Meet the Coaches

Rebecca Newman (Certified Level 3 Rowing Coach)

Tom Rooks (Certified Level 2 Coach) is the high school boys and 8th grade middle school coach.  He is from Orlando, Florida but has lived in several states and on both coasts during his 22 years of service in the US Coast Guard.  He began rowing in high school where he competed at the Scholastic Rowing National Championships. He met his wife, Michelle, rowing for the University of Central Florida. He has coached at Boone High School, Garfield High School, Sturgis Charter School, Prince William Crew, and Barnstable Rowing Club. He has coached winning crews at the New England Rowing Championships, the Head of the Occoquan, and various state and local regattas.  

Coach Tom is driven to help every WBC rower find their own path to success inside and outside of a rowing shell.

Howie (Certified Level 2 Coach) was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY where rowing is anunknown.  Arriving in college he discovered lightweight rowing and rowed competitively for four years.  Stepping out of a racing shell his senior year, at the May, 1972 Dad Vail regatta, he soon entered the 'real world' consisting of a career as a US Army officer, a wife, two children, a few war zones, over twenty years overseas and no time for rowing.  Retiring in 2016 he and his wife settled in Williamsburg.  Noticing an article in a local magazine regarding the WBC, he contacted the club president and immediately found himself rowing again.  His first Masters sprint race was in May 2016, after a short interlude of 44 years.  He continues to row with WBC Masters Program, serves as the current club VP, and is the coach for the U19 Boys.  He attended the US Rowing Coach's certification training in 2017 and is certified as a Level (College/HS) Coach.

Alan Hochman is a Williamsburg local as of 2004. He is a Masters rower and has been volunteering at WBC since 2016. He began coaching middle school in 2019 and became the middle school program director in 2021.