Reid Johnson
DIRector of youth rowing
Head boys Coach
Reid joined PCRA after serving two years as an Assistant Heavyweight Coach at Princeton University under the direction of Head Coach, Greg Hughes. During this time, the Tigers were Rowe Cup Champions at Eastern Sprints in 2016 and all heavyweight athletes medaled at 2016 IRA National Championships. Johnson was directly responsible for the Novice program. Prior to his tenure at Princeton, he was the Novice Boys Coach at Saugatuck Rowing Club, where he led the team, racing as the second varsity, to a gold medal at the Northeast Regional Championships in 2015.
Since his arrival in August of 2017, the boys program has transformed into a formidable and consistently high caliber outfit. The team has successfully earned multiple medals at events such as the New York State Championships, the Philadelphia Youth Regatta, the Independence Day Regatta, and the Head of the Passaic. The Varsity 4+ earned a top 20 finish at the 2019 Head of the Charles, marking the best ever finish for the club in that event and boys from the program have been invited to the USRowing U19 Selection Camp and the USRowing Youth Regional Challenge. Many of his athletes have chosen to row in college and have successfully been recruited to schools such as the University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, MIT, University of California San Diego, Tufts University and Franklin & Marshall College.
As an athlete, Johnson rowed at Hobart College, where he served as team captain and won multiple Liberty League and New York state championships, as well as dual wins over Michigan, Williams, Trinity, and Bucknell. He graduated in 2013, earning a degree in History. Before arriving at Hobart, he was a multiple-time New England Championship medalist at the Salisbury School, where he was a three-sport varsity athlete.
Jessica Eiffert
Head Girls Coach
Jessica comes to PCRA from Saugatuck Rowing Club where she contributed to the development of the varsity girls rowing program. Her responsibilities included directing 2nd and 3rd varsity athletes and she was Head Coach of the Intermediate/Beginner program. Additionally, Jessica was tapped by legendary coach Liz Trond (US Rowing Junior Women’s Head Coach since 2011) to act as one of her assistant coaches during selection camp to develop up-and-coming top junior rowers to compete at the CanAmMex Regatta. A commitment Jessica will complete before joining PCRA mid July.
Jessica is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she was Captain of the girl’s team for three years. She began her coaching career at the University of Michigan and has coached at both the Austin Rowing Club and University of Texas prior to her current coaching positions.
Highlights of her post collegiate rowing career include: selected to train at the United States Olympic Training Center in Princeton, New Jersey for the 2020 Olympic Games; competed at four FISA Junior and U-23 World Rowing Championships for the United States, medaling 6 times across four years. Jessica brought home gold in both the 8+ and the pair in 2015 and gold and silver respectively in 2014. No stranger to international competition, Jessica has competed in Canada, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria.
chris ives
Head Masters coach
Chris' on-water rowing career began at the University of Massachusetts, where he was a member of the varsity crew that won the Dad Vail Championship (1980) and which he captained in his senior year. His experience in National Team Training Camps provided him with invaluable coaching from Kris Korzeniowski (US National Team Coach) and Dietrich Rose (Coached 1984 Silver Medal 4+), and the opportunity to row with top American rowers. Chris continued as a competitive masters rower over the years, winning gold medals at many major North American and European regattas.
Chris, who holds a Masters degree from Columbia University Teachers College in Counselling and Organizational Psychology, brings his knowledge of team building and sports psychology to all his coaching techniques.
Elizabeth Calder
assistant coach - Girls team Associate Coach - Masters Team
Elizabeth started rowing at PCRA as a freshman in high school and rowed for PCRA all through high school. While in high school she was recruited and rowed for Boston College where she competed in the ACC championships and the Head of the Charles. Elizabeth competed for BC for three years until she retired due to a hip injury. While at BC she coached at PCRA for two consecutive summers, including in 2018 to run PCRA’s learn to row camp. Having recently graduated from Boston College where she earned a degree in History and Classics, she now assists year-round in coaching the Girls Youth Team as well as PCRA’s Masters.