Doug Welling
Head Coach Doug Welling has a broad background in sport—from equestrian, traditional team sports and snowboarding in youth, to four years of collegiate rowing while attending Bates College in Maine and the University of Otago, New Zealand. After graduating from Bates in 2001, he coached rowing at Middlebury College and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Doug joined the Bowdoin community when he met his wife, then-assistant rowing coach. He became assistant coach in 2011 and head coach in 2018. Doug’s crews have medaled at the New England Rowing Championships, Dad Vail Regatta, and Head of the Charles. His crews compete regularly at the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames in the UK.
Since 2016, Doug has been selected to coach the summertime US Rowing Olympic Development Program in Ashland, Oregon.
Personally, Doug still loves to train and compete in triathlons. He has raced extensively, qualifying for numerous world championship events, including the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii twice. He also operates a multisport coaching company, The Sustainable Athlete, based in Maine.
Doug loves all things outdoors, especially when shared with his family––wife Hannah and two children.
He can be contacted at [email protected].
Jenny Sherman
Assistant Coach Jenny Sherman believes the best crews are built on more than strength and skill; they are built on gratitude, humility, and a relentless hunger to improve. She carries forward the philosophy of her mentor, legendary UVA coach Kevin Sauer: “Entitled to nothing, grateful for everything,” a mindset that guides how she shows up for her athletes and the culture she works to create in the boathouse.
Mentored by coaches like Sauer at UVA and Lou Berl at Nobles, Jenny learned that rowing’s greatest gift is not the medal at the end, but the person you become in the process. Even after four NEIRA titles, a course record that still stands nearly three decades later, and a NCAA Championship, it is the friendships and lessons learned that stay with her.
Jenny works to give her athletes that same gift by teaching them to chase excellence, work hard without ego, and find joy in the grind. As a former yoga instructor, she weaves in principles of body awareness and breath while helping rowers build the mental strength and mindset needed to stay committed, hungry, and composed under pressure. She aims to spark curiosity and wonder and to help her crews find the magic that happens when a team truly commits to one another, building trust and feeling into the boat rather than forcing it.
Jenny believes every rower has untapped potential waiting to be discovered and that the best teams are those where athletes leave stronger in character, resilience, and connection than when they arrived.
When she is not on the water, Jenny soaks up Maine life with her partner and their four kids, often enjoying the outdoors and wandering the coast. She also runs a successful brand and lifestyle photography business, which she founded in 2010.
She can be contacted at [email protected]
Gil Birney
After 22 years leading Bowdoin Rowing as Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s programs, Gil Birney retired following the spring 2018 season. His tenure left a lasting mark on the program—building not only competitive crews but also a culture of hard work, camaraderie, and joy on the water.
A few years later, in spring 2021, Gil returned to the New Meadows as a volunteer coach. Since then, he has been a steady presence alongside the coaching staff, sharing his deep well of experience and his trademark enthusiasm with a new generation of Polar Bears.
Gil is especially energized by the chance to coach from the program’s beautiful new boathouse, a facility that reflects Bowdoin Rowing’s growth and bright future. He remains grateful to Coach Doug Welling and the College for welcoming him back during the exciting early stages of this new era.
