Meet the Coaches

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Mike Miles - Head Coach

Mike Miles served as head coach of the University of Dayton Crew since its inception in 1991, and continued in that same capacity as it moved to the varsity level in 1996. He retired from the UD in 2003, after leading the NCAA Division 1 crew to be one of the top non-scholarship programs in the country.

Miles was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2002 after guiding the Flyers varsity eight to a 2nd place finish at the A-10 Championships, finishing seconds behind the nationally-ranked UMass Minutemen, and ahead of the ranked GWU Varsity 8.  In the effort to develop rowing as a varsity sport at UD, Mike contacted the Atlantic 10 Rowing Coaches in 1996 to initiate the A-10 Rowing Championships.
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A two-time letterman as a rower at Cornell University, Mike is an engineer and executive with Booz Allen Hamilton.  He has coached two world champions, members of the US National Team (Bernadette Marten and Molly Bruggeman) , He has coached at the USRowing Junior National Team Development Camp, and has coached approximately ten DBC crews that have medaled and/or finished in the Grand Finals at US National competitions.
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Trish Miles - Novice/Junior Coach

​Trish Miles was the first athlete from the Dayton region to achieve official ‘elite’ status in the sport of rowing after winning the lightweight single in the 1999 US National Championships, the same year she won the Head of the Charles  (the world’s largest two-day rowing event).  Trish has won two National Championships, medaled multiple times at Nationals Championships and the Head of the Charles, medaled at the World Indoor Rowing Championships, and has finished in the finals at the World Championship Trials.

Along with her husband Mike, Trish was one of the initial coaches and directors of the University of Dayton Crew in 1991, the program that brought the sport of organized rowing to the city of Dayton. She is a US Rowing certified coach. Trish began her rowing career at the College of St Benedict (Minnesota) in 1984, and continued to row with clubs in Minneapolis and Cincinnati. She has coached two world champion members of the US National Team (Bernadette Marten and Molly Bruggeman).  Although she provides direction for all crews at DBC, Trish focuses primarily on novice junior crews.

​Mitch Vossler - Juniors Coach

Mitch rowed competitively in college for the University of Dayton from 2000-2004, and went on to coach the Flyers after graduation until 2012.  He was the UD Men's Head Coach, serving in that role from 2008-2012, and led the Flyers to the medal stand twice at the Dad Vail Regatta, the nation’s largest collegiate rowing competition.  Although he coached the DBC juniors in the summers prior to 2012, he has since moved into a leadership role with the junior program, focusing primarily on the varsity women and has coached a number of crews to the grand finals at Youth Nationals.  Mitch has also served as the U-23 coach for DBC, coaching the returning college rowers during the summer, and leading the Women’s 4 to a silver medal at the 2014 Club National Championships.  Mitch is currently employed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  ​

Joe Connelly - Juniors Coach

​Cincinnati native Joe Connelly comes to Dayton Boat Club from perennial rowing powerhouse Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club. His top novice boys’ and girls’ crews went undefeated in spring sprint racing from 2000 to 2003, and in the late 1990s, when he was an assistant varsity coach, the team took first in several high-profile events of the prestigious Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. While in the Marines, Connelly served in two combat deployments to Iraq as well as brief NATO Exercise deployments to Montenegro and Germany.

Pat McSharar - Juniors/Novice Coach

Pat learned to scull at the suggestion of his parents – both former rowers – and joined the Indianapolis Rowing Center in high school.  From there, Pat went to Ohio State and rowed there for four years, taking a gold in the Men’s 4+ at the Head of the Hooch.  He was invited to row for the New York Athletic Club in 2014 and 2015, and won gold at the USRowing Club National Championships in the Intermediate Light 4+ and Light 4x, and finished in the finals at the Canadian Henley.  Now an engineer with Honda, Pat is continuing his training with the Dayton Boat Club with the goal of making the USRowing National Team in the summer of 2016.  Prior to coaching at DBC, Pat coached the juniors at Dublin.  Pat is enthusiastic about helping high school rowers find the same growth and experiences the sport of rowing have offered to him


Gina Lucia - Novice Coach

While growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, Gina Lucia rowed for 5 years during her middle school and high school years at the Three Rivers Rowing Association, medaling at Midwest Junior Champs in the Women’s 8+.  During her senior year of high school, she then transitioned into coaching the novices at TRJR and now at DBC, both of which medaled at Midwest. She has since coached every level of rowing under the sun.  From learn-to-rows for 3rd-12th graders, to novice and varsity junior rowers, to college club teams, to adult corporate and competitive teams; she has seen it all. She primarily coaches novices because she loves working with the new rowers to build a solid foundation of athleticism with the right mentality and teaching them about the incredible sport of rowing! She has recently finished her degree in Physics and Education at the University of Dayton, where she served as a coach for the UD Men’s Novice team during her freshman year. Post graduation, Gina hopes to teach and coach kids not only in academics or athleticism, but also teach them to develop their individual strengths.

Marty Carrabine - Masters Coach

Marty started rowing in 2009 under Coach Mitch Vossler at the University of Dayton. He then became head coach of the University of Dayton Men’s team in 2013. Marty graduated from Hudson High School in Cleveland, OH with four years as a member of the men’s swim team. Marty also coaches the Dayton Boat Club’s Masters team. Under his watch the Masters have had very successful seasons, winning numerous medals.

Julie Wittmann - Masters Coach

​Julie has been rowing with the Dayton Boat Club since its formation. She started with Learn-To-Row classes under direction of Derek Copeland and Trish Miles. During her high school years at Chaminade Julienne HS, Julie began competing with the DBC Juniors under Coach Mike Miles and continued to row in college for the University of Dayton. Julie is currently coaching the Dayton Boat Club’s Masters team and helps coach the Juniors from time to time.

 Molly Bruggeman - Visiting Coach

Molly (left in photo) is currently training at the USRowing Training Center in Princeton, NJ where she coached for Mercer Juniors with the novice boys in the spring. Representing the United States, she has won 3 international gold medals, the most recent from the 2- at the Pan American Games in Toronto. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame (where she was a 3-time NCAA All-American) in 2014.  A graduate of Chaminade-Julienne HS, Molly started her rowing career with the Dayton Boat Club.  

Annie Haley- Visiting Coach

​Annie (right in photo) is a member of the Wesleyan women’s crew coaching staff. With eight years of competitive rowing experience, she is a 2014 graduate of the Institute for Rowing Leadership at Community Rowing, Inc. in Boston. She coached the Massachusetts Institute of Technology varsity women during
the 2013-14 season where her third varsity 8+ finished fourth at EAWRC. A graduate of Williams College, she was a member of four consecutive NCAA Division III Team Championship crews, and is a three-time National Champion with the Ephs’ first varsity boat. Annie was named second-team all-NESCAC in 2011 and first-team all-NESCAC in 2013. She was also named 2013 Oarswoman of the Year for the Ephs. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Annie got her start in rowing at Dayton Boat Club.