Staff

Dan Mahoney, Varsity Boys Head Coach, Interim Program Director

Dan Mahoney is the Head Varsity Boys’ Coach for WWRA. Dan is a recent graduate of U Mass, Amherst. While there, he was an assistant coach for both Amherst College and Holy Cross. He has also been the Men’s Rowing Coach at Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club in Springfield.  

Program Director

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Catherine Chappell, Varsity Boys Coach

Catherine Chappell...

Sarah Maietta, Novice Head Girls Coach

Sarah is a former varsity athlete at WWRA. She went on to row with the Boston University Lightweights ("Team of the Decade"). She won the world championship for her age group in the lightweight pair. She keeps finding her way back to the pond. 

Yara Akkeh, former Novice Boys Head Coach

Yara Akkeh started rowing in 2013 for Arlington-Belmont Crew. After 3 years of rowing, Yara went to UMass Amherst, where she became a coxswain for the men's rowing team and coxed multiple boats to high-level finishes in both local and national regattas across her four years. Yara began coaching the novice boys at Wayland-Weston in 2021, where she has loved introducing the kids to rowing and teaching them both how to love the sport, and how to go fast. She finds reward in seeing the athletes develop not only their skills and proficiency, but also their friendships, tenacity, and camaraderie 

Katie Donnelly, former Novice Girls Head Coach, Masters Head Coach

Katie Donnelly began her rowing career in 1999 as a seventh grader at Cape Cod Academy. She was almost immediately made coxswain, and despite the 4:30am wake up calls, completely fell in love with the sport. Throughout high school, she coxed for both CCA and Cape Cod Rowing, including earning a spot in the Junior 8+ at Head of the Charles her senior year. Katie attended College of the Holy Cross where she continued coxing for the Women's Varsity team. After Holy Cross, Katie attended Springfield College where she received her Masters in Exercise and Sport Psychology. 

Her coaching career started during college, when she would coach for Cape Cod Rowing youth learn to row, and Masters summer programs. Following graduate school, she returned to Cape Cod Rowing where she served as Assistant Youth coach, then Head Youth Coach. She also developed the Intermediate Masters program, filling a gap between the Learn to Row and Competitive Masters squads. Katie then moved to Boston where she held the position of Assistant Coach for the Wentworth Institute of Technology Men's Rowing team. She has also coached at several other clubs in Boston, and continues to cox for and compete with a women's masters team.

Katie has also developed and run several coxswain clinics for multiple programs in Massachusetts.

Max Marchiony, former Novice Girls Coach

Max Marchiony learned to row with WW Crew and rowed in the Lightweight 8+ at US Youth Nationals in June, 2016. 

Steve Mascioli, former Novice Assistant Coach

Steve Mascioli is an assistant novice coach for wwra. 


How did you get involved in crew? As a kid spending summers on Cape Cod, I rowed dinghies quite a bit. Also, I had always been intrigued with the sleek rowing shells seen on the Charles River and wondered what they were like. I thought I knew how to row, so why not try them? A classmate at the time was a former member of the Canadian National Rowing Team and the Boston University Crew Team. He took me out in a pair on the Charles one fall afternoon without me having any prior lessons in sliding seat boats. All I wanted to do was go fast but was definitely not capable of doing so. It was so different from rowing dinghies!  Given my complete clumsiness, I don't know how my boatmate kept us afloat but he did. That experience planted a seed to give these fast boats another try one day.


What's your favorite rowing memory? I finally learned to row sliding seat boats as a young adult using recreational sculling boats, then rowed for a few years before dropping it due to time commitments of family and career. I took up rowing again in 2018 with the WWRA Adult Program which has been thoroughly enjoyable. In 2022, I started helping coach novices in both the WWRA high school program and the adult program. It's been very satisfying to teach others how to row and help them in their early development as rowers. 

 

What has crew done for you? 

Rowing has given me an outlet for outdoor exercise in beautiful surroundings. The rowing motion is smooth, easy on the joints, and doesn't really feel like exercise. In team boats collaboration and synchronization are paramount. In the single, close attention to technique is mandatory. The sensation of boatspeed on the water due to muscular effort is intoxicating. Coaching rowers provides me an opportunity to pass on what I've learned to others for their benefit and enjoyment. 


Favorite written quote: "Procrastination on your part does not make an emergency on my part."


Favorite spoken quote: "It's much better to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission." 


Pat Montain, former Novice Girls Coach

Pat’s passion for rowing began as a student at Rutgers University. Her passion continued to grow as a masters level competitor while living in St. Louis, MO, Austin, TX and the Boston metro area. Pat has a masters degree in Exercise Physiology and Physical Therapy and has worked as a school-based physical therapist for twenty years. Pat recently completed the USRA Level 2 Coaching program and looks forward to helping our student athletes develop their own passion for rowing.

Favorite crew memory?

I could answer this question listing races my boats have won (beating Anita DeFrantz and her crew at the 1988 San Diego Crew Classic was sweet). However, in reality, my favorite crew memories are interactions with my teammates. When I have the opportunity to get together with women I have rowed with over the past 25-40 years, our conversation and laughs pick up immediately where we left off.

How did you get involved with crew?

I have been surrounded by my father’s love of rowing since the day I was born. At that time, he was a collegiate coach. He remained active in the sport as a US referee, an international referee, co-founding the Wilmington (DE) Rowing club, and as a competitive masters athlete. His support of women athletes during the beginning of the Title IX era facilitated my ability to participate in rowing as well as other sports.

Why do you coach?

I coach because Mike Baker asked me to help Wayland-Weston.

Favorite written quote:

“There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” – Fred Rogers

Favorite spoken quote:

“What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.”

Gabby Fargnoli, former Varsity Boys Coach

Gabby is a college-age sculler, and former varsity athlete at WWRA. She is a junior national bronze medalist in the pair. Gabby has coached multiple seasons in the middle school and high school sculling programs. 

Sandra Cardillo, former Novice Boys Head Coach

Sandra Cardillo start rowing in her sophomore year in high school three months after moving from Guatemala as a way to stay active and immerse herself into the US culture and language. During her high school rowing career, she won silver medal at the Mass Public Championship in her senior year.

A few years later, Sandra start coaching for Greater Lawrence Rowing where she found a different passion for the sport of rowing and all you can learn from it. Over the past nine years, she has been coaching at at CRI with the outreach department where she has been coaching in several programs, including Row Boston as the novice boys coach, the Para-Rowing and Military programs and head coach of “OWL on the water,” a partnership program with Children’s Hospital.  

 Additionally, since 2017, Sandra has been working with World Rowing to develop Para-Rowing as a mentor coach internationally. 

Tim Wood, former Varsity Boys Coach

Tim Wood will continue to help coach the boys. As many of you may know, Tim is a new Board member and recently retired from Belmont Hill, where he coached the varsity and middle school programs for the past 35 years. During his tenure, Tim was responsible for making Belmont Hill consistently one of the most successful and highly regarded high school programs in the country. 

Sydney Orlov, former Masters Coach, Summer Middle School Coach

Sydney is a former varsity athlete at WWRA. She has interned for multiple summers with the summer program, and is expert at guiding young athletes at developing sculling skills. She brings race experience and a keen technical eye to the program. 

Cate Gould, former Varsity Boys Coach

Bill Harley, former Novice Assistant Coach

Bill Harley..

Wayland Weston Rowing Association, Inc. - PO Box 5508 - Wayland, MA 01778-1032
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