USRowing Announces Selection Development Camp and CanAmMex Coaching Staffs

USRowing is pleased to announce the 2021 Junior National Team System coaching staffs for the Selection Development Camp and CanAmMex, scheduled to be held at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

Zohar Abramovitz will serve as the selection development women's head coach, with Trevor Michelson taking over as the selection development men's head coach. For CanAmMex, Brian de Regt and Richard Hull will serve as the men's and women's head coaches, respectively. Chris Register and Abbie Young will assist both the CanAmMex and selection development head coaches on the men's and women's sides, respectively.

"The U19 National Team is excited to introduce the final pieces of our 2021 selection amp staff," said Chris Chase, USRowing Director of Youth Rowing. "We were honored that so many quality coaches applied to be a part of the Junior National Team system, and we believe we have chosen some incredibly talented individuals to work with our athletes. Under the overall direction of head coach Casey Galvanek, we couldn't be more excited to get safely to the summer and tap into the potential that our best American athletes have within."

The CanAm Mex coaching staff will help select and coach the athletes who will represent the U.S. at CanAmMex, the annual collaborative camp between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that brings together rowers for a week of training, culminating in a regatta. This year's CanAmMex will be held in London, Ontario, Canada. The Selection Development Camp coaches will work with athletes who have remaining eligibility for future under 19 national teams beyond 2021 and will represent the camp at the USRowing National Championships in July.

The Olympic Development Program (ODP) staffs currently are being finalized and will be announced soon. USRowing previously announced the Under 19 National Team coaching staff, which will lead the team that will represent the U.S. at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships this August in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Meet the Coaches

Zohar Abramovitz, Selection Development Women's Head Coach

Zohar Head ShotZohar Abramovitz is the longtime head coach at Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing in Los Angeles. He rejoins the junior system staff after a five-year absence during which time he co-founded and coached Row West Racing Camp, a high-performance summer camp for girls that won the women's team points title at the 2019 USRowing National Championships. Abramovitz previously coached four summers with the U19 staff, three of them as the women's sweep coach for the worlds' development team. His MAC girls have a long record of success, with an unbroken string of appearances at the USRowing Youth National Championships dating back to 2002 and six YNC medals in sweep and sculling events. He is passionate about helping his athletes develop their mental game, along with their physical skills, and has developed an extensive curriculum for teaching mental toughness to young athletes based on a system used to train Navy SEALs.

Brian de Regt, CanAmMex Men's Head Coach

Brian de Regt Head ShotBrian de Regt comes to the staff having served as the men's program director and head men's coach at Oakland Strokes from 2014-19. During his time in Oakland, his varsity eight went undefeated in 2016, also winning the USRowing Youth National Championships in 2015 and taking the silver medal in 2017 and 2018. His lightweight eight won a national title in 2018. Prior to arriving at Oakland, de Regt was the assistant varsity women's coach and assistant program director at Long Beach Junior Crew from 2012-14, winning multiple national titles in sculling boats. He has served as a U.S. coach at both the junior and under 23 national team levels. As a rower, he represented the U.S. at multiple senior world championships and was an under 23 world championships' silver medalist in 2006 in the lightweight men's quadruple sculls.

Richard Hull, CanAmMex Women's Head Coach

Richard Hull Head ShotRichard Hull joins the development staff with a track record of developing successful high-performance athletes. As the head coach of Olympia Area Rowing, Hull has led several of his crews to Northwest regional titles and youth nationals' podium finishes in both sweep and sculling. In 2019, he coached the Northwest ODP men to a first-place finish at the inaugural ODP Summer Cup, a regatta that rewards speed across all boat classes. Additionally, he has helped coach crews that have gone on to represent the U.S. at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Hull believes strongly in adapting his coaching style and the broader training environment to target each athlete's strengths and, as such, coaching all to their highest competitive potential, all while promoting their long-term development. He prioritizes building team cultures that are both competitive and supportive, while adhering to his core philosophy of "rowing well, going fast, having fun."

Trevor Michelson, Selection Development Men's Head Coach

Trevor Michelson Head ShotTrevor Michelson is the current assistant coach for women's rowing at Dartmouth College. He spent the previous three years at Dartmouth working with the lightweight men. Prior to making the move to Hanover, the New York City-native was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Wesleyan University, for the men's rowing program and was the head coach for Vesper Boat Club's under 23 lightweight men. Before his stint at Wesleyan, Michelson spent one year at Fordham University, working with both the men's and women's rowing teams in coaching and boatman positions, respectively. Michelson coached the men's double sculls at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships and was an assistant coach for the under 23 lightweight men's quad selection camp in 2019. He competed at the 2015 World University Games as the U.S. lightweight single sculler. Michelson graduated from Wesleyan University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in government.

Chris Register, CanAmMex/Selection Development Men's Assistant Coach

Chris Register Head Shot 2Chris Register is the director of rowing at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. During his nine years at Bolles, the program has grown significantly with student-athletes excelling on the water and off. Register has won and medaled at the Florida State Championships, USRowing Southeast Youth Championships, SRAA National Championships, and USRowing National Championships. He is in his seventh year with the USRowing Junior National Team System, having served as a coach with the Olympic Development Program, High Performance Camp, and CanAmMex team.

Abigayle Young, CanAmMex/Selection Development Women's Assistant Coach

Abbie Young Head ShotAbbie Young joins the selection development staff, bringing a wealth of experience in and out of the USRowing system. Young most recently coached the women's 2019 CanAmMex and 2018 High Performance teams, as well as at the Youth Regional Challenge. Prior to that, she worked on the women's selection camp staff for two summers as a RA. She has experience coaching a wide range of proficiencies in sweep, sculling, and coxing at both the junior and collegiate levels. As an athlete, Young spent three summers with USRowing as part of the junior development, high performance, and world championships teams. She went on to row at Yale, where she raced at three NCAA Championships, winning a silver medal in the women's four with coxswain in 2015 and at the 2014 Henley Royal Regatta. As an alumna of every level of the USRowing Junior National Team System, Young recognizes the value of a positive camp experience for all athletes. As a coach, she is committed to helping build a culture that supports that experience.