Skip Kielt enters his first season as an assistant
coach with the Canisius College rowing program. As assistant coach, Kielt will assist the women's varsity
team as well as serve as the head coach for the men's club program.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Kielt rowed for St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute. After a successful
scholastic career, he attended Rutgers University where he competed as both a
lightweight and a heavyweight. At the 2008 World Championships, he represented
the United States on the Under-23 National Team in Germany.
Returning home during the summer time, he rowed at the
West Side Rowing Club, home of the Golden Griffins. Recently, Kielt trained at
the National High Performance Center in Oklahoma City, the training center for
national-team athletes and Olympic hopefuls.
"Skip is exactly the coach we want for our young
men's club. He has raced at the very highest level of men's rowing in the
Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges defeating perennial powers like Yale.
Along the way, he also represented the United States at the U23 Worlds in 2008.
All of that experience and speed, coupled with a deep understanding of rowing
in Buffalo, make him an outstanding addition to our staff. I look forward
to helping him bring our men's program back to the winner's podium at the Dad Vail
Regatta," said Furtek.
Kielt earned his bachelor's of science in environmental planning
and design from Rutgers in 2010.
