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].
Ry Hills
Assistant Coach Ry Hills joined our coaching staff in 2018 and brings with her a tremendous wealth of experience. Her competitive resume includes top medal finishes at the National Championships, a third place finish in Olympic trials, and three silver medals at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Ry has coached at the University of New Hampshire, the US Coast Guard Academy, Dartmouth College, the US Women’s Junior National Team, and several clubs. Most recently she was the founder, director, and head coach of Megunticook Rowing in Camden, Maine.
Ry also has a passion for sailing. She and her husband, Tom, enjoy as much time as possible on their 37’ wooden sloop, Snow Star. They often race in local and regional regattas, and their sense of adventure led them to do a circumnavigation of the North Atlantic from June ’17 – June ’18.
Ry is from Rockport, Maine, has an additional background in art & design, and has three grown children (one of whom is also a rowing coach).
She can be contacted at [email protected].