Coaches

Head Coach: Tristan Snow

tsnow@udel.edu

Tristan Snow ‘18 is entering his first year as the Head Coach of Delaware Men’s Crew after seven years coaching under Chuck Crawford and John Williams.

Prior to being named Head Coach, Tristan operated as High Performance Coach for the 2023-24 and 2024-2025 seasons. Coaching the combined Heavyweight and Lightweight squads, Tristan worked primarily with the 1V and 2V crews – highlighted with training trips and the team’s first appearance at the San Diego Crew Classic.

Tristan started coaching in the Fall of 2018, with the Freshman Lights leading to a 3rd place overall and 1st among lightweights at the Princeton Chase, before moving into the role of assistant the next spring. As assistant, he helped Chuck bring the 1st and 2nd Varsity to win Gold at ACRA 2019 in a first for the team. Tristan continued coaching the Lightweights with Chuck after the pandemic for an appearance in the Dad Vails Varsity 8 Final.

Tristan has gained some international experience in coaching by taking two alumni – Cooper Hurley ’18 and Jim McCullough ’19 – through the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima as the USA Men’s Light Double. Years later, these alumni came back to set the HOCR course record in the alumni four.

Hailing from Milton, GA, Tristan coxed at St. Andrew Rowing Club before coming to Delaware in the fall of 2014. He started as the freshman lightweight coxswain and eventually made his way to the 1V Lights for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, both seasons marked with Men’s Point Trophies at the Dad Vails Regatta.

Team Advisor: John L. Williams

John L. Williams first started coaching UDMC in 2001. He was the UDMC head coach from the fall of 2022 through the spring of 2025. Since then he has taken on the role of Team Advisor. The Blue Hen crews he has coached have won Eastern Sprints in the lightweight four, numerous team-points championships at the Dad Vail Regatta and were national champions at the 2019 ACRA regatta. Numerous athletes he coached have gone on to row with the US National Team and one Blue Hen crew won the Alumni 4+ at the Head of the Charles Regatta in 2022, setting a course record.

As a rower in 1997, he won and set a course record in the Club 8+ event at the Head of the Charles Regatta in the Williams College first varsity 8+, finishing ahead of Syracuse University 1V8+. This course record stood for 14 years. His Williams College crew also won the New England Championship Regatta and medaled at the ECAC “Champion Regatta.” He competed twice at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1995 and 1998. After taking up sculling, in 2003 he again won the Head of the Charles Regatta in a Club Single field of 57 competitors. Over the next decade, he competed with the Wilmington Rowing Center master’s crew winning multiple first-place medals at USRowing Master’s Nationals over the summers. His WRC crew have won 3rd , 4th , and 5th place medals in the Club Four event at the Head of the Charles Regatta, despite his boat having an average age about twice that of the other crews in the event.

Professionally, he practices business and estate law as the President of The Williams Law Firm, P.A. (www.trustwilliams.com). He is also President of Agents and Corporations, Inc. (www.incnow.com), an online e-commerce incorporation service that operates CTAboi LLC (www.ctaboi.com), a corporate transparency act reporting service. IncNow was awarded “Best for the World” as the first certified B Corporation in Delaware. Over the past 20 years, IncNow has provided 30+ jobs to rowers, coaches and recent graduates from the University of Delaware Men’s Crew.

He is active in the community leading boards for Wilmington Rowing Center, the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation (Official Tall Ship of Delaware), YMCA of Delaware, Christina Conservancy, Delaware Natural Areas Advisory Council (dedicating nature preserves in Delaware), Delaware’s Chapter of the Society of Colonial Wars, One Commerce Center Condo Council (office tower owners association), numerous professional and entrepreneurial committees.

He lives in Newark, Delaware in a house with boat access to the Christina River.

Coach Emeritus: Chuck Crawford

Chuck has resided in Delaware since his graduation from Rutgers in 1973 where his business is headquartered. He serves as President/CEO of ACW Corporation which owns and operates twenty Arby’s Restaurants. He is married with three grown children and three grandchildren.

Chuck competed in rowing during the sixties and seventies. As a rower, he rowed in national youth (junior) and elite lightweight championship crews that placed third in world junior championships and first in the lightweight championship.

Chuck has served as an assistant and head coach at the high school, club and collegiate level since 1978. His first major coaching success came in 1980 while he served as Head Coach at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, which won the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championship and finished second at the Royal Henley Regatta in the Princess Elizabeth Cup Competition.

