Meet the Coaches
If you would like to contact a coach, please use the Coach Contact button at the bottom of the page.
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Mike Miles - Juniors Varsity CoachMike 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. 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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Katherine Ashton - Novice CoachWhile she was born and raised in Texas playing lots of basketball, Katherine first started rowing in Annapolis, Maryland at the US Naval Academy, where she rowed for 4 years from 2010-2014. During her time there, the team won the Patriot League Championship in 2013 which allowed Navy to take their first ever trip to the NCAA Championships. She also had the great privilege of competing in the 4- at U23 Worlds in 2013 as apart of the National team.
In 2014, Katherine commissioned into the US Marine Corps and serves as a helicopter (CH-53E) pilot. Still on active duty, she is currently stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB attending the Air Force Institute of Technology working towards a graduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering. She loves having the opportunity to be apart of the rowing community here in Dayton and helps coach the juniors novice and varsity teams. |
Scott Braum - U14 Head CoachScott comes to the U14 staff as the parent of a former DBC rower who is now rowing in college, and he has spent a lifetime involved in every aspect of youth sports from athlete to parent to coach to booster to administrator. While he has a passion for youth sports in general, he has seen firsthand the impact that rowing can have on a child’s life, whether he or she is a gifted natural athlete or a scrappy kid with a big heart who just won’t quit. He believes that rowing offers each athlete an opportunity to learn things about themselves and others both on and off the water. When his daughter came home from Learn To Row years ago, she told him she wanted to quit everything she was doing in order to row. That, of course, sounded crazy. Now, however, after several years, countless thousands of miles, who knows how many scorching, freezing, and storming races, and his own inglorious rowing career, he is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue the craziness by giving something back to the sport that has impacted his family in so many ways.
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Danny Raimondi - Masters Head Coach
Danny Raimondi joined DBC as the head coach of the masters (adult) team in February 2022. A Pittsburgh native, he rowed for Central Catholic High School before coming to the University of Dayton earn his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He’s now working toward a master’s in additive manufacturing and design at Pennsylvania State University. In his coaching role, he focuses on developing all athletes to their fullest potential, cultivating a sense of community and building the team’s reputation as a strong competitor in regattas across the Midwest.
Jane Wittmann - Masters Novice Coach
Jane Wittmann is a founding member of the Dayton Boat Club and its masters rowing program. In addition to rowing on the competitive masters team, she teaches adult learn-to-row courses and coaches the novice/recreational team. A lifelong Daytonian, she has a degree from California State University, Long Beach. As a coach, she focuses on developing new rowers’ technique, strength, endurance, speed, confidence and muscle memory to prepare them for competition.