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Coaching Staff
Biographies and General Information
Travis Gardner, Senior Coach
Travis Gardner serves as Executive Officer and Coach for Essex Rowing after having spearheaded the effort for the organization’s creation and development in the fall of 2006.
In the programs inaugural spring season, Travis’ girls and boys teams finished with records of 28:1 and 24:3 respectively. Results included a state championship for the girl’s novice eight (Andover High School) and 2nd and 3rd place finishes by the girls and boys novice eights at the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, which draws the best club teams from south Jersey to New Hampshire.
In April 2006, Travis was hired as Interim Head Coach at the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program, Inc. where he was charged with all aspects of the development and operation of their startup rowing program. Within three months Travis built the program to 51 youth and adult athletes. And, in the program’s first-ever appearance in competition, a 1000 meter sprint at their own Lawrence Celebration Regatta, the novice women’s four bested a five-boat field for the home win.
During this period Travis also served as a volunteer coach for the Boston College women’s program. Here he assisted novice coach Wendy Wilbur with the development of BC’s walk-on novice athletes. Travis continued to assist at BC in a limited capacity during the fall of 2006 before turning his full attention to the formation of Essex Rowing.
Prior to moving to Massachusetts in March 2006, Travis lived in East Lansing, MI, where he served as the novice women’s coach for the Michigan State University Rowing Club. Travis also coached the novice men at his alma mater (U. Florida) in the spring of 2002 and led his team to a second place finish in the novice lightweight four at the State Championship.
Travis competed intercollegiately at the University of Florida, where he served as captain of the most successful novice team in the program’s history, a year which included state championship titles in the novice eight and novice lightweight four. Following his sophomore year at UF, Travis traveled to Philadelphia for the summer to train and compete with Malta Boat Club. After only three months in the single, Travis garnered a 6th place finish in the intermediate category at the US National Championships. He returned the following summer to pick up National titles in the Intermediate and Senior Lightweight Quads as well as a win in the Senior B Lightweight Quad at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherine's, Ontario.
Travis continued to race competitively for the New York Athletic Club in the summers following graduation and in 2004 won his third national championship in the Senior Lightweight Double Scull. While Travis continued to train regularly after the 2004 season, he stepped away from racing for two years before ultimately returning to competition this fall. Travis continues to train with the goal of breaking into the elite ranks of the sport in the coming years.
Travis earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Florida where his studies focused on the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Travis and his dog Trip reside in Methuen. Return to Top >
Briana Blood, Coach
Briana Blood begins her first year with Essex Rowing in March 2008 as the program's recruitment coordinator and its second professional coach. In that position she will assume responsibility for the development of the novice girls's team as well as assisting with the varsity squads.
Throughout the past year Briana has been working at Boston Sports Clubs and Healthworks in Boston, having recently earned her certification as a personal trainer. In the spring of 2007 Briana also served as an assistant coach for the competitive girl's team at Community Rowing, Inc.
Before her return to the northeast, Briana worked with the D1 Women's Rowing Program at the University of North Carolina through the 2005-2006 season. There she served as Recruiting Coordinator and Varsity Assistant Coach and was responsible for development of the junior varsity eight as well as signing four recruits for the following season.
Following her graduation in 2004 Briana worked for her alma mater, the University of Connecticut. There Briana served as an assistant coach and worked extensively with the walk-on novice in the fall. In the winter Briana's responsibilities expanded to assisting with the varsity as well as novice athletes. In this role she helped to lead the team to their best finish in the program's history, winning the women's team points trophy at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. During that spring season Briana's novice four with coxswain also earned a bronze medal at the Big East Challenge.
Briana competed for four years with the UConn Huskies as an undergraduate, serving as team captain her senior year. As a novice rower, Briana was a member of the first boat in the university's history to make the Big East finals. Briana also spent time between 2003 and 2005 coaching the learn to row programs at Riverfront Recapture in Hartford, CT.
Briana graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and a minor in Sports Nutrition. Return to Top >
Coaching Staff Development
As Essex Rowing moves through its second year of operation we will continue to develop our coaching staff extensively to meet the needs of our growing membership. Our organization was founded with the commitment to provide that membership with the highest quality of instruction possible, drawn from a core of professional coaches and supplemented with talented, up-and-coming part-timers and enthusiastic volunteers. Athletic participation requires enormous time commitments and our members can be confident that those responsible for their development are focused solely on that mission, and have the education and training to guide you to your goals safely, efficiently, and enjoyably. Return to Top >
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