Five Star Coaching from “The Greatest Rower of All Time”

World famous rower, Sir Steve Redgrave, put Yarm School pupils through their paces with a coaching masterclass.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist shared his wisdom during a two-hour long coaching session on the river Tees.

Following the session, Steve attended a Q&A evening at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium to talk about his career and the highs and lows that come with professional sport.

With over 20 years of rowing heritage, Yarm has produced some of the country’s finest rowers including Olympic gold medallist, Kat Copeland.

As one of the North East’s top independent schools, Yarm School continues to ensure that all its pupils are provided with specialist teaching both inside and outside the classroom.

Sir Steve Redgrave said: “It’s great to be at Yarm, which has one of the strongest and biggest rowing programmes in the North with many great athletes coming from the school.
“I’ve had an enjoyable afternoon coaching the students and I hope that they can have a chuckle about some of the stories I have told them from my career.”

Dr Huw Williams, Headmaster at Yarm School said: “Having Steve Redgrave is a huge point of excitement for our pupils and a real privilege for us as a school to have a five-time Olympic gold medallist to help the pupils hone their technique and raise their aspirations.
“The rowing programme is a very popular and successful part of our extensive sporting and extracurricular programme and has lots of pupils involved, some taking part socially and for fun, and others committing to serious training and competing at a very high standard.”

Deacon Laverick, Boat Club Captain said: “It was an honour being on the water with Steve and it was very motivating listening to him and hearing how he has progressed throughout his career.”
Annabel Cunningham, Boat Club Captain said: “It was incredible to watch Steve coach and just to be out on the water with him.”

Photo credit: Terry Blackburn