Mike began rowing in 1992 as a freshman in high school on Cape Cod.  While working on his degree in Sports Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mike stroked the first Varsity Heavyweight Eight to multiple local and regional medals.  He went on to train with the Ottawa Rowing Club in Ontario (CA) and Riverside Boat Club in Cambridge (MA), winning the Lightweight 2- and 4+ two years in a row and the Lightweight 8+ at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.  The Head of the Charles Regatta saw Mike bring home two consecutive victories with the Ottawa Rowing Club Lightweight 4+.

Mike was a founding member and trustee of the Honolulu Rowing Club, as well as a founder and president of the Cape Cod Cycling Club.

Not only an accomplished rower, he has also competed in multiple marathons and triathlons at the pre-elite level, including two Boston Marathons and numerous sprint triathlon, half and full Ironman races.

Mike comes to Wayland-Weston with significant coaching experience, having coached multiple crews to medal at several regional championship events, US Club Nationals, and the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.  Mike coached the 2011 CanAmMex crew that won gold in the quad and single. 

Mike was elected to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association in 2019. 

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.  

Paul Hoffman enjoys helping young athletes discover the pleasures of making a boat go fast. Paul started coaching at Wayland Weston in 2013. 

As a boy, Paul raced in eights for Exeter and for the Harvard lightweights. He won many shirts, which, sadly, have disappeared over time. Ever since, he has pursued speed and good form at Harvard Sculling Club, Potomac Boat Club, and Cambridge Boat Club. 

Paul can generally be found early mornings toeing a quad on the Charles or at bow in an eight.

When the river is frozen over, Paul helps coach the nordic ski team for Wayland High School. He is married, has a grown daughter who skis and dances beautifully, and a college-age son who skis and runs.

Paul is devoted to helping the WWRA varsity girls take the next steps in their physical and mental development as athletes, and in achieving greater proficiency in their rowing. He is particularly pleased to have helped the squad succeed in their campaigns at junior nationals. For the past several years Paul has also been focused on creating a vibrant rowing program for middle school scullers. Paul is a US Rowing Level 3 coach. 

Catherine Chappell...

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 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 

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

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." 

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.

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 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. 

Bill Harley...