Coaching Staff 2022

Brandon D’Orazio

Lead Coach – Competitive: Sophia Buzzell

E.L Crossley 2017 Grad, Rutgers University 2017-2018, Brock University 2018-2022 Medical Science

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

Backdown progressions. To allow maximal engagement and connection through each part of the stroke. As well as, it allows athletes to feel the active muscle groups with the additional weight on the blade.

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

Emily Brettell taught me to always strive for more and never take anything for granted. She was the definition of resilience.

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

“Take it one stroke at a time”

Why did you get into coaching?

As an athlete I thought I just loved the sport, but after leaving it I realized I missed the competitive atmosphere and the team spirit the most. As a coach I get the opportunity to help a new generation of rowers find just that.

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

Why did you get into coaching?

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

I love leap frog or any workout where you have other boats to push off of. It’s a great way to get used to being by other crews while coming together as a crew.

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

I have had so many great teammates and coaches over the years who have all taught me something new and amazing about the sport that I didn’t know before. I will forever be grateful for Pete Somerwil who gave me the strength to believe in myself, not just as an athlete, but as a person. His support over the years means the world to me.

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

“Just have fun, because rowing is fun”

Why did you get into coaching?

In high school, rowing changed my life and gave me a place where I belonged for the first time. It was a community that I didn’t know I needed. I owe every success that I have ever had to what the sport has taught me and the opportunities it has provided me. I figured that if I could share my passion of the sport with others, then maybe the sport can be that place and community for someone else.

Where do/did you go to school and what program(s) do/did you study?

I just graduated from Welland Centennial High School but I’m going to Brock for Physical Education.

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

My favorite drill is Cut the Cake because it teaches the rowers to slow down, and it takes a lot of focus to stay in time.

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

How to row with a smile on my face. It’s easy to get caught up in drills, workouts, or races but ultimately rowing is something that I love to do and something that I take for granted too often.

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

“Hold your position 3”

Why did you get into coaching?

I got into coaching because I wanted to further my knowledge in the sport. As an athlete I always wanted to go more in depth with the proper technique and as a coach I can keep learning.

I went to Queens University and studied biology with a minor in geology.

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

My favourite workout rush in catch. I like it because it is hard and challenges the athletes. It challenges both the physical and mental side for the athlete.

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

If you give them the confidence, anything is possible. Coaching to be confident goes a long way.

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

Give them hope at the beginning of the race, then tear it away at the end!

Why did you get into coaching?

As an athlete I loved the sport so much, that I wanted to share my love for rowing with other athletes and create an environment where they feel the same way.

Where do/did you go to school and what program(s) do/did you study?

I’m a History Major at the University of Oklahoma.

What is your favourite workout/drill on the water, and why?

My favorite workout is tech day. I love being able to work on technique with a boat that I haven’t worked with before or a new lineup of athletes. I like the spontaneous progression of drills that can happen when we work together to improve a certain part of the stroke or overall technical performance.

What is the most important thing another athlete has taught you?

The most important thing another athlete has taught me is how to have fun in the coxswain seat. My stroke seat in Oklahoma became a great friend of mine this past semester and made our tough season more than enjoyable. She helped me continue to love our sport and helped me learn that I can always be learning something new.

What is your coaching “catch phrase”?

“When you’re green, you grow. When you’re ripe, you rot”

Why did you get into coaching?

As a coxswain I fell in love with the sport of rowing. I decided early on that I wanted rowing to be a part of my life for a very long time. I went to college in the US knowing that it was getting my foot in the door for a coaching career down the road. What I didn’t intend was also falling in love with learning. I changed my major to History this past semester because of this. My joy for coaching and coxing has led me to my academic passion, and has given me the opportunity to continue learning as I strive to coach for a university.