Coaches

Russell Giacobbe

Open Rowing Head Coach

Russ is the head coach of the Competitive program and the club's boatman.  Russ also serves as the Freshman Rowing Coach at the University of Michigan where he has worked recruiting and training the freshman classes.  He has expanded the program's recruitment of high school athletes to an average of 10 students per class.  His crews have earned 16 medals at Dad Vails, ECACs and ACRA.

During the Summer of 2015 he served as an assistant coach for the United States World University Games  Team in Chunjui South Korea.  Giacobbe was responsible for the heavy and lightweight singles and the double.

Tate Gill

Head Evening Sweep Coach

Tate rowed for Boston University Men’s Crew while pursuing his undergraduate degree. He has previously private coached at Vashon Island Rowing Club in Washington State, his former junior team. In the fall of 2018, he moved to Ann Arbor to begin his masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.


John "Jack" Heaslip
Head Sculling Coach
Jack rowed in high school in Vermont then at the University of Rhode Island as a lightweight. While studying in Germany, he rowed for the Rudernverien Freidrichshafen e.V., where he started coaching U18 students.  Jack graduated from URI in 2015 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and B.A. in German Language, then returned to Germany for where he continued rowing with Ruderverein Friedrichshafen e.V. and the Rudergesellschaft Kassel 1927 e.V. He returned to the United States and has rowed with and coached for AARC since 2016.  He has coached for Ann Arbor Huron High School, as the novice boys team coach, an assistant coach of the varsity boys team, and the head coach for the sculling teams WTMC and Greenhills School. 


Brandon Gregg
Head Technical Coach

Brandon rowed for University of Michigan while obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Biomolecular Science. He was an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame before returning for another degree at the University of Michigan. With a Master's in Education, he now teaches Biomedical Sciences at Skyline High School. In his spare time, he enjoys playing ice hockey, golfing, and working on cars/motorcycles.

Assistant Sweep Coach


John began his rowing career at Skyline High School in 2010, continuing at the University of Michigan.  He began coaching at Skyline High School and the Washtenaw Rowing Center upon graduation in 2018 and joined AARC in 2019.  Crews coached by John have won regional and national titles.  John counts among his family members hi cat Pepper and his sourdough starter.