Chuck successes include coaching many national champion crews at the high school and club level, along with an earlier stint serving as the first head coach at the University of Delaware from 1991 thru 1996. He coached the US Junior Men’s 8 in 1980 and 1982, which won a silver medal. He also coached the US Men’s pairs at the 1983 Pan American and Men’s fours at the 1991 games. He built both the Delaware men’s and women’s programs into very competitive teams in a very short time, having both programs finish in the finals at the Dad Vail Regatta before resigning to return as an assistant high school coach at St. Joseph’s Prep and head club coach at Penn AC. In 2000 the athletes he worked with at St. Joseph’s Prep won the Princess Elizabeth Cup at the Royal Henley Regatta.

Chuck returned to Delaware in the 2001-02 season and the Blue Hen crews quickly rose to a very competitive level. In his first year back, the lightweight varsity 8 finished second at the Dad Vail Regatta and the next year finished first in the same event. The Heavyweight Varsity has also been developing into a formidable crew. The Delaware Men’s Crew has consistently been among the top finishers at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta winning the men’s overall point trophy in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2017. The Lightweight Eight Varsity Crew has finished first or second in all of the Dad Vail Regattas that it has competed at since 2002.

Chuck also pays attention to the Heavyweight squad with his direction and counsel. The Heavyweight squad races in many of the same Regattas including the Dad Vail Regatta, where the Varsity 8 and 2^nd Varsity 8 both finished third in 2017. Additionally, Chuck earned the USRA Peoples’ Choice Collegiate Coach of the year in 2016.

Assistant Coach: Hannah Shorkey

Hannah Shorkey began her rowing career as a sweep rower for Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI, from 2018-2022. At Grand Valley, Hannah was able to develop her skills, fitness, and love of rowing with the help of her teammates and a strong coaching staff. Hannah sat in stroke seat of the W1V8+ and, despite losing a year and a half of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, secured two ACRA National Championship titles and around 20 other medals for Grand Valley. Hannah then used her extended COVID eligibility to row a fifth year with Penn State Crew as she began law school at Penn State Law.

Hannah began coaching the Novice Men’s and Novice Women’s teams with Penn State Crew in 2023. As Novice Coach, Hannah helped both teams secure multiple podium finishes and, notably, led the MN8+ to a 3rd place finish at Dad Vails in 2024. Having finished her second season as Novice Coach, Hannah now joins UDMC, continuing to coach novice rowers.

Assistant Coach: Jeff Dixon

Coach Jeffrey J. Dixon enters his second season with UDMC after joining the program in Fall 2025. Jeff rowed on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. for seven years: for George Washington University’s Division I program from 2015-19 and Bishop O’Connell High School from 2012-15.

In Spring 2026, Jeff oversaw the “UDeepFleet,” guiding the 3V8+ to Bronze at the ACRA National Championship, Gold at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championship, and wins over 2Vs from Division I and III programs, as well as the 4V8+ to wins over Bucknell, Michigan, and Rutgers.

With GWMR, Jeff raced at Eastern Sprints and the IRA National Championship in the 3V8+ in 2018 and 2019, and his crews earned head-to-head wins over Columbia, Cornell, Drexel, FIT, Hobart, Holy Cross, Michigan, Navy, St. Joe’s, Stanford, and UC San Diego. Off the water, Jeff represented GWMR on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, won the 2018 “Raise High Our Community” Georgey Award as the student-athlete with the most community service hours, and was nominated for the 2017 “Best Athlete in a Supporting Role” Georgey Award. With O’Connell, Jeff served as Co-Captain and sat 2 seat of the V4+ that won the 2015 SRAA National Championship, took Bronze at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, and won the WMIRA Regional Championship in consecutive weeks, all program firsts.

In 2025, Jeff earned his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Penn State Law, where he interned with the Penn State Athletics Compliance Office and Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic. These involvements often crossed, as he advised and formed businesses for PSU student-athletes and coaches pursuing NIL and offseason ventures.

During the day, Jeff is a corporate litigation attorney at Potter Anderson in Wilmington. He also serves as a Director and Officer of Friends of GW Men’s Rowing Inc. Jeff grew up in Pittsburgh and is a passionate Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates fan.

Assistant Coach: Brett Weber

Brett Weber ’26 joined the University of Delaware Men’s Crew coaching staff upon graduation, following a successful collegiate rowing career with the Blue Hens. During his time as an oarsmen, Brett reached the Dad Vail Regatta Grand Final as a freshman, helped set multiple team records across both lightweight and heavyweight crews, earned two ACRA Third Team All-American honors, and received ACRA Mid-Atlantic All-Region recognition. Beyond his accomplishments on the water, Brett served in numerous team leadership roles, including Team President and Captain.

With over a decade of rowing experience, Brett has also coached at Milwaukee Rowing Club and RowBuffalo. As the Freshmen Coach, he looks forward to developing the next generation of Delaware rowers and contributing to the continued success of the program.