-performance rowing,” Roock added.

While Coach Roock will be first and foremost charged with developing high level athletes, we're equally eager to add his ample interests and skills to the Center's team as we tackle our other mission-related areas. He will apply his considerable talents to our community rowing and fitness programs, as well as in support of our other programming and events as needed. We also anticipate his contributions to the other two legs of the Center's three part mission:  sustainability and conservation. He has a long and abiding interest in environmental issues, holding a master's of science degree in environmental engineering that we hope to draw upon – perhaps starting with our electric launch project that we’re working on.

We welcome Dan to our team and look forward to a long and productive relationship as we build on the successes of the SBTC program, and the wider Center.

History and highlights of Dan Roock's CV

Coach Roock started coaching at Florida Institute of Technology in 1984, before extended involvement with Princeton University, including six years at the helm of the women's rowing program where the Tiger 1V went 59-2 in dual races with multiple EAWRC and National Championships. He spent the next 12 years at Cornell as Director of Rowing and Men's head coach, during which time the Big Red's mens 1V was a mainstay of the national top ten. Most Recently, Dan led the lightweight men of Dartmouth, with the LM1V medalling at the EARC and IRA's this past spring.

Dan has coached extensively over the summer at a variety of USRA National Team postings at the Junior, U23, and Senior levels, including winning gold and bronze medals with the Men’s U-23 8+ (then Nation’s Cup), and winning a gold and silver medal coaching Junior Men’s 8+ crews with Todd Jesdale.