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Great Marlow Coaches

Below are some training guides about the perfect stroke and improving your core stability. These is also information about our coaching team.

The perfect stroke

Jurgen Grobler, Marty Aitken, Paul Thompson and Pete Sheppard - have got together to define British rowing technique, which has been endorsed and adopted by the coaching development officers and incorporated into the coaching award scheme and national junior rowing programme. The 'perfect stroke'is shown in the series of photographs published here.

The perfect outdoor stroke

Good technique is about producing maximum power for minimum effort. Moving the boat as far as possible. Click here to read the guide.

Core stability in the rowing stroke guide

The most important part of the rowing stroke is that big muscle groups deliver loads of joules (power) efficiently to the boat. Click here to read this guide.

The Coaching Team

Fergus Murison

Mr Murison teaches Mathematics at Great Marlow School and has been coaching rowing at the school since he arrived in 2007. Together with Mr Farrelly, he is responsible for the running of Great Marlow School Boat Club and is a Trustee of Great Marlow Swans.

Sean Farrelly

I have been involved in sport as long as I can remember and I played a range of different sports at school, playing tennis to county level and badminton for Scotland.

I took up rowing late in life and I was hooked from the beginning and rowed for Thames Rowing Club where I rowed at Henley Regatta. Then I joined and rowed for Marlow RC in various club and veteran crews.

By the late 90s I was coaching at Marlow Rowing Club. I have coached crews to Henley Royal Regatta and national championship level on a number of occasions.

Since 2002 I have been working with pupils from Great Marlow School initially alongside Marlow RC coaches and since 2008 exclusively with the school when we re-launched our own club.

My ambition is to provide pupils at GMS with an opportunity to experience this fantastic sport and establish GMSBC as one of the top Junior/School rowing clubs in the UK.

David Haynes

I first jumped in a sculling boat to "fill a seat" when my son was starting out about 4 years ago, much to his horror! I climbed in and had a go and quickly got the rowing bug. I then signed up to do a course with Marlow Rowing Club, where I still scull.

My son's training meant that I was spending much of my weekend at Longridge so, keen to be useful I undertook the British Rowing L2 Coaching Course at Dorney Lake and am now delighted to be part of the GMSBC coaching team.

I am constantly amazed by the commitment shown by the GMSBC students - getting to training for 7:30 in the morning, working hard training lunch times, evenings and weekends.

Hermione Tuck

Rowing has been a sport which has shaped my life in more ways than I could have imagined. I was lucky enough to be placed on a rowing "World Class" Talent initiative 5 years ago, which scouted athletes to train specifically for the 2012 London Olympics. This provided me with fantastic opportunities, to be exposed to the best and learn the variety of skills needed to become a top class athlete. 
 
I proceeded to row in the Blue Boat for Cambridge, in the Oxford-Cambridge Varsity Boat race and subsequently compete in International competitions in and around Europe.
 
Having ended my rowing career recently through injury, I am keen to pass on some of my knowledge and experience onto the students at Great Marlow school and help them develop the passion for rowing and sport that I have. 
  

Ben Reynolds

I first started rowing in Year 8 under Project Oarsome, this taught me the basics of rowing and was held at Marlow Rowing club. I went on to row for the JDS (Junior Development Squad) at Marlow Rowing Club where I competed in many events both rowing and coxing. I then went on to row for Great Marlow School Boat Club, taking part in a few events before I started helping out with coaching, taking my level 2 indoor coaching qualification. Now I am an assistant coach at Great Marlow School Boat Club.

I am currently at University of Derby studying Music Technology and now help out when return home.