Gavin Kelley was hired as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's rowing programs for the 2022-23 season.
Kelley joins the Dolphins with eleven years of coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels, coaching most recently in 2021 at Colby College in Maine.
Prior to his one season as an assistant with Colby, Kelley also gained collegiate rowing experience working as a novice coach at Boston College from 2013 to 2015, and also as an assistant for both the men’s and women’s teams at the Catholic University of America from 2018 to 2019.
In his time with both schools, Gavin racked up a long list of achievements which included winning the New England Team Points Championship twice, and a Novice 8+ gold medal at the 2014 New England Rowing Championships while he was with Boston College.
In addition to his experience at the college level, Kelley has also spent time working in the high school and club areas of rowing, most recently in 2021 as a varsity girl’s assistant at Shrewsbury High School in Massachusetts.
His club involvement includes coaching with Community Rowing Inc in Boston, where he spent time in many roles, most notably as volunteer assistant coach for the men’s lightweight 8+ in 2015, and as head coach of the men’s competitive masters team in 2014.
Prior to his time coaching, Gavin was a walk-on at rowing powerhouse Marist, where he rowed for two years from 2008 to 2010.
In his time with the Red Foxes, Kelley was a part of back-to-back MAAC Championship winning teams, rowing in the Gold Medal winning 2nd Varsity 8 in 2010, and the Gold Medal winning Lightweight 4+ in both 2009 and 2010.
Now with a new home in Jacksonville, Kelley has been brought onto the staff to help in multiple areas which include recruiting, developing the freshmen class, organizing and ordering team equipment, assisting in annual fundraising efforts, and assisting in competition prep.
When asked about his decision to hire Kelley, Head Coach Preston Weinard demonstrated how he knew Gavin would be a great hire from the time they first met.
“From the first round of the interview process, Gavin stood out to me as someone who can really help drive our program forward. Gavin has a diverse breadth of coaching experience that will help our office enhance the student-athlete experience,” stated Weinard.
“We have done a great job as a program with recruiting, fundraising, and making JU boats faster and I am excited to have him be a part of it all,” exclaimed Weinard.
