“It’s an honor to be part of the LUC family. Every day I look forward to the rewarding work of keeping the boathouse running smoothly.”
Mara found her passion for rowing in 1988. She found her permanent rowing home at Lake Union Crew in 1998. Over the years Mara has worn many hats at LUC, from rower, to volunteer, to coach. Now as director, she is responsible for day-to-day operations and anything else possible to keep the boathouse running like a fast eight.
Patty started rowing in 2011 and immediately fell in love with the sport, and with Lake Union Crew. Patty’s favorite part about coaching is passing on her enthusiasm for rowing to new rowers. Anyone who walks in the door and meets Patty catches her passion and has a great time.
Novice Competitive Team, Advanced Sweep and Scull, Sweep and Scull, Competitive Sculling
Brian learned at Lake Union Crew back in the day when we had an amazing junior program. He came back to LUC to row and coach a few years ago. Now, Brian runs multiple programs at the boathouse. We all appreciate his leadership and perspective at LUC.
“Rowing has taught me that there is no finish line. You can always push a little harder, go a little farther and do a little more, on the water or off. As a coach, rowing continues to provide opportunities for me to learn and grow and I love creating those opportunities for others.”
Amy began rowing in high school with Mount Baker Crew, and in college, rowed for Radcliffe. She was a member of the US Junior National (U19) team, and has won nationals at the junior, collegiate, and masters level. Amy is a USRowing Level 3 certified coach, and in addition coaching masters at LUC, she is the Head Coach for Eastside Prep.
Advanced Rowing Group, Sweep and Scull, Private Lessons
Gil has been rowing with LUC for years now (do we even remember when he wasn’t here?) and not only coaches a fantastic group of evening rowers, he backs us up in the shop with all things that need an extra hand. His experience in strength building and passion in rowing make him a fantastic coach and he does many of our private lessons for everyone from youth beginning rowers to experienced masters.
Adrian is a jack of all trades at the boathouse; he is a coach, regatta master, coxswain, boat fixer, and always has the tool you need for the job. If something is working really well at the boathouse Adrian is usually behind it. You can find him out flying around the lake in a single when he’s not driving a coaching launch or fixing something.
“I love the satisfaction of passing on to others my love of rowing and the possibility of experiencing what I have.”
Marilyn took an LUC Learn to Row class in the spring of 2004 and it was love at first stroke. After just 15 months of rowing, she was tapped to move up to the Women’s Nationally Competitive team, and 2006 was a memorable and incredibly exciting year of rowing, racing, and medals. What a thrill at age 60!!! Marilyn now coaches, taking great pleasure in watching people move from Learn to Row as beginning rowers to budding, competitive athletes.
Tiffany has been rowing since 2006 and coaching since 2014. As a coach, she enjoys motivating athletes—especially those who didn’t row in high school or college—to push themselves beyond their self-perceived limits. She encourages people to be active, to stay fit, and to have fun. In her opinion, there’s no better sport for that than rowing!
Tiffany’s favorite rowing memories are winning the San Diego Crew Classic Women’s B race in 2013 and taking gold in the Novice Women’s 4+ at the NW Master’s Regionals in 2007.
Having rowed for the Huskies’ class of ’83, earning a silver medal in the men’s coxed four at the 1984 Olympic games, and competing in the coxless pair at the 1988 Olympics, Ed’s competitive rowing past is an asset that all at the boathouse appreciate. Along with rowing, Ed has competed in the X-Games as a rollerblader, and enjoys riding long distances on his bike.
Matt has coached many programs at LUC over the years and even started out rowing on the SU team when they rowed out of our old boathouse. He’s coached for SU, Lake Stevens, Green Lake and Mount Baker and we’re happy he calls LUC home.
Kathleen rowed in college and continued later at LUC just after it started in 1998 and has been rowing and racing ever since. She found time to coach in 2019 and hasn’t been scared off yet. Her Learn to Row students and co-coaches have a great time with her and enjoy her patience, humor, and expertise. Kathleen breaks down the rowing stroke and technique into bite sized peices for everyone with joy.
Ona has been rowing with our Nationally Competitive team for years and started coaching in mid 2021after retiring. She really enjoys having more time on the water and helping people enjoy the sport she loves so much when she’s not climbing mountains, skiing, or running marathons.
Garren grew up in the Seattle area and started rowing in November, 2018. He and his wife have a pug named Worf and a little rescue named Merlin. When not rowing, Garren enjoys watercolor painting and bicycling.
Aidan has been rowing with Lake Union Crew since he was in eighth grade, and now coaches there in the evenings. He brings a wealth of experience from rowing in middle school, his competitive career in high school, a brief stint training as an elite, and his current niche as a masters rower. After training with novices, Olympians, and everyone in between, he has a deep passion for long-term, sustainable athlete development and the joy that comes from hard work with friends. In his free time, he’s usually in the weight room, on his bike, or daydreaming about his goal of hitting all 61 of the National Parks.
Matt grew up in Chicago, IL where he learned to row as a student at Loyola Academy. Since then his competitive career as an athlete and coach has seen him represent 13 different organizations in competition. In his first job after graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Matt lead the New Trier Boys Crew to their first SRAA National Championship in 2007. After moving to Boston, Matt founded the Institute for Rowing Leadership in 2010, guiding the organization from the initial planning stages to the submission of its accreditation folio to the National Council for the Accreditation of Coaching Education in 2014, all while coaching the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School to its first appearances at the both the NEIRA and USRowing Youth National Championships. Since moving to Seattle, Matt started the Seattle Prep Boys Crew with nine novices in 2016 and over the course of the next two years qualified 3 boats for the USRowing Youth National Championships, winning a Bronze Medal in the Men’s Youth 1x in 2018.
Matt’s interests in entrepreneurship, leadership and education extend far outside the coach’s launch, having spent time as the President of the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association, Lead Educator at CRI’s Executive Leadership Training Program (Boston, MA), and English Teacher at both New Trier High School (Winnetka, IL) and the Lakeside School (Seattle, WA).
Hugh Tompkins IV has experience coaching junior, collegiate and masters rowing. Hugh ran the freshman men’s program at the University of Florida and coached a summer program for Holy Names Academy at Pocock. He has been coaching masters rowing at Lake Union Crew since 2011 and is currently the Nationally Competitive Women’s coach.
His career as an athlete started in 1992 at rowing powerhouse Winter Park High School in central Florida. As a junior Hugh won multiple state championships and placed 2nd in the Championship 4+ at Stotesbury. After 3 years of rowing in high school, Hugh moved on to the University of Florida, stroking the lightweight varsity eight as a freshman. After five years of rowing in the gator infested lakes of Florida, Hugh transferred to the predator-free waters at the University of Washington where he stroked the varsity 4+ for two years.
Now he’s back coaching the very team in FL where he learned to row and guest coaches when he’s in town.
