ABOUT COACH WILLIAM McLEAN
William McLean's first season as head crew coach at Rochester begins this fall. He has a proven ability to help younger rowers make gains in technique so they become stronger competitors.
"His most successful coaching performance was probably helping a novice women's crew win a silver medal at the Champion Collegiate Regatta in Wooster, Massachusetts," said Aaron Arner, captain of the men's crew at Rochester. "Coach McLean plans to help us explore new kinds of physical training and techniques to help us improve our boat speed," said Arner.
McLean, 27, rowed as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and began his coaching career there as the novice coach.
After finishing the 1992 season in Wilmington, McLean joined the U.S. Rowing Association's Development Camp as assistant men's coach. He helped the men's four team shave 35 seconds off its time over the summer to post a fifth-place finish in the senior final of the Canadian Henley Regatta.
From September 1992 to August, 1993, he coached for the Three Rivers Rowing Association High School Crew and guided the women's novice four team to a gold medal in the Pittsburgh Scholastic Sprints. In the summer of 1993, as head coach of men's crew for the Three Rivers Rowing Association Collegiate Camp, he focused on improving technique. He led the men's eight and men's four teams to first place finishes.
At North Allegheny High School in Wexford, PA he doubled the size of the rowing program and helped the men's and women's varsity teams win silver medals. At Mt. Lebanon High School in 1994, he led the men's novice eight to a second-place finish at the Mercyhurst Invitational.
His more recent coaching positions have been at the collegiate and adult levels. When he was assistant men's coach at the Pennsylvania Athletic Club, the men's intermediate 8 team took the gold medal at the Independence Day regatta and then went on to win both the Intermediate eight and Open eight dash at the Royal Canadian Henley.
Most recently, McLean has coached novice women at Ohio State, leading the women's eight crew to championships at both the Big Ten and Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta. His crew also silvered at the Champion International Collegiate Regatta.