MCLEAN HIGH SCHOOL CREW CLUB ~ WOMEN’S COACHING STAFF
Chris Gordon begins his 14th season as the women’s head coach of McLean crew. Gordon one of the founding members of the McLean Crew Club remembers fondly when 6 parents met at a home in 1997 McLean to discuss the possibility of starting a club program at McLean High School to compete in scholastic rowing. Highlights of his tenure at McLean include 28 State and Regional Championships 3 national championships in 2000, 2001, and 2003, 2 Stotesbury Titles, 8 Mid Atlantic Erg Sprint Team Titles and the placement of 25 rowers on the Washington Post All – Met First Team and Honorable Mention, as well as 17 Washington Post All Met “Best Boats”, one hammer at Crash-B’s and 4 US Rowing Honor Roll recipients. Gordon started his rowing career on the banks of the Potomac with the legendary crew coach Charlie Butt Jr. and the Washington-Lee Generals where Gordon accolades include wining 3 State titles 2 Stotesbury titles 2 National titles along with international titles at the Canadian Henley and Henley Royal Regatta. Gordon was on the last official Scholastic Championship boat from the State of Virginia to win the coveted “Princess Elizabeth Cup” at Henley commonly known as the Scholastic World Championships. Prior to coaching at McLean High School, Gordon coached at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. (‘91–‘95), to gain multiple ISA Championships and both ACC and Dad Vail victories. Gordon hopes that this year’s women’s program will have unprecedented success that will propel them to the next plateau on the national venue; stating, “It’s not what you achieve in life that defines you, it’s what you overcome.”
Morgan Ferguson started coaching with the women’s team of McLean Crew Club in Fall 2006. Ferguson was an Alumni rower at McLean High School with an undefeated regular season in the quad, and a 2-time state champion in both the Junior Four and the Quad. At the prestigious Stotesbury Regatta her Junior Four boat placed 2nd and returning to row in the Quad they took 1st place. Ferguson’s National rankings were just as impressive with the Junior Four taking third, based on times from heats as the race was canceled due to bad weather. Then rowing again at Nationals in the Quad where they took 1st place, yet again. The remarkable season for the Quad earned Ferguson an invitation to the Cincinnati Youth Invitational where they placed 3rd and then the Quad went on to compete at the super bowl of rowing, the Women's Henley Regatta in England. Ferguson took her love of rowing with her to college and fortified the inception of the first crew club at James Madison University. Ferguson describes her coaching style as a collected effort complementary to the women’s Head Coach, Chris Gordon. “We have a teamed coaching style, when he is lax, I toughen up; when I am lax, then he toughens up. I guess we alternate the good cop/bad cop roles.” Ferguson explains. Her prediction for this season, “We have a great deal of talent this year, across the board. Hopefully this will lead to the promising results that Chris and I hope for.” “We will have to see how the boats pan out when we hit the water. Overall, I don’t think we will have many disappointments and we will be able to uphold the McLean Crew Club name!”
Bobby Meeks began coaching the men’s team of McLean High School Crew in 2000. Meeks got his start in rowing at Washington & Lee High School in 1969. Under the tutelage of legendary men's head coach Charlie Butt, Meeks went on to win two national championships and three Stotesbury Cup titles during his high school career. As a rising senior, he was also selected to be on the U.S. Men's Junior National team and competed in Bled Yugoslavia. Meeks began coaching in 1971 with the dive team at Dominion Hills, where he also dove, and is now coaching the dive team at Yorktown High School. Meeks also was the head men's coach at Yorktown High School for their crew team from 1999-2003. A truly diverse athlete, Meeks continues to have a passion for both diving and rowing to this day. He was attracted to the young McLean Crew program by his friend and Washington & Lee fellow rower Chris Gordon. "When I first started coaching at McLean, we were happy to finish a race," says Meeks, "and now we row eights. Each year we've done progressively better." Affectionately known to his rowers as simply 'Bobby', Meeks shuns the hard-nosed coaching style. He prefers to let his rowers find their own motivation to succeed. "We have a lot of potential this year. I have high hopes for the seasons ahead," says Meeks.
Zach Stimart started his coaching career with McLean Crew in the 2007-2008 season where he coached the McLean men's lightweight eight boat. Stimart continues the 2009 season as the boy’s assistant coach and will work with all of the men’s boats. Stimart graduated McLean High School in 2003 and rowed all four years. He has three Tri-State titles in the men's lightweight four, varsity double and varsity four and placed second in both the Stotesbury Cup and National Championship competitions in the varsity double. Stimart was awarded MVP his senior year at McLean. At Marietta College, Stimart's most notable accomplishments were winning the men's varsity heavyweight eight category at the prestigious International Dad Vail Regatta and winning the men's varsity pair in the U.S. Summer Nationals in 2007. Stimart returned to the McLean Crew program in fall of 2007 and describes his coaching style as "Aggressive. I'm the 'bad cop' to Bobby's 'good cop.” "I want to train the kids harder than anyone has ever been trained at McLean." Stimart looks forward to the year ahead with cautious optimism: "I really think we have great potential this year. We can win States and do very well at Nationals. We certainly have much more potential than we ever had when I was a rower."