Science of Rowing is the resource for coaches and rowers of all levels. Our authors wear multiple hats with experience as coaches, researchers, sport scientists, clinicians, and sport psychologists.
Lead Authors
PhD Student Exercise Physiology
MSc Sports Performance
MS New Media Management
BBA Sport, Event & Hospitality Management
NSCA-CSCS
Joe is a lifelong rower who has been involved with the sport since age 12. Joe was a varsity oarsman at The George Washington University, and was named team MVP his senior year. He then spent the next three years as the graduate assistant coach for Syracuse Men’s Rowing under Head Coach Dave Reischman. Joe launched his business, LEO Training in 2014. Since then, Joe has consulted with junior, collegiate, masters, and national team rowing programs, as well as interviewed hundreds of rowers, rowing coaches, and strength coaches through the LEO Training podcast.
Joe moved to the Kansas City area in 2017 and worked three years as the strength and conditioning specialist for Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Joe served as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Portuguesa de Remo from 2018 to the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Joe earned a First Class Honors Degree Award from the University of Limerick in 2021. He is currently a doctoral student in Exercise Physiology at the University of Kansas under Dr. Andrew C. Fry in the Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory and Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, Director of the Female Athlete Program and USRowing Medical Chair.
Alex Wolf
BSc (honors) in Human Biology and Sport Science
Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition
MSc in Sports Biomechanics
Alex is a strength and conditioning coach and performance consultant with over 20 years of experience working with some of the world’s best athletes. Alex has spent over a decade working with international rowers in preparation for multiple Olympic Games. This includes supporting the British and Chinese Rowing Federations to their most successful Olympic Games in 2012 and 2020 respectively.
Alex is the co-founder of Strength and Conditioning Academy, providing a mix of digital and in-person education, mentoring, and consultancy to organizations with a focus on strength and conditioning, practitioner, and coach development. Alex is the founder and consultant for Liberating Brilliance which provides learning and leadership education and consultancy, with a specific focus on problem-solving and creativity.
Alex has previously spent 15 years working at the English Institute of Sport, the premier sports institute in the world, where he served as Head of Strength and Conditioning. This role oversaw 70+ S&C coaches working across 40+ sports, leading on the coaches’ professional development, safeguarding of practice, and their well-being. Prior to leaving the EIS, Alex was the Head of Learning which focused on the personal and professional development of every individual and the organization’s learning strategy and deployment. During his tenure within the EIS, Alex was seconded to the British Olympic Association to lead the performance centre service provision during the Olympic Games for athletes, coaches, and support staff to optimally prepare and recover from competition.
Alex holds a BSc (hons) in Human Biology and Sports Science, PG Dip in Sports Nutrition, a MSc in Sports Biomechanics, and is trained and has extensive experience as a coach educator, mentor, and facilitator.
Contributing Guest Authors
Lisa Lowe
PT, DPT, CP-S
Physical Therapist at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance
Lisa Lowe is a physical therapist in the Boston area. She started rowing through a summer program in Old Lyme, CT. She rowed for Ithaca College Women’s Crew all four years and joined the Alumni 8+ at the Head of the Charles during graduate school. She graduated with her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Ithaca College in 2013. She then moved to Boston, joined Riverside Boat Club and began her PT career while focusing on her goal of making the US National Rowing Team.
Lisa began to work with rowers and para-rowers in the Boston area including Riverside and CRI. Her goal shifted from peak performance to becoming a rowing specialist physical therapist. This goal was paused after a pedestrian car accident, putting Lisa out of work for just over a year. Lisa works at Champion Physical
Therapy and continues her pursuit as a rowing specialist physical therapist. She loves helping athletes remain as consistent as possible with training so they can become the happiest, healthiest version of themselves both on and off the water.
Follow Lisa on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Subscribe to her email newsletter at Powerhousephysio.com
Frank Clayton
PT, DPT, CP-S
MA Performance Psychology, CPT, PES
Frank Clayton’s training credentials include a Certified Personal Training, Performance Enhancement Specialist, and Fitness Nutrition Specialist certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Frank holds a Master’s Degree in Performance Psychology. He has been the strength and conditioning coach for the Oakland Strokes Women’s team since 2014. Frank helped lead the Oakland Strokes to national championships and has coached scores of top recruited athletes. Frank Clayton has developed a love for designing programs that focus on both the physical and mental aspect of training athletes. In 2019, Frank created Accelerated Results Coaching Academy (ARC Academy) and Podcast. He looks to connect with coaches and junior athletes with the goal of helping them reach their greatest potential.
Follow Frank on Instagram.
MSc Strength & Conditioning
BSc Sport Science
Ishan has been working as a strength and conditioning coach in elite sport for the past 10 years, across both Olympic and professional sport. Ishan is currently employed as a strength and conditioning coach by the English Institute of Sport, leading the S&C support for the British Paralympic rowing team towards the Paris 2024 Olympic games. He has previously worked for the Chinese national rowing team in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games and 2019 world rowing championships, which included China’s most successful performance ever in international rowing. Aside from his experiences in rowing, Ishan has worked as a senior physical preparation coach for the Sportscotland Institute of Sport, leading S&C support for triathlon and canoeing programs. In addition, he has also worked in professional soccer, with Birmingham City FC and Blackburn Rovers FC. Ishan has a Masters in S&C from the University of Edinburgh and an undergraduate degree in Sports Science from Brunel University, London. He holds accreditations/certifications from the United Kingdom S&C Associations, National S&C Association and Australian S&C Association.
MS in Health & Human Performance
BS in Exercise Science
Michael Naperalsky has over 14 years of strength and conditioning experience across the private sector, Olympic teams, and collegiate athletics. He has worked with the University of Louisville women’s rowing program since 2016.
Currently serving as an Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Performance at the University of Louisville, Michael oversees three teams and also teaches graduate courses in strength and conditioning in the Health & Sport Sciences Department. Previously, Michael served as a Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding. As a member of the High Performance Sport Science department, he helped his athletes win 3 Olympic medals, 6 World Championship medals, 16 X-Games medals, and 93 World Cup podiums. Michael earned a master’s degree in Health & Human Performance, holds certifications from the CSCCa, NSCA, USAW, and ACSM, and was named a Master Strength & Conditioning Coach in 2022. He has presented at national and state conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals, and participated in webinars and clinics for sport coaches, strength coaches, and sports medicine professionals.
PhD Exercise Physiology
Dr. Frank Nugent is a Lecturer in Sports Science in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Frank completed his PhD in Exercise Physiology in 2018. Frank is an accredited S&C coach through the Sport Ireland Institute, United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association and a Weightlifting Ireland Level 2 Olympic Weightlifting Coach.
Frank’s experience is diverse having worked with youth, collegiate, professional and Paralympic athletes. Frank has published research across a wide range of areas in S&C, exercise physiology, and biomechanics. His research interests include low back pain in rowers, youth sport, Paralympic sport, S&C and endurance training methodologies.
Frank was previously a competitive rower and has been supporting rowers for over 10 years now as an S+C coach, sports scientist and rowing coach. In 2019, Frank became Head Coach of the University of Limerick Rowing Club. This role involves leading rowing coaching and sports science support to collegiate rowers. Frank has coached multiple junior and under 23 rowers to the Home Nations, European and World Championships.
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