I had the privilege of sitting down with three emerging leaders in international rowing coaching who have made their way through the British Rowing development programme: Lauren Fisher, lead men’s coach for Rowing Canada, Rich Chambers, assistant women’s coach at Leander Cub and coach of the British Women’s 8+ in Paris, and Kieran Clark of Clark Performance and several time U23 coach for Great Britain. Between them, they have coached crews to eight U23 World Championship titles, as well as three silver and two bronze medals. During our conversation, we chatted about how they ended up in high-performance coaching through the British Rowing system, their coaching philosophy and how it has changed, and how they act as a support system for each other, even when an ocean separates them.
First Exposure
One thing that stood out during our conversation is that no two paths to becoming a high-performance coach are the same; each coach’s experiences as an athlete played an important role in their development.
Kieran grew up as a multi-sport athlete, including ice hockey, football, martial arts, and running, but wasn’t particularly skilled at them. Being tall at age 12, he was encouraged to try rowing, which he excelled at initially due to being bigger than the rest. Kieran stopped rowing at sixteen and took a five-year break before returning to the sport as an adult. This break seemed beneficial, allowing him to rekindle his passion without going through burnout which is so common in junior rowers. Kieran began coaching in 2009, starting at a Durham University college rowing club and volunteering at Tees Rowing Club. In 2009, he coached a women’s eight that his mum and aunt were in, marking his first major race as a coach.
“I kind of made that conscious decision pretty quickly that if I’m going to do it as a career, I need to be at the top, not just bumbling around for 10 years in the middle. So yeah, I was very much always trying to look for, you know, what’s the next step in coaching for me and for the athletes that I’m working with.” Kieran Clark
Lauren grew up golfing competitively. At 16, the then World Class Start programme came into her school and identified her potential in the sport of rowing, ultimately causing her to decide to quit golfing. At first, her progression was rapid, and within a year of rowing full-time, Lauren found herself racing at the 2004 Junior World Rowing Championships in Banyoles, Spain. She credited this quick rise to her ability to feel technical details better than the rest of her peers and being stronger and much taller than the rest. Unfortunately, Lauren’s quick rise in the sport was ultimately hampered by developing coaching that pushed her too hard, too soon, ultimately retiring prematurely due to illness and injury. Immediately after retirement, Lauren began coaching “with an intent of trying to rectify the wrongs of my experiences initially, or at least learn from those lessons.” For the first five years of coaching, Lauren volunteered for a high-performance club and worked other jobs to pay her way, which she credits for giving her perspective on the resources now afforded to her as a national team coach.
Rich’s journey into rowing was like many rowers, as he wasn’t good at catching or kicking a ball, ultimately putting ball sports out of the question. Rich went to university at Oxford Brookes and rowed whilst there, because of this he was able to transition to the British Rowing squad at Caversham quite seamlessly. Rich rowed for GB between 2005 and 2016, attending three Olympic Games and winning a silver medal in London 2012. “I always knew, I wanted to go into coaching, I always was quite inquisitive and had to understand why I was doing something.” On the 12th of September 2016, Rich began his coaching journey at Cambridge University under Steve Trapmore as his chief coach.
Striving for More
In 2012, Lauren began working for British Rowing in a maternity cover role for the Start programme centre in the Midlands. This opportunity allowed her to become more involved in the national team programme. In 2014, she had been asked to drive the trailer to the U23’s, a rite of passage for aspiring coaches and a highly valuable position for learning within the British Rowing coach development pathway. From then on, she didn’t miss a U23’s and coached a crew to at least one medal each year from 2015 to 2019, including setting a world-best time in the U23 Women’s double in 2018. Reflecting on her experience, Lauren acknowledged the importance of working with talented athletes and the contributions of coaches and selectors: “It’s the athletes you’re blessed to work with, the good selection, and the development throughout the year. In the end, it’s not about picking up the glory of others’ hard work.”
Lauren credits her biggest success in her time with British Rowing to developing women’s sculling in the U23 programme by pushing sweepers toward sculling despite the challenge of working with predominantly US-based athletes. Her efforts led to several U23 medals and ultimately set the platform for continued success in sculling in Great Britain.
In 2017, Kieran had a promising athlete who was expected to make the team but got injured, leaving him at the National Centre in Caversham without any of his own athletes. Determined to stay involved, he persistently sought opportunities from Pete Sheppard, the U23 lead coach. Initially slated to drive the trailer to Plovdiv in 2017, Kieran coached a double combination that came together somewhat unexpectedly. Additionally, they won, marking a rapid learning curve: “It was a steep turnaround from pestering Shep to getting a boat good enough to win, which I was fortunate to be part of.”
Rich had aspired to coach a U23 team in 2017 but wasn’t given the position that year. After the 2017 Boat Race, Rich took the lead on the summer development squad at Cambridge and juggled making it to Caversham to participate in national team sessions as much as possible. Despite the hectic schedule, he found the experience rewarding: “It really felt like I was running around like a bulldog doing everything, but I wouldn’t change it. It’s a crucial part of the job.”
The following year, Shep offered him the chance to coach a crew at U23s, bringing two of his Cambridge athletes with him. That year, Rich coached the men’s eight, which finished second behind the USA. The experience was inspiring: “Watching a group of nine guys I’d worked with for six weeks achieve something like that was unbelievable and made me hungry for more.” The following year, he coached the men’s coxless four for Sarasota, working with a team of exceptional rowers. Three of them—David Ambler, Tom Digby, and Freddie Davidson—went on to win Olympic medals in Paris.
Up Next
Sitting down with Lauren, Rich, and Kieran revealed not just the individual journeys that have shaped their coaching careers but also the collective values and lessons they carry forward into the high-performance rowing world.
Each of them has walked a unique path, shaped by setbacks and triumphs, and has been guided by a deep passion for the sport and its athletes. From Kieran’s early persistence in seeking opportunities to Lauren’s dedication to developing women’s sculling in Great Britain to Rich’s determination to bring out the best in his crews, their stories testify to the impact of the British Rowing development pathway in fostering world-class coaching talent.
What stands out most is their shared commitment to growth—their own and their athletes. Whether it’s through mentoring the next generation or learning from their own experiences as rowers, these coaches demonstrate a relentless drive to elevate rowing to new heights. Together, they embody the spirit of perseverance, collaboration, and excellence that defines high-performance sports, leaving a legacy far greater than the medals won or records set. As they continue to push boundaries and support each other, it’s clear that their collective impact on the rowing world will resonate for years to come. Next up in this mini-series, our conversation continues, and we dive more into Lauren, Rich, and Kieran’s coaching philosophy and how it has changed over their careers.
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