Coaching Staff


The 2007-08 season is Andrew Carter’s seventh as the head rowing coach at Bates. Before coming to Bates, Carter served as an assistant coach at the University of Southern California in 1999-2000. From 1996 to 1999, he served as head coach at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Prior to coming to the United States, Carter spent two years working at Canada’s National Rowing Center in London, Ontario, under the head women’s coach for the national team. In addition to this elite-level coaching experience, Carter has coached various successful collegiate, club and provincial programs throughout his native Canada. His achievements as a rower and as a coach include medals in many of North America’s major rowing competitions, such as the Dad Vail, Royal Canadian Henley and the Head of the Charles. Carter received a B.Sc. (Kinesiology) in applied sports science from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a M.Sc. (Kinesiology) in Biomechanics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.

E-mail Andrew Carter at acarter@bates.edu or call (207) 786-6363.

Assistant coach Peter Steenstra is the recruiting contact for Bates rowing. E-mail Peter Steenstra at psteenst@bates.edu or call (207) 786-6352. Steenstra has vast experience in rowing, beginning with his career on the men's varsity eight at Hobart College, where he graduated in 1996. Steenstra went on to coach the men's and women's novice crews at Colby College for three years, then was the head coach of the men's and women's crew club at Ohio State Universtiy from 1999 to 2006. Steenstra also coached at Cornell University, first as varsity assistant coach of the Heavyweight Men then as the assistant women's coach, while earning a Masters of Science degree in sports management from Ithaca College.

Assistant coach Ryan Sparks '05 has coached on the junior, masters, club, varsity collegiate and international pre-elite level. He has held coaching jobs on three continents. Ryan coordinates with head coach Andrew Carter for the daily coaching of the men's and women's first and second varsity eights. Ryan coached at Wesleyan University in 2007, helping to sweep the silver medals in the men's varsity events at the New England Championships. Ryan also coached the novice men and women prior to his time at Wesleyan to top four championship finishes.  Ryan's experience includes working with pre-elite and Olympic athletes in the United States, New Zealand and Germany. Out of the nine crews with which Ryan has worked with in the recent past, eight have gone on the the "A" level final in their respective championship races.