Coach from launch during practice
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COACHES

TIM FRANCK

Head Coach – Varsity Juniors, Competitive Masters

Tim joined the St. Louis Rowing Club (SLRC) as Head Coach in August 2005. He personally coaches the SLRC’s Competitive Adult Program (Masters) and the SLRC Varsity Juniors. In addition to his other responsibilities as Head Coach, he recruits for the SLRC Competitive Youth Rowing Program and has grown the Youth Program from 30 kids to over 150 young athletes from a variety of schools throughout the greater St. Louis area. Tim is also an executive committee member of the Midwest Junior Rowing Association and is USRowing Level 3 Coaching Certified.

During his 18 years as Head Coach, the SLRC Juniors have won 50 Midwest Championships and finished in the top 10 at Youth Nationals dozens of times. His Masters crews have won many National Championship medals, including gold in 2023.

Tim’s Varsity rowers have been recruited to row at many prestigious colleges, including: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Williams, Brown, UPenn, Cal-Berkeley, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Michigan, US Naval Academy, MIT, Indiana, UNC, Tulsa, Tennessee, Clemson, SMU, Alabama, Kansas, Hamilton, Wisconsin, Northeastern, Oklahoma, UMiami, and others.

Prior to joining the SLRC: Tim learned to row at the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club (CJRC), where, as a senior, he stroked the boys’ eight to victory at the National Championships. That experience was followed with a rowing scholarship to Northeastern University, a perennial power in men’s D1 rowing. Following NU, Tim returned to Cincinnati and spent five years as the Novice Boys’ coach with CJRC, where his crews won 93% of their races.

Tim Franck - Coach SLRC

JOHN DUNCAN

Assistant Coach

John was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School. John went on to graduate from the University of British Columbia with an undergraduate degree in business, specializing in human resources and logistics, in the spring of 2018. He currently works as a financial professional for Synergy Wealth Solutions. During high school, he was a competitive junior rower from 2010 – 2014 under the tutelage of former junior coach, and current Washington University of St. Louis coach, Andrew Black. During this time, John raced as a lightweight rower, medaling in events such as the lightweight 8+ and lightweight 4+ at the Midwest Junior Regional Championships. His lightweight career reached its highest peak in 2013, as he placed 5th at the Junior National Championships in the lightweight 4+.

John Duncan - SLRC Coach

CHARNSIN TULYASATHIEN

Coach – Adult Recreational

Charnsin started his rowing and coaching career with SLRC. He started rowing his Junior year of high school and coaching learn-to-row that following summer. After rowing at the University of Pennsylvania, Charnsin continued his coaching career for various clubs and programs, including coaching Master’s Women for the Thompson Boat Club in Washington, DC, Varsity Men for Lake Braddock High School, and Junior Novice Men for SLRC.

Outside of rowing, Charnsin is a Consultant at Daugherty Business Solutions, married, and spends his free time driving his daughter to her various activities.

Charnsin Tulyasathien - SLRC Coach

CHARLIE LEBENS

Coach – Adult Intermediates

Charlie began rowing with the St. Louis Rowing Club in 2010 as a novice and returned for the next three years as a member of the varsity boys’ team. As a varsity rower, Charlie earned several medals at the Midwest Junior Regional Championships and the first-ever gold medal at USRowing Youth National Championships for SLRC in the coxed four. In that year and the next, Charlie and the varsity four remained undefeated against 200+ consecutive opponents, earning gold at every regatta until winning silver at Regionals in 2014. In his senior year on the team, Charlie helped bring the boys’ open-weight eight to its highest-yet position at Youth Nationals, missing the grand finals by under a tenth of a second.

After graduating from Whitfield and leaving SLRC, Charlie was recruited to row for the Heavyweight Crew at Dartmouth where he continued to row for four years under the direction of US Olympic Gold-Medalist, Wyatt Allen. While at Dartmouth, Charlie medaled the coxed four at the Head of the Charles Regatta and sat stroke seat in the coxed four at the Division I IRA National Championships during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He graduated from Dartmouth with a major in Economics and a minor in Education in spring of 2018 and later returned to St. Louis for work.

As a coach, Charlie held a position as a counselor/assistant coach for the Evergreen Rowing Camp, Dartmouth’s summer youth development program. Additionally, Charlie has volunteer-coached several of SLRC’s junior programs during summers and extended breaks while in college. Alongside a fantastic group of coaches, Charlie looks forward to an exciting and productive year at SLRC.

