 |  |
| Title: | Women's Rowing Assistant Coach |
|---|---|
| Experience: | First Season at SCU |
Former NCAA National Champion, Elisabeth Johnson, was added to
the women's rowing coaching staff at Santa Clara University in
August of 2011.
Johnson was most recently a volunteer assistant coach at St.
Mary's College in Moraga since September of 2009, where she focused
on preparing the novice rowers for competition and developing the
program's coxswains.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Elisabeth join our team," said
Wojtkiewicz. "She has a breadth of coaching experience both at the
junior and collegiate level that is both exceptional for her age
and a perfect mix for a collegiate rowing coach who will be working
with novices."
"Her insight into the junior rowing community will be an asset
when it comes to recruiting. Our coaching philosophies also mesh
very well. We both look to maximize the potential of our athletes
and push the limits of what we can achieve, but we also like to
find unique ways to have fun within the pressure cooker.
We're going to pick up some speed this year and we're going to have
fun getting there."
A 2006 graduate of Western Washington University, Johnson was the
coxswain for the Vikings' 2006 Varsity 8 NCAA Division II National
Championship boat. She was also the coxswain for WWU's Varsity 4
boat which won the NCAA Division II National Championship in
2005.
Following her graduation from WWU, Johnson began coaching and
mentoring junior athletes as an assistant coach for the Pacific
Rowing Club in San Francisco. During her tenure from 2006-2009, the
Pacific Rowing Club, her recruitment of local high school
student-athletes helped increase the squad size by 30 percent. She
helped guide three boats to the grand final of the Southwest Region
Junior Championship (SWJRA) with the Junior Women's pair advancing
to the grand final of the Junior National Championships.
Johnson has gained additional coaching experience working with the
US Rowing Junior Women's National Team as a Development Camp Coach
in 2008.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development and Learning from Western Washington. In the summer of 2011, she earned a Masters of Science in Kinesiology from California State University East Bay.
