Laura Simon enters her ninth year with the UMass women's rowing team including her first in 2012-13 as the program's associate head coach - a position she was promoted to during the 2012 summer. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Simon also serves as the recruiting coordinator. Simon has accumulated experience at both the International, National and Division 1 levels of women's rowing. With an energetic and dynamic coaching approach, she has the ability to develop the UMass team to a higher level. In addition to her coaching duties at UMass, she is also a Coxswain Education Coordinator for The Foundation for Rowing Education and the US Junior Team's Coxswain Coach. Simon coached the U.S. Jr. Team High Performance Team the summer of 2009 prior to being named the US Junior Team's Coxswain Coach starting in 2010. Simon is a published author in the sport of rowing, co-authoring The Coxswain's Encyclopedia. She also presents to her peers at the US Rowing Annual Convention and smaller conferences on Coaching the Coxswain. Prior to coming to UMass, Simon worked as a volunteer coach for the Juniper Serra High School team from 2003 to 2006. During that time frame she was also the Head Rowing Coach and Summer Coach for BIAC Masters Rowing. Simon's first time with UMass rowing as an assistant coach stretched from 1999 to 2002, in which she was responsible for the JV 8+ and Lightweight 8+. In the summer of 2002, she was also on the coaching staff of the US Women's Worlds Rowing Team. Simon's athletic background includes acting as Varsity Coxswain from 1992 to 1995 as part of the UC-Santa Barbara Women's Rowing Team. From 1995 to 1998 she was Varsity Coxswain for the UMass team and won both 2nd place Varsity 8+ NCAA titles during this time. From 1997 to 2002, she also acted as 2nd Coxswain for the US National Women's Rowing Team. Laura graduated from UMass with her degree in English in 1998 and went on to earn a Master of Education in Teacher Preparation and Curriculum Studies from UMass in 2001. She achieved a Level 1 Special Education Credential from San Jose State University in 2004. She lives in Hadley with her dogs, Kio & Tsunami, who are boathouse regulars. Last Updated: Aug 16, 2012 |
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