Sparks Consulting : Catch onto college. Spark your potential.

On Rowing and Life Impact - Produced at Camp

Coaching Staff

Kate Maloney

San Diego Advanced Camp: Kate Maloney

An athlete in the 2000 Olympics, Kate Maloney understands the drive to compete. Since then, she worked as the assistant coach at Yale University for 8 years, and was part of three Division One NCAA championship teams during that time. In addition, she served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Junior National Team Development squad for the last three years. Kate now takes the reigns as Head Coach at Williams College, a program which besides winning the Division III national championships has placed two 8+s in the that races grand final over the last five years. Kate's goal for camp is to stress the relationship of humilty with success.

Head Coach
Williams College

Asst. Coach
U.S. Junior National Team

Marcus McElhenney

San Diego Advanced Camp: Marcus McElhenney

Marcus is a Philadelphia coxswain who's found victory on the Schuylkill and many places elsewhere. After a successful scholastic career in Philadelphia, he coxed the USA Men to three world championship titles and the Olympic Men's 8+ to a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. Marcus is an experienced junior coach and possesses a personal knowledge of many of the country's former US team members coaching on the junior and collegiate levels. He's currently on the US Men's team and in training for the London 2012 Olympics. Marcus is completing a JD/MBA and works as a consultant with Sparks.

Men's Olympic Coxswain
U.S. National Team

Zach Johnson

San Diego Advanced Camp: Zach Johnson

Zach has led UCSD up a incredible ladder of success since his arrival in 2005 after his tenure as head coach at SDSU. On his entry in 2005, Zach's crew became the first ever from UCSD to make the grand final on a national stage at the ECAC national championship. The year after that, they won a silver medal at the same regatta with a boat comprised mostly of walk-ons. UCSD had its first undefeated Fall season in 2007 and finished ranked top 25 in the Division I national poll - in 2008 they ranked 23rd. They became the third Califonia program along with Cal and Stanford to be invited to attend the Division I IRA championships in 2009.

Head Men's Coach
U.C. San Diego

Nich Parker

San Diego Advanced Camp: Nich Parker

Nich Parker comes to camp from Columbia University, where he's served as an assistant coach for past 2 years. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Yale University for 3 years. Additionally, Nich worked with the U.S. Junior National Team as the asssitant coach for their development camp, which occurs by invitation every summer in Pittsburgh, PA. Nich holds two Master's in sport pedagogy and physiology. Nich edited rowing coach/philosopher Jimmy Joy's Book, The Mind's Eye: the evolution of the Athlete's Skills and Consiousness. Nich's goal for camp is to transfer his love of being a student of the sport.

LWT Freshman Coach
Columbia University

Asst. Coach
U.S. Junior National Team

Wayne Berger

San Diego Advanced Camp: Wayner Berger

After attending Deerfield on scholarship, Wayne rowed in college before coaching, teaching history, and acting as an admissions director at Groton. After Groton, Wayne joined the heavyweight men's staff at Harvard and founded the Boston Rowing Club, a top-level competitive summer rowing program for boys that regularly traded races with the junior national team. After five years at Harvard and coaching the BRC, Wayne decided to move back to his alma mater with his wife and two children to coach rowing and work in the college counseling office; he holds an M. Ed. from Harvard.

Head Coach
Deerfield Academy

Head Coach
Boston Rowing Club

An Advanced Winter Rowing Camp

Designed after a request from athletes dreaming of palm trees during exam season, our winter rowing camp in San Diego is a very small, intensive 4 day camp for advanced athletes looking to find insight and an edge before ID camp and/or the spring season. At Sparks, our entire rowing camp staff has dedicated their lives to the sport. Some are Olympians, some have coached national teams, and all currently work full-time in rowing.

While our summer rowing camp is about helping kids connect better with the sport, San Diego is dedicated to a more serious athlete who's already negotiating that connection. We employ our proven standards with good ratios and private coaching. Campers will stay at the Bahia Resort Hotel, which is beachfront. Finally, we're happy to invite high school coaches to attend and exchange ideas with other educators in a great setting if they're able to bring multiple athletes from their team.

Skilled Coxswain Development

We've set aside a small number of slots for coxswains to work in their own intensive program on and off the water. Coxswains are also expected to be on a more serious plane with experience and a desire to exceed others on a highly competitive level.

Implemented with tried and true methods of excellent coxswain education, students will cox then analyze their skills with an Olympic medalist and one of the most accomplished coxswain coaches in the community.

National Team Quality Staff

The enthusiasm and requests we received after our summmer camp made us decide to take a stab at providing a fun (albeit intense) winter rowing experience for folks who simply wanted to get on the water, ramp up for the coming season, and enjoy learning and guidance on a plane higher than that of the normal summer camp experience.

San Diego's camp staff may be well placed in terms of rowing, but all of them are well versed in the national team selection and development process and are happy to work with any and all considering junior national team ID camp later in the winter or competitive summer programs beyond that of normal skill development camps.

Camp Specifics

• Who: A coed camp for all high school athletes ages 14-19
• Size: Limited to two 8+s of men and women
• 2K Guidelines: Suggested 6:50 and 7:55 or better for boys and girls respectively
• Cost: $995 for 2011
• Where: UCSD Boathouse in San Diego, CA. Campers will stay in hotel rooms at the Bahia Hotel
• Questions: Email camp@sparksconsult.com
• Registration: Follow the quick links below to register via credit card
• Supervision: The staff lives among athletes, and students have oversight 24 hours a day. Unhealthy substances are strictly prohibited.
• Payment: May be made in full with a $500 deposit - deposits are non-refundable.
• Refunds: Refunds minus deposit are available until November 28, 2011.

Availability

Camp Schedule: December 18th - December 21st, 2011