Penn AC Gold Coaches
Paul Coomes - Director of Penn AC Gold
Paul's journey in rowing started 33 years ago, where he and 14 other students helped start up a small club rowing program at the University of Dayton. His 3+ years of rowing at Dayton could be termed forgettable in terms of results on the water, but his biggest victory came in helping to build a sustainable rowing program that was both competitive and respected not only within the rowing community but also by the University. When he graduated, he volunteered to coach Dayton’s men’s team and discovered his true passion in life – coaching. For three years, he led a Dayton men’s rowing team that experienced significant growth and improved results.
A move to Philadelphia in the fall of 1998 and a chance encounter led to Paul being hired as the Head Coach for Conestoga High School’s yet-to-be-started rowing team. While he had no experience coaching junior athletes, he was excited to have the opportunity to build a new program in what he considers to be rowing nirvana, Philadelphia and Boathouse Row. During his 18 years coaching Conestoga, he built the Club into one of the most respected rowing organizations in the region and the team into a scholastic sculling powerhouse, coaching crews to 21 Stotesbury Cup titles, 25 Scholastic National Championships and multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals at the USRowing Youth National Championships. He was named the 2007 Schuylkill Navy Coach of the Year, the 2014 American Junior Coaching Conference Girls Sculling Coach of the Year, and in what he considers to be the highlight of his coaching career, his girls 4x won the Schools/Junior 4x at the 2006 Women’s Henley Regatta.
His summers and falls as Conestoga’s coach were spent helping his wife start and grow PA Rowing Camps, a summer program dedicated to teaching adults and juniors to row, as well as coaching crews of various levels for several clubs along Boathouse Row, including Penn AC, Undine Barge Club, Bachelors Barge Club, and Crescent Boat Club. Numerous crews under his guidance found success at the junior, intermediate, senior, and elite level. He served as the coach for the US Lightweight Men’s 1x at the 2009 World Championships in Poland. While at Undine, the Club won the Colgan Cup and the Marion D. Ventura Women’s Points Trophy in 2001. His crews also won the Head of the Charles in 2000, 2001, and 2003, the Canadian Henley in 2002 and multiple Club National Championships between 2000 and 2003.
Paul is a degreed engineer and when not involved in the sport of rowing has worked in various professional roles, including project management, product development and innovation management. Paul resides in the East Falls section of Philadelphia with his wife, Amy Giddings, and their three children.
Will Scully - Junior Men’s Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Will Scully comes to Penn AC from just up the road, in Pottstown, PA at The Hill School, where he is the head boys rowing coach as well as a dorm parent, and instructor of physics and mathematics.
He returns to Penn AC Gold for his fifth summer on the coaching staff and his third leading the men’s squad. In his two years as head coach, the Penn AC Gold men have brought home a lot of hardware but most importantly, helped the team secure back-to-back team points trophies at the Independence Day Regatta and most recently, the Colgan Cup team points trophy at USRowing RowFest in Oklahoma City.
Will began his rowing career in 2008 as a junior at Simsbury High School in Simsbury, CT. After graduating high school, Will continued his rowing career at Trinity College, in Hartford CT, where he won two New England Championships and one ECAC Championship, and helped Trinity secure the New England’s Points Trophy three years in a row.
Following his graduation, Will came to Philadelphia to continue rowing for the U23 program at Penn AC, and represented them at U23 Trials, Club Nationals and Canadian Henley. In search of more rowing and adventure, Will moved to Sydney, Australia, where he joined Mosman Rowing Club and trained with members of the Australian U23 and senior national teams. He competed at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta, earning himself a finals spot in the Open 4x and Open 2x.
Upon returning home, Will took on some brief coaching stints in Connecticut before moving to The Hill School in 2016. Under Will, the Hill boys won the 2018 Stotesbury Cup Junior 4+ event and finished 4th in the 2019 Senior 4+. After nine years at The Hill School, Coach Scully will move to Delaware this summer, where he will take over as the Head Boys Coach at the St. Andrews School in Middletown, DE.
Sierra Williams - Junior Women's Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Sierra Williams returns to the Penn AC Gold program for her second year, this time as the junior women's head coach.
Sierra began rowing in 2012 at Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center in Seattle, WA. After graduating high school, Sierra continued rowing at the University of Washington, earning spots on the 2019 Pac-12 and NCAA championship women’s team.
After completing her bachelor’s degree in geography and urban planning, she began coaching for Seattle Preparatory School in the fall of 2022. In her first two years, the program sent 15 boats to the USRowing Youth National Championships, making program history in the spring of 2024 by sending 9 boats. Now in her third fall with Seattle Prep, the program received a women's youth 4x+ entry at the Head of the Charles Regatta, this being the first boat to attend HOCR in program history, where they placed 14th out of 54.
She is excited to build on the momentum of last year's historic summer, and hopes to keep the Colgan Cup and Independence Day Regatta Team Points Trophy at 12 Boathouse Row!
