By Sosi Sengal, Staff Reporter
After the departure of its former coach, the crew team welcomed a new face, Bailey Chick. She took over as the new head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ teams at the beginning of the fall crew season in September.
Chick began rowing as a walk-on novice at Temple University in 2006 and has been coaching crew for a total of seven years. She is a USRowing Level 3 certified coach and got her start coaching a novice boys program at the Wilmington Youth Rowing Association. Before joining the ’Stoga crew staff, she was the head coach of the North Allegheny Rowing Association in Pittsburgh for six years, where she led the team to many podium finishes.
“I really enjoy and find value in being the person who introduced and crafted someone’s experience with something that was so important to me,” Chick said.
She enjoys being able to introduce the sport to new athletes while simultaneously creating a strong community built around the sport and its participants. She also works to improve the team as a whole by making small tweaks to the already strong program.
“I wanted to bring my experience in rowing by turning up the systems that were already working and observe what wasn’t working as well,” Chick said. “The team has a really strong foundation, but as a person on the outside looking in, I can make little tweaks to the way that we do things.”
Boys’ crew captain and senior Peter Jacovini believes Chick’s commitment to the her prior accomplishments and her extensive coaching experience make her a valuable addition to the coaching staff and the team.
“My first impression of (Chick) was that she would be a great addition for the coaching staff and the team as a whole,” Jacovini said. “She immediately demonstrated her passion for both rowing and making this the best season possible for our team.”
As a new coach, Chick brings an outside perspective, which she believes will enhance her ability to improve the team. Her strategy is to make small changes while highlighting the tactics that have already been working well for the team. Overall, she sees a lot of potential in the rowers, and believes the team will achieve new heights this season.
“I think there’s a lot of potential in this group. I’m looking forward to finding more speed, whether that’s individual athletes or the boats as a whole,” Chick said. “I want to up the expectations on top of the great expectations of the team already.”
Sosi Sengal can be reached at [email protected].
