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Fresh off of a dominating win at the US High School Sailing National Coed Dinghy Championship…. http://www.spyc.org/club/scripts/view/view_clubannouncement.asp?pg=PY&GRP=4561&AID=52031&NS=PY&APP=58

……Newport Harbor High School just won the Baker Trophy, High School Sailing’s Team Race National Championship Trophy!!

For full results see here:   http://www.pcisa.org/Baker2009Results.htm

Check out the current results here!!!

http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring09/womensresults.asp

The battle for the top award in Intercollegiate Women’s Sailing, Quantum Women’s Sailor of the Year, is red hot as we head into the national championship semifinals to be held May 25th at St. Francis Yacht Club, hosted by Stanford University, with the Finals to follow May 26-27.

The depth of the competitive field has never been greater. Amazingly, twenty-three different sailors representing thirteen different colleges have won divisions at major national competitions this year–an unprecedented number. As the women’s national championships approach, the guessing games begin: Will stand-out freshman singlehanded national champion, Anne Haeger, earn a starting spot on the defending champion team from Boston College? Will the consistency of Yale’s Jane Mackey continue to the very end? Western Washington University’s Molly Jackson has won every one of the NWICSA Conference’s coed & women’s championships. Can she now repeat her winning ways on the national stage as she did at the same venue just one month ago? (St. Francis Women’s Intersectional)

Regardless of the outcome, two tremendously exciting regattas, likely to be held in very windy conditions, will determine the Quantum Woman’s Sailor of the Year, which will be announced May 27th…

College sailing has become progressively more organized over the years, largely due to the increased presence of full time coaches. This past week, I sat down with one of the best – Bill Ward of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Bill’s coaching resume includes five national championships, Team USA at the Beijing Olympics, the BUSA tour, and the Pan Am Games.

You put together yet another great fall season – tell us a bit about the team and how you achieved this success.

Our team is smaller this year and we don’t quite have the depth we’ve had the last two years. Having said that, we do have a talented, motivated group that is hungry for success. We spend most of our time in the Fall building fundamental skills that will hopefully enable us to have improving results throughout the season. We also devote a significant amount of time to preparing for the Fall nationals, with the goal of qualifying for all the nationals.

You had an outstanding spring with last year’s team, and then what I can only assume was a somewhat disappointing nationals. Were you left scratching your head, or can you pinpoint what happened?

Last year’s Nationals was disappointing for our team. We were the defending champions in Women’s and Team Racing and we had really strong results throughout the Spring season. We were in contention to repeat as champs, but had bad last days and ended up 6th at both regattas.

College Sailing is so competitive that you can’t expect to win any particular regatta. We had some injuries leading up to Nationals that really affected our preparation. We also caught a few bad breaks during the competition and that’s all it takes to knock you off the podium. I don’t think it was too much of a mystery to us as to why we didn’t perform up to our expectations.

The Co-ed Dinghy Nationals, however, went well for our team. We were in contention to win up until the very end of the regatta. In this sport, that’s a successful event. So taken all together, last year’s Nationals was still a good result for our team.

Every program has its own culture and identity. How would you describe these in regards to your program? What kind of sailors are a good fit with this program?

We try to be a program that pushes people to excel. We want to improve our sailors in all aspects of the game and not just College Sailing- specific skills. The kind of sailors that are a good fit for St. Mary’s have a passion for the game and a strong desire to improve.

What are some of the biggest adjustments you see that junior sailors need to make to be successful in the collegiate game? What habits do you tend to have to break?

High School Sailing has gotten so big, that many sailors come to College with a lot of experience in the type of racing we do. The boathandling is more refined at this level and team racing is much more advanced. The toughest bad habits to break usually are in fundamental areas like boathandling.

College sailing has evolved a lot – just in the time that you and I have been a part of it. What are the highest impact changes you observed, and where do you think we’re headed?

There are more good teams with funding and coaching. That’s the biggest difference- growth. Hopefully that will continue with more schools deciding that sailing is a worthwhile sport to invest in.

What are you able to take back from your personal sailing to coaching, and vice versa?

I take a lot back and forth from sailing to coaching. I still love to play the game and there is no substitute for experiencing the real thing when you are trying to help other people prepare for competition. As a coach, you see the big picture and that can only improve your sailing.

You’ve coached at a wide range of levels. What are the main differences and how do you adapt? Did the Beijing Olympics feel like just another day on the water?

Different sailors are working on different issues. At higher levels, usually you are trying to solve more complicated problems. We tried to make the Olympics feel like just another day, but it didn’t.

What do you enjoy most about coaching, what drives you?

I like helping people achieve their personal goals and the thrill of competition. I feel like I am always challenged and that drives me.

Thanks for your time Bill, and best of luck in the Spring.

Dan Rabin
Assistant Sailing Coach
Brown University