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Doug
Connelly Head Coach Doug Connelly is entering his fourth season at the helm of the Franklin Pierce University Men's and Women's Rowing teams. He joined Franklin Pierce in 2004 while completing his graduate studies at Antioch New England. After his initual year, he was named the first full-time rowing coach in the program's history. “These past three years have thrilled me. I have been pushing the team on two levels for improvement. The first is our daily work on boatspeed - improving strength, conditioning, and how skillfully the crews move through the water. The second focus has been to develop depth on the squad. Initially numbers were low, and I felt it essential that we race a number of crews to make our top boats strong. I feel great about the improvements we have made on both levels.”
The Fall 2006 head racing season began very strongly, with three of four crews earning medals at the New Hampshire Championships, including gold for the Women's Varsity Four (WV4) and Men's Novice Four (MN4). Two weeks later at the Head of the Charles, the Ravens raced both Men's and Women's Varsity Eights (M&WV8) at the Charles for the first time in the program's history. Harsh weather and ice plagued the spring season, but the Ravens fought back, and the WV4 made their third consecutive appearance in the Grand Finals of the New England Rowing Championships. The Ravens began the fall of 2005 by earning medals at the New Hampshire Championship. This continued into the spring for the WV4, earning medals for the second year in a row at Villanova’s Knecht Cup, reaching the Grand Finals at the New England Rowing Championship that year, and earning an invitation to the ECAC Rowing Championships. The women's program was regularly ranked regionally for the first time in program history, narrowly missing out on a first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II Championships. In
Connelly's first year, on a part-time basis,
Franklin
Pierce enjoyed a strong year, with the WV4 earning a
gold medal at The Knecht Cup, and
placing fifth at the New England Championships. The WV4 earned the
program’s first invitation to the ECAC Championships. During
their fall season, the WV4 placed fourth at the
Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Mass., as well as the New Hampshire
Championships. The team placed 20th at the Head of the
Charles.
Connelly has been immersed in collegiate rowing and coaching for ten years. Immediately after graduating from Colby in 1999, Connelly accepted the novice men's coaching position at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where his crews medaled in numerous regional regattas. Connelly rowed for four years at Colby College, earning medals at every major New England regatta that his crew entered, including the Head of the Charles, the New England Championships and the ECAC Championships. As a senior oarsman, Connelly earned the S.A. Shirey Oarsmanship Award, given to a Colby rower who embodies the spirit and sportsmanship of rowing. In addition to coaching, Connelly oversees the Pre-Orientation Wilderness Trips - backpacking and kayaking adventures for the incoming freshmen of Franklin Pierce. Connelly’s graduate degree in environmental studies and his years of instructing for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has guided his work as an outdoor educator. He continues to instruct for NOLS and is excited about the recent decision for Franklin Pierce to offer academic credit for these semesters in the wilderness. |
