Coaches

The New York Athletic Club offers its members some of the finest coaching in the country. These individuals have earned their place at the New York Athletic Club with their impressive backgrounds and coaching skills.
 
NYAC ROWING COACHING STAFF
Vincent Ventura, Rowing Chairman & Head Coach, Women's Rowing
Mike Zimmer , Elite Coach, International Projects
Kevin Murphy, Head Coach, Men's Rowing
John FX Flynn , Assistant Coach, Men's & Women's Rowing
David Patterson, Assistant Coach, Women's Rowing

 


 
Vincent Ventura   ventura@nyacrowing.net
For the NYAC: Rowing Chairman & Women's Head Coach
Experience/Accomplishments:
- Chairman of the NYAC's Rowing Committee.
- Innumerable National Championship crews
- Assistant Men’s Sculling coach 1980 Olympic team
- Women’s 1x, ’84 Olympics (Carly Geer, Silver)
- Men’s Lt 1xs and 2xs including featuring Larry Klecatsky (Silver Lt 2x, Bronze Lt 2x, Worlds) and Paul Fuchs (Gold Lt 1x, '87 Pan Am Games; Silver Lt 2x, Silver 1x, Bronze 1x, Worlds),
- Over a dozen other US National Team members
Other:
- A National Champion during his days as a competitive rower, Vinny now serves as the head coach year-round. He devotes his time both to the men's team and to the women's squad which he helped to establish at the NYAC. Vinny somehow manages to find both the time to organize the NYAC crews year-round and the energy to serve on numerous USRowing initiatives, most recently the High Performance Committee and the National Championship Review Committee.





 

Mike Zimmer  
Mcz1@columbia.edu
For the NYAC: Elite Coach, International Projects
Currently: Director of Rowing, Heavyweight Men’s Head Coach, Columbia University
Experience/Accomplishments:
- Six years as Varsity coach of the Columbia University Lightweights.
- Three years as Varsity coach of the Columbia University Women
- 1996 EARC Lightweight Coach of the Year,
- Coached the Lions to a bronze medal finish at the 1996 IRA Regatta 
- International Coaching Accomplishments
- X place finish in XX with US u23 Lightweight 4
- X place finish in XX with US Lightweight 8 in XX and X place Finish in XX
- 2nd place finish in 2001 with Nation’s Cup Men’s 8
- 5h place finish in 2000 with the Nation;s Cup Lightweight Men's 4-
Other:
Zimmer began coaching in the Lightweight program at Princeton University, his alma mater. In 1990, his Tiger Freshman Lightweights were undefeated and won the Eastern Sprints, and his Freshman Four/with took third at the I.R.A. Regatta.
Zimmer was a member of Princeton's successful 1988 lightweight crew, and stroked the 1986 Junior Varsity EARC and IRA Fours. Zimmer rowed with the Lightweight Pre-Elite Team in 1987 and the Junior National Team camp in 1984.






Kevin Murphy
  kcmurphy63@optonline.net
For the NYAC: Head Coach, Men's Rowing; Recruiting Coordinator
Experience/Accomplishments:
- Sulger Barnes trophy for top Men’s Program in 2006.
  2nd in both 2005 and 2007
- Averaging five national championship crews per year
- Director of Rowing and Men’s Head Coach, Iona College 1999-2004,
- Men’s Head Coach, Manhattan College,1998
- Coached multiple National Champions and Canadian Henley Champions in both sweeps and sculls
 Other
- 10-year NYAC athlete and multiple National Champion in both sweep and sculling
- 1988 & 1992 Olympic Trials, 1990 Pan Am Trials
- Returned to the club as a coach in the summer of 2002.
- Maintaining NYAC’s  place among the top men’s club programs in the country
- Works full-time for IBM in White Plains, NY.



 
John FX Flynn, jff4@cornell.edu   
For the NYAC: Assistant Coach
Currently: Frosh/Novice Women’s Coach, University of Minnesota
Experience
- Assistant coach with US Lightweight 8 in XX and XX
- Coach of US Pan Am Lightweight 4- in XX
- Freshman coach at the College of William & Mary
- Head Coach at St. Thomas More School,
- Varsity Women’s Head Coach at Manhattan College
Other
As Manager for the Cornell Varsity Heavyweight Men, from 1991-1994, John developed the skills that ensure the smooth operation of the NYAC’s summer and year-round programs.



 
David Patterson dpatterson@mail.fairfield.edu
For the NYAC: Assistant Coach, Women's Rowing
Currently: Director of Rowing, Fairfield University
Experience: 
David Patterson joined the New York Athletic Club coaching staff in the summer of 2007 as the assistant coach to Vincent Ventura in the women’s program.
Experience:
- Director of rowing at Iona College 2006-2008
- Assistant varsity coach and then head novice coach of the women's program, Smith College
- Two years at the State University of New York at Binghamton
- Queen's College of Oxford University in England, men’s first 8 squad.
Other:
-  As coach, his squads captured the women's and overall points trophies at the New England Championships (Smith).
- Silver and bronze medals at the New York State championships in 2006, and three gold medals with a bronze medal at the 2007 regatta (Iona)
- Silver medal at the Dad Vails in 2007 (Iona)
- First varsity 8 for four years at Edinburgh University.
- Selected for the Scotland National Team for the Home Countries Regatta
- A master's degree in exercise and sports studies at Smith College





 
 

 


 



     
 
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