Charlie Lebens - SLRC Coach

DEAN HOOKS

Coach – Adult Novice Sculling, Varsity Junior Boys Assistant

Dean has always enjoyed athletics ranging from waterskiing to cycling to competitive running. He bought an erg for cross training and after a few million meters became interested in on-the-water rowing. Dean has rowed with the Competitive Masters for a number of years and, along with some very hard-working crewmates, has medaled at all the crew’s regional regattas, as well as, the Masters Nationals. He believes developing a feel for the boat is one of the most valuable skills a rower can attain.

Dean has seen how participation in athletics has made a positive influence on people of all skill ranges and sees coaching as a way to contribute to developing athletes. He is also a coach for the St. Louis Warriors indoor track team which, like SLRC, draws athletes from high schools across the region.

Dean holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, a Masters in Electrical Engineering from The University of Illinois and a graduate certification in Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems from Washington University.

Dean Hooks - SLRC Coach

STEVE GIDDINGS

Coach – Adult Sculling

Steve started rowing in fixed seat boats (cape cod dory) at age 4. His parents tied the boat to a fixed point (anchor) and let him row hour after hour in front of their summer camp in New Hampshire. He was turned free at about age 6, and rowed dinghies until he went to college. He rowed his freshman year, then switched to playing bass guitar in some reasonably successful bands, and paid his way through college.

In 1991, his daughter took up the sport. He started using her erg. When she returned home from US selection camp, they started rowing together on the water. One thing led to another, and he ended up being president of the club from 1997-2004. When the boathouse got built, he resigned his executive position and started a sculling program.

Steve has a PhD in physiology with an emphasis on exercise. He followed that to take a bunch of enthusiastic master scullers to some regattas, had a great time, and even won some medals.

In 2001, he started attending a week long rowing camp run by Canadian national team coaches looking to make a little extra. That went until COVID struck in 2020.

Steve focuses on technique, leaving singles and doubles scullers to do their own aerobic and strength training.

TOM ALBERT

Assistant Coach – Varsity Juniors

Tom began rowing at Williams College and returned to the sport with SLRC’s Competitive Masters in 2015. He won gold medals in SLRC boats at the Head of the Hooch, Head of the Rock, and Music City Regattas, and won the Master’s National Championship with the SLRC Men’s Four in 2017. He serves in assistant coaching roles with both varsity boys and girls at SLRC, as well as competing with the Master’s team.

Tom also supports SLRC as the lead for boathouse equipment maintenance and formerly served on SLRC’s Board of Directors as club Captain.

Tom Albert - SLRC Coach

EMMA LAWRIE

Assistant Coach – Varsity Girls

Emma started rowing in 2015 as a novice for Indiana University. She won a Big Ten Medal in the women’s 4 at Big Ten Championships and participated in 2 NCAA championships for Indiana in 2017 and 2018. During her off season summers, Emma trained at Indianapolis Rowing Club and in 2017 the Princeton National Rowing Association. She won the U23 Women’s Pair at the Independence Day Regatta on the Schuylkill and came in 5th in Women’s pair at club nationals that summer.

Emma Lawrie - SLRC Coach

JOHN JAEGER

Assistant Coach

John started rowing for SLRC in the spring of 2012 under Andrew Black where he developed a fierce passion for competition and a deep passion for the sport. He had the incredible experience of going to Youth National Championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015 in the pair, eight and four. The love of training and commitment to technical excellence is something that he still carries with him and hopes to inspire in all his crews.

In 2015 he was recruited to row at Brown (Go Bruno) where he graduated with a degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering in 2019. He started coaching summer learn to rows in college and started as the Head Novice Boys Coach in 2022. John focuses on technique and building a love of training. He believes that with enough dedication anyone can be great at rowing.

John Jaeger

PEGGY FRANCIS

Assistant Coach

Peggy has been a member of the St. Louis Rowing Club (SLRC) since 2010, and competes along with the SLRC masters. During her tenure, she has served as a volunteer assistant coach for the junior men’s and women’s programs as well as adult learn-to-rows. Supporting her three sons as they competed in high school, collegiate, national, and world championship-level rowing events has furthered her experience, understanding, and appreciation for the sport. She has enjoyed a variety of volunteer opportunities at the SLRC including years of experience leading numerous successful fundraising programs for the club.

Peggy Francis - Assistant Coach

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