Crew Coaches

Head Coach: Garrison Smith, at Kent since 2004
Assistant: Kat Sullivan '94, at Kent since 2001
Assistant: Colleen Kiernan, at Kent since 2008
Assistant: Marlena Rodriquez, at Kent since 2010

Message from the Coach:
When Father Sill founded Kent in 1906 on the banks of the Housatonic River, he dreamed of starting a crew program. In 1922 that dream was realized when rowing was established with Father Sill as the first head coach. Many years later the strength of the crew program lies in a rich history of tradition.

Girls began rowing at Kent in 1973. During the early years the girls trained and raced only in the fall; however, in the 1982-83 school year an extremely dedicated and talented group of young women won the high school division at the Head of the Charles regatta in the fall. They wanted the chance to line up against the best teams in the spring racing season. They were allowed to race the additional season and went on to win the NEIRA regatta in the spring of 1983. Since then, at the first boat level, the Kent girls have won six more championships (1985, 1986, 1987, 1996, 1997 & 2005) to bringing the total to seven in twenty five years. Currently, the girls varsity team trains and races in the spring with a club program available in the fall for those looking to learn more about the sport.

We row on the beautiful Housatonic River which flows directly in front of the school. Rowers also train in the newly-built Partridge Rowing Center. This facility contains a rowing tank, an ergometer/workout room, a club room, and locker rooms for both the boys and girls teams. Many girls who have rowed for the Kent School Boat Club go on to row in college and some have rowed at an international level.

Head coach Garrison Smith began his rowing career in college, where he was a four-year rower at Yale University. He rowed in the first freshman boat, spent two years in the JV and then raced in the varsity as a senior. His freshman boat finished sixth at Eastern Sprints, he won the San Diego Crew Classic at the JV level in 1993, and won the Head of the Charles in 1994. In addition he was a double gold medalist at the US Olympic Festival in 1993. He began coaching in 1997, working his way up in programs before arriving at Kent in 2004. Coach Smith helped to build the Taft program into one that was competitive in the NEIRA fours league, finishing fourth in the first boat racing in 2004. His crews won the Dupont Cup in 2002 and 2004 made the finals of the Founders Regatta in each of the last three years, finishing third in 2004. During his first three years he oversaw the boy's second boat. Under his direction the second boat won a silver medal at NEIRA's in 2005, and then followed that up with a gold medal victory in 2006. He began as the Head Girl's Coach at Kent in 2007. In addition to coaching rowing, he teaches Ecology and Honors Biology, and is an assistant coach for the Varsity Hockey Team.