When Sierra is not coaching or rowing recreationally, she enjoys skiing in the Pacific Northwest or lounging with her cat Gustav.
Adam Sanain - Junior Men’s Assistant Coach & Summer Social Media Assistant
Adam Sanin returns to Penn AC Gold as an assistant coach, bringing a wealth of experience developing elite junior rowers. With a background spanning collegiate, high school, and club-level coaching, he looks forward to continuing Penn AC's fantastic tradition of excellence.
Sanin currently serves as the head freshman coach at Gonzaga College High School and an assistant coach for Georgetown University lightweight rowing. His coaching career includes time at Boston University, where he helped guide the varsity four to an Eastern Sprints Championship, and experience with the Princeton National Rowing Association, and Community Rowing Inc.
During his time at CRI, he graduated from the Institute of Rowing Leadership and earned a Level 5 coaching accreditation recognized by the United States Center for Coaching Education.
Sanin is committed to fostering a high-performance environment at Penn AC Gold and preparing athletes for success at the Independence Day Regatta, RowFest National Championship, and beyond. He aims to help athletes refine their technique, maximize physiological development, and prepare for the next level of their rowing careers.
Margaret Dail – Junior Men’s Assistant Coach
Margaret joins Penn AC Gold as an assistant coach. She currently serves as an assistant coach with George Washington University’s women’s rowing team, moving there from the University of Texas, where she served as a volunteer coach for the Longhorns, who finished fourth at the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Margaret coaches both juniors and masters at Austin Rowing Club from 2020-23, her time there highlighted by leading a program-best five qualifying boats to the 2022 USRowing Youth National Championships. In 2023, she volunteered at the University of Texas and was part of a staff that was honored as Big 12 Staff of the Year.
As a competitor, Dail was a member of the University of Texas NCAA Championship runner-up team in 2019. She competed in the second varsity 8+ at the NCAA Championships from 2016 to 2019, medaling in three of those years and helping the Longhorns secure Big 12 Championships each year.
Claire Anderson – Junior Women’s Assistant Coach
Claire Anderson is an assistant coach at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL. She began her rowing career as a coxswain at Holy Spirit High School and continued at Jacksonville University, where she won four MAAC Championships and competed at the NCAA Championship.
Before her role at Bolles, Claire was the head coach at St. Johns Country Day School in Orange Park, FL. Over the past six years, she has coached crews to numerous city, district, and state scholastic titles. Claire is an instructor for USRowing, where she teaches Level 2 coaching certification courses.
In addition to Bolles, Claire coached for the Olympic development program and Rowing Camps of America.
Mackenna Cameron – Junior Women’s Assistant Coach
Mackenna began rowing the summer before her junior year for Green Lake Crew in Seattle, WA. After two successful years with GLC, she was recruited to row for the University of Washington. During her time at UW, she earned seats in the varisty 4+ that won at Head of the Charles, and in the 2nd varsity 8+ that won the PAC-12 and NCAA championships.
Upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, she began coaching juniors for Green Lake Crew. Working alongside some of her former coaches, she focused on building a strong novice program that included Green Lake’s largest novice boy’s class. She was also essential in leading them to medal winning positions every year at Northwest Youth Championships.
After three years with the novice program, she took a new position within GLC as an experienced boy’s coach. Now working with three generations of her former athletes, she is excited to coach them into a fun and speedy spring season.
Mackenna is thrilled to join Penn AC Gold this summer and cannot wait to carve up the Schuylkill as an assistant coach for the junior women’s team!
Michael Harris – Junior Men’s and Women’s Coxswain Coach and Assistant Coach
Michael Harris returns to Penn AC Gold as the coxswain and assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s team. Michael competed as a coxswain with the Syracuse University men’s team competing in the varsity 8+ and earned sixth place finishes in the 2024 Eastern Sprints and IRA.
Following the completion of his collegiate career, he joined Penn AC Gold as a program leader for the 2024 season, helping the men’s U17 8+ win the USRowing RowFest National Championship. Michael returned to his home program, Winter Park Crew, to briefly serve as the freshman coach for the fall 2024 season. He now coaches at Orlando Rowing Club and is very excited to return for another summer on the Schuylkill.
Sophia Williams – Program Leader
Sophia Williams, a Penn AC Gold alumna, returns this year as a program leader. She began rowing in 2018, at Nashville Rowing Club, and went on to row for Harpeth Hall High School. Currently, Sophia rows at Boston University where she is an English and Film major.
Sophia is thrilled to be in a position to help rowers make the most of their PennAC experience this summer.
When she is not rowing, Sophia enjoys painting, yoga, and hiking.
Michael Rapp – Program Leader
Michael Rapp joins Penn AC Gold this summer as a program leader. He is currently a freshman at Trinity College where he rows competitively and study economics. He started rowing at The Hill School and later rowed for Penn AC Gold the summer between his sophomore and junior years.
He is beyond excited for the opportunity to work with everyone this summer and share his passion for the sport!
He enjoys biking, traveling, and hiking.