BCS is staffed with outstanding coaches, whose combined experience covers decades of rowing, and coaching, many with college, national and Olympic programs. Our coaches are passionate about the sport, and volunteer their time to transfer not only their knowledge to our rowers, but their love for the sport as well.

Craig Redinger – Head Coach

Craig’s athletic career spans a lifetime; beginning with youth baseball and swimming, high school football and track, and college pole vaulting. While studying Philosophy in UVA’s Honors Program, Craig served as the University of Virginia assistant swimming coach, during which time he discovered sculling, immediately fell in love with the sport and has competed in a single for over 45 years in open and masters’ events across the country and in Europe, recently taking 3rd in the 2018 World Rowing Masters Regatta, 2nd in 2021 and in 2022 took 1st in US Rowing Masters Nationals and 3rd in the World Masters Championships.  Retired as an international lawyer responsible for the German practice of a global law firm, he devotes his time to fostering start-ups in the area as a founder and board member of the Charlottesville Angel Network, teaching international M&A, coaching, training and enjoying the serenity of sculling.  Recently, he and his wife Martha, a world class CrossFit competitor and trainer, started the Sports Performance and Rowing Center to bring another level of fitness to the area.  All of his three sons attended Western Albemarle High School, and he and his wife have lived, other than a three-year hiatus in Munich, in Charlottesville since their college days.

Ellen Braun

Ellen earned a biochemistry undergrad degree from University of Massachusetts/ Amherst despite spending much of her time on two sports teams, volleyball and rowing. She was 2-seat in the UMass heavyweight eight that got a silver in the Dad Vail in her senior year.  After college, Ellen competed in road and track cycling and was a 4 year member of the US National Cycling Team, competing in the US and internationally. She won two national championships in track cycling and had another 5 podium finishes and two top-10 finishes at Cycling World Championships.  Eventually returning to grad school, Ellen got an MBA from George Mason, worked at Ernst & Young as a technology consultant and more recently at Capital One in technology, operations and post-merger integration roles. She’s lived in the mountains west of Crozet part-time since 1998 and full-time since retiring in 2015. Ellen is a USRowing Level 3 coach.

Ronnie Cantrell

Currently serving as the UVA Mens’ Novice Coach, Ronnie rowed for Skyline High School and Washtenaw Rowing Center in Ann Arbor Michigan, and Oxford Brookes University Boat Club in England. Some of his accomplishments include quarterfinalist in the Royal Henley Regatta, British Championship finalist, six-time Midwest Championship winner, and two-time Scholastic National Championship medalist. He has coached on the high school and college level, at Michigan State University, as well as in the USRowing junior and U23 Olympic Development Programs.  He most recently coached the Saratoga Rowing Club U17 girls.  Ronnie’s other passion is competing in Olympic weightlifting.

John Bryce

John Bryce became a sweep rower at Virginia Tech in 1997. As the lightest guy on the team, he sat bow seat in the men’s eight. Twenty-five years (and countless erg meters) later his wife convinced him to sign up for Beaver Creek’s learn to row program and get back on the water. With plenty of help from coach Craig and Quentin Bragaw, as well as several other students who helped John’s old bones remember how to get in & out of a boat, John made the transition from rowing sweep to sculling and was zipping around Beaver Creek in a single in no time. Inspired by coach Craig’s coaching style and energized by the entire experience, John jumped at the opportunity to join the BCS coaching staff.