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The Program Today

Disciplined Training. Competitive Excellence.

Our Approach

A Program That Demands the Best

Kent School Boat Club is a unified rowing program grounded in long-standing tradition and focused on developing student-athletes through disciplined training, competitive racing, and a strong sense of responsibility to the team.

Rowing at Kent is intentionally demanding. It requires consistency, commitment, and the ability to work within a team toward a shared goal. These expectations shape not only competitive performance but also the broader educational experience, reinforcing habits that carry well beyond the boathouse.

The program serves both boys and girls and remains central to the athletic and residential life of the school, operating year-round with a clear seasonal structure that supports both development and competition.

The Partridge Rowing Center

The Benjamin Waring Partridge Rowing Center provides an exceptional training environment: a spacious workout and ergometer room, men's and women's locker facilities, a large meeting and trophy room, and a six-person indoor rowing tank.

This facility complements the boathouse on the banks of the Housatonic River, a scenic 3.5-mile stretch with very little boat traffic, just minutes from the dormitories.

There is no better training environment in scholastic rowing.

Year-Round Program

The Rhythm of the Season

The Kent rowing program maintains a clear seasonal structure that supports both development and competition throughout the year.

Fall Season

Technical Development

Athletes focus on refining boat skills, building aerobic capacity, and developing cohesion across boats. Fall racing, including head-style regattas, provides opportunities for evaluation, experience, and program-wide engagement.

Winter Training

Strength & Conditioning

The program transitions to structured indoor training at the Partridge Center. This period prioritizes strength, conditioning, and technical reinforcement to prepare athletes physically and mentally for the spring racing season.

Spring Season

Championship Racing

Spring is the competitive centerpiece. Crews train with increased intensity and race across New England and beyond, culminating in NEIRAs and national-level competition, the full expression of the program's preparation and standards.

Coaching Leadership

The Coaches of KSBC

KSBC's coaching staff leads both the boys and girls programs with the same commitment to competitive excellence and character development that has defined Kent rowing for a century.

Boys Head Coach

Coach Eric Houston

Coach Houston leads the Kent boys rowing program, continuing a tradition of excellence that has shaped generations of student-athletes on the Housatonic River.

Under his leadership, the boys program upholds the demanding standards of discipline, teamwork, and competitive ambition that have defined KSBC for a century.

Full coaching biography coming soon.

Girls Interim Head Coach

Coach Melissa Holcombe ’87

Coach Holcombe leads the Kent girls rowing program as interim head coach, carrying forward a tradition of excellence that has produced eight NEIRA championships and national titles in 1986, 1987, and 2016.

Under her leadership, the girls program upholds the same standards of discipline, teamwork, and competitive ambition that have defined KSBC across both programs for more than a century.

A search for a permanent head coach is underway.

Assistant Coaches, Boys Program

Hunter Southworth Email
Matt Close Email
Andy Provost Email
David McMillan Email

Assistant Coaches, Girls Program

Maddie Schade
David McMillan
Bob Demaris
1922 – 2026

A Century of Head Coaches

Four men have led the boys program in a hundred and four years. Father Sill coxed the first Kent boat on the Housatonic and coached it himself.

Kent Rowing Head Coaches
Years Boys Program Girls Program
1922 – 1937 Rev. Frederick H. Sill, O.H.C. Not yet established
1937 – 1964 Thomas Dixon “Tote” Walker ’19 Not yet established
1964 – 1973 William “Hart” Perry Jr. Not yet established
1973 – 1982 William “Hart” Perry Jr. William “Hart” Perry Jr.
1982 – 1995 William “Hart” Perry Jr. Mark McWhinney ’75
1995 – 2000 Eric Houston ’80 Mark McWhinney ’75
2001 – 2002 Eric Houston ’80 Daniel Stewart Tucker
2002 – 2003 Eric Houston ’80 James Martinez
2004 – 2007 Eric Houston ’80 James Robinson
2008 – 2019 Eric Houston ’80 Garrison Smith
2020 – 2021 Eric Houston ’80 Anatasia Salatas ’14 (interim)
2022 – 2026 Eric Houston ’80 Christine Wilson
2026 – Eric Houston ’80 Melissa Holcombe ’87 (interim)

Swipe the table sideways to see both programs.

Girls rowing began at Kent in 1973. Hart Perry coached both programs from 1973 to 1982. Compiled from More Than Rowing: Kent School Boat Club, The First 100 Years by Peter Mallory.

Families

Parents & Supporters

Parents and supporters play an important role in the life of the rowing program. KSBC values clear communication, shared expectations, and a strong partnership between families, coaches, and the school.

Throughout the year, the program maintains a balance between performance and sustainability, ensuring that athletes are challenged appropriately while supported in their academic and residential commitments.

Resources for Families

Seasonal program updates and schedules

Regatta logistics and travel information

Guidance on supporting student-athletes through training and competition

Opportunities to engage with the broader KSBC community

Contact the Program
2026 Season Results

Race Schedule

Results for both programs from the spring 2026 season. For the full schedule and results by boat, visit Kent School Athletics.

Spring 2026 Results Full Schedule at Kent Athletics →
Date Event Boys Girls
Apr 11 vs. Phillips Andover
Partridge Center
Win Swept all four boats  ·  Brown/Perry Trophy Placed 1V and 2V 2nd  ·  Andover took the Perry Trophy
Apr 18 Exeter Invitational
Lake Quinsigamond
Win Won 2V, 3V and 4V  ·  1V 2nd  ·  Kent/Exeter Points Trophy and Southbury Cup Placed 3V 1st  ·  1V 2nd  ·  2V 4th
Apr 25 St. Andrew’s Regatta
Noxontown Pond, Middletown, DE
Win 2V and 3V 1st  ·  1V 2nd Did not race
May 2 Middle of Farmington
Tunxis Mead, Farmington
Did not race Win 3V 1st
May 9 Kent Invitational
Lake Waramaug
Placed 3V and 4V 1st  ·  1V and 2V 2nd Placed 3V 3rd  ·  2V 4th  ·  1V 5th
May 17 vs. Boston College High School
Partridge Center
Win Swept all four races  ·  Michael Lehman Trophy, second year running Did not race
May 23 NEIRA Championships
Lake Quinsigamond
Win 3rd eight NEIRA champions  ·  2nd eight 2nd  ·  1st eight 3rd  ·  2nd in Boys Eights points Placed 2nd eight 3rd in the petite final  ·  no grand finals

Swipe the table sideways to see both programs.

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