KIRK
SHIPLEY - HEAD AND GIRLS' VARSITY COACH
Updated: January 13, 2010
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Kirk Shipley
Head Coach Kirk Shipley is in his ninth year as a history teacher and coach at Whitman. Originally hailing from Boston, he rowed in high school before competing on the varsity heavyweight team through his four years at the University of Pennsylvania. Not able to get enough Rowing as an undergraduate, he then traded in his oar for a megaphone and has since been obsessed with the quest for speed. Spring, 2010 will mark his 30th season of coaching. In that time he has worked with girls and boys novice and varsity programs at Woodrow Wilson High School, and at Whitman. In addition, he has coached Junior Men and Women’s programs in the fall and summer at Thompson Boat Center and Water Street Rowing. He started the Open Men’s program at TBC in the summer of 2005.
In his first year with the program, the women’s freshman eight went undefeated in the regular season and made the finals at the Stotesbury Cup. In his second year at Whitman, Shipley assumed the mantle of coaching the Varsity Girls, and has been on a quest to build a dynasty ever since. In his seven seasons with the women’s Varsity team, the second and lightweight eights have made the finals at Stotes, with the lightweight eight taking the bronze in 2004. The freshman girls eight has made the final three times in his tenure.
Since the 2005-06 season when he was elevated to Director of Rowing, the team has continually expanded in size and athleticism to the point where there are currently over 100 athletes rowing for Whitman throughout the school year. In 2007, the team expanded its competitive schedule to include Fall head racing. The team has now raced twice in boys and girls events at the Head of the Charles in his hometown, with the Boy’s Youth Four obtaining an automatic bid for 2010.
As the junior men’s coach at TBC, Mr. Shipley’s crews won back-to-back National Championship titles in the Junior Men’s 4+ and 8+ in 2002 and 2003. The 2003 4+ went on to win the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharine’s, Ontario. All told, Coach Shipley’s crews have won two Canadian Henley titles as well as seven US Rowing National Championships, and have rowed in four Stotesbury finals.
Coach Shipley looks forward to the Spring, 2010 season with anticipation of great success for the entire program.
In his leisure time away from the challenges of molding the future, he resides in Washington, DC, where he trains attack cats and writes haikus.
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