Crew
Program Philosophy
Our rowing program hopes to foster a “team first” mentality that emphasizes the importance of whole-team development and success. We believe that with that approach, individual growth, success and future opportunities will follow. Along with ample time spent in boats on Seattle’s waterways, practices also consist of indoor strength and conditioning and erging on campus. Coaches provide extra-sport guidance in time management, injury prevention, nutrition, and college recruitment/planning.
Crew offers three seasons of activity, with competitions happening in both the fall and spring seasons. Varsity and novice (for those with less than one year of racing experience) teams compete at regattas throughout the Northwest region and beyond (in locations such as BC, Canada, Ohio, Florida, Boston, and California).
Every year, the Prep crew team has had athletes recruited by Division 1 colleges, oftentimes earning significant scholarships. The team has consistently won titles at the NW Youth Regionals and qualified boats to Youth National Championships.
Seattle Prep Rowing is a pay-to-play athletic program, with season fees, regatta and travel costs collected from families at the end of each season. Financial assistance ensures that all interested student-athletes have the opportunity to participate.
Rowing to Victory
In 2022, for the first time in program history, Prep's crew team won the Northwest Regional title. The duo of Claire Rulyak ’24 and Natalia Peng ’24, became the first Prep rowers to win a bronze medal at the US Rowing National event in June.
PROGRAM HEAD
James Nelson returns lead to the Seattle Prep rowing program where he spent four years as an assistant coach – working with both genders at every level, novice through varsity – between the years of 2017 and 2023. Since then, he’s gained valuable leadership experience with Pocock Youth Rowing and College Club of Seattle (CCS), where he recently started the Sockeye Racing summer program that a number of our student-athletes are participating in.
An accomplished rower himself, Nelson is well regarded in the region for his technical, high-performance coaching and has demonstrated experience creating safe, developmentally appropriate training plans for youth rowers at all levels. Originally from Austin, Texas, he is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), where he served as co-Captain of the rowing program and was named Most Valuable Rower his senior year. He’s a two-time United States National Team athlete and has a decorated list of achievements as both an athlete and a coach.