Jen Figueroa, Head Coach and Freshman Novice Men’s Coach
Jen began her rowing career in 1994 as a junior at Edgewater High School in Orlando. At Edgewater, she was able to row in the women’s varsity eight which won a silver medal at Scholastic Nationals in 1995. While at Edgewater, she was women’s team co-captain and voted Most Valuable Rower in 1995. After graduating from high school, she was awarded several scholarships to attend the University of Charleston for rowing and to major in sports medicine. After completing four years of rowing and studying, she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science specializing in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training. She rowed for a year after graduate school for the Newport Aquatic Center in southern California and was able to compete against the women’s national team at the San Diego Crew Classic. After finishing a Masters degree in Motor Control and Kinesiology, she moved to Gainesville to pursue a teaching career and be closer to her family. Currently, Jen is in her 8th year of teaching Anatomy & Physiology at Buchholz High School and is excited to be the novice and freshman men’s coach this year! Jen is a USRowing Level 3 coach. She still rows and trains year round and competes in masters regattas with our growing masters program. Jen has medaled at the Head of the Hooch five times and won a gold medal at the Head of the Charles last fall. Jen credits her passion for rowing to the excellent coaching she received at Edgewater High School and the University of Charleston and tries to ignite this spark with her younger rowers. She will forever feel indebted to Brian Goodwin, Sean Gustafson, and Joe Tewkesbury for changing her life by teaching her to row.
Justin Burgess, Fleet Manager and Varsity Women’s Coach
Justin began his rowing career at Edgewater High School in 1996. In his 4 years he won 2 state championships in the men’s 3V8 and Varsity 8 along with a silver in the JV8 and earned Most Valuable Oarsman his senior year. His boats reached the finals at Scholastic Nationals and Stotesbury Cup on several occasions.
After high school Justin continued his success at Edgewater by coaching the boy’s Freshman 8 to a State Championship in 2001. He then moved on to Syracuse University on a partial rowing scholarship and competed for the Orange for 4 years. While in New York Justin spent his summers coaching with the Syracuse Chargers Rowing Club, with his most notable finish a 2nd place in the women’s flyweight 4+ at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Upon graduating from Syracuse University with a triple Major, Justin enrolled at the University of Florida for a Masters in Political Science and began his coaching at GAR.
Justin is now entering his fifth year at GAR and has helped the Women’s Varsity team continue its tradtion of success. His boats have done well perennially and he has rowers continuing their passion at several top schools. Justin is a Level 3 certified USRowing Coach.
Julianne Parker, Novice Women’s Coach
Julianne began her rowing career at Plant High School in Tampa, Florida where she rowed for four years. In 2003, she was a member of the Women’s Varsity 4 that was the first boat from Hillsborough County to win a State Championship.
Following high school, Julianne went on to row for the University of Miami. While rowing for the U, she garned a fourth place finish in the JVA boat at the San Diego Crew Classic, third place finishes in the Varisty 4 at the Head of the Hooch and ACC Championships, and first place finishes in the Novice 8 and Varsity 4 at Florida State Championships. Off the water, she was a team captain, academic captain, and member of the ACC All-Academic Honor Roll. Julianne graduated from Miami in 2008 with majors in International Studies, Political Science and Religious Studies and minors in Spanish and Business Law.
Now a law student at the University of Florida, Julianne is entering her second year of coaching the Novice Women at GAR. She believes the lessons and skills she learned from 8 years of rowing have been the foundation for all of her athletic and academic achievements, and she hopes to teach her novice rowers to love and learn from rowing.
Clayton began rowing at Lake Brantley High School fall of 1997. He rowed in the Novice 8 and the Varsity Lightweight 8 which went on to place 4th at Scholastic Nationals. Clayton came to UF in 1998, rowing 3 years with Florida Crew. He took second at Dad Vails in the Novice Lightweight 8 in 1999. In 2000, the squad won the FIRA men’s points trophy for the first time in club history. Clayton’s first experience coaching was filling in as Men’s Varsity coach during the fall of 2001. After focusing on competitive sailing Clayton returned to rowing as the Varsity Women’s coach for Florida Crew in 2006-2007. Clayton began coaching with GAR in the 2007-2008 season and is entering his third year coaching Middle School Sculling. In his spare time Clayton is Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology at UF.
Katie Flowers, Varsity Men’s Coach
Katie Flowers is entering her second year of coaching for GAR. She began as a volunteer coach in January of 2009 and is currently the Varsity Men’s Coach. Prior to coaching, Katie rowed for the Orlando Area Rowing Society starting in 2004. While at OARS, Katie was awarded Best Sportmanship and Most Valuable Teammate and also elected as team captain for the 2006-2007 year. She has spent the past few years shadowing her coach, Kirsten Anderson and her former coworker, MIchael Moseley. She moved to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and is studying Political Science, History and French. Katie’s family lives in Orlando and she has a younger sister, Ashley, who still rows. Katie has attained her USRowing levels I and II certifications in 2010 and hopes to attain her level III certification this December. In her spare time, Katie is involved with many on campus organizations and enjoys attending many Gator sporting events. Katie loves coaching so far and cannot wait to see what this year has is store for herself and the team.
Abby Bradford, Assistant Coach
Abigail Bradford arrived at the GAR boathouse in the Fall of 2008 as the lone female coach on the high school team. She managed to hang around long enough to coach the novice women’s squad in Spring 2009 and is now an assistant to the woman’s team. Happy to be joined by Julianne and Katie, most days you can see Abby and her dog, Daisy, helping Julianne with the Novice squad. With her witty repertoire and constant demand for the best, Abby strives to help the rowers develop their skills to go on to become great athletes and people. Prior to joining GAR, Abby rowed and coxed at the Jacksonville Rowing Club. She is currently studying to become a high school English teacher and hopes to continue coaching long into the future.