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Meet the Pram Coaches!
Head Coach: John O’Brien
John grew up sailing on Lake Calhoun.
He sailed prams, optis, and then later
x-boats. He had a brief stint sailing
420’s during his high school years, but
says, “I like to consider myself a pram
specialist.” This will be his second
year teaching at the Lake Minnetonka
Sailing School. He worked as an
assistant pram coach last summer. He
states, “I am excited to take over the
class and create a pram environment that
is both fun and educational.” Besides
being a sailing coach, John has some
other teaching and work experience. He
taught grammar for a semester in-between
high school and college in the inner
city of Chicago. He also worked cashier
at the Uptown Diner on the weekends
during high school and worked at Sweet
Martha’s Cookies during the state fair.
John says about himself, “I am outgoing
and personable. I like to be inclusive
and make sure that everyone around me is
having a good time. I don’t like
mushrooms. My favorite vegetable is
broccoli. I love hot dogs and the
Minnesota Twins. I also enjoy coaching
prams.
I went to the Blake the School for high
school and will be attending Carleton
College in the fall.”
Assistant Coach: Sarah Ellis
Sarah Ellis graduated from Minnetonka
High School in June of 2010. She has
been sailing for three years now—both
for the high school sailing team and
through LMSS. Last summer she sailed in
many regattas including 420 North
Americans. To prepare for being a
coach, she mentored twice a week for the
summer of 2009, learning how everything
was run behind the scenes and how to
keep kids focused and engaged while
still maintaining the fun factor. Along
with sailing, Sarah was also involved at
her school. As a “First Mate”, she took
in a group of freshman to help them
become more comfortable with each other
and with their new school. She was also
a part of It’s Your Choice which is a
group that goes out to the middle
schools and teaches the 6th graders
about decision making. Being a member
of the soccer team and nordic-ski team,
she was able to make connections with
people she would have otherwise not
gotten the chance to meet. This coming
year she will be attending the
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Along with being on the sailing team,
she will be working towards becoming a
pediatric dentist. Sarah says about
herself, “I am a very outgoing and
personable person and cannot wait to
meet and connect with all the new
sailors coming into the pram camp this
year!”
Meet our 420 Camp Coaches!
Melissa Kennedy has
been surrounded by sailing for as long
as she can remember. She began sailing
when she was seven years old, starting
in Prams. From there she graduated to
Optimists and eventually began racing in
the Green Fleet. She says, “It was then
that I got my love for racing
sailboats. This was a fun, competitive
side of sailing.” Once she outgrew her
Opti, she moved on to sail 420’s. She
immediately liked 420’s because it was a
very high performance boat for its size.
She began sailing 420’s and Lasers
through LMSS during the summer
programs. When she reached high school,
she began sailing for the Minnetonka
High School Sailing Team. She recalls
one of the most exciting aspects about
High School Sailing was the traveling
regattas. She says, “I was able to
travel to Chicago and Detroit many times
to compete in many different regattas.
During my senior year of high school,
Minnetonka High School officially
recognized sailing as a varsity sport.
Under the coaching of Gordy Bowers, I
lettered on the Varsity Team, while also
receiving the Most Valuable Crew
Award.”
Melissa began working at LMSS as a 420
Summer Camp Instructor, and this will be
her 4th year total teaching at the
Island. Last year she began teaching as
the Head 420 Camp Instructor. She is
currently attending MSU-Mankato,
studying Civil Engineering. Melissa
says, “I love working with children and
being able to pass on the sailing
knowledge my experiences through LMSS
has taught me throughout the years.”
Adam Siegel started in
prams and worked his way through the 420
race program. He started racing
competitively at the age of 12 and
competed in local and regional regattas
under the instruction of coach Gordy
Bowers. When he was 14 he began
mentoring at the sailing school, helping
out in classes and assisting instructors
on the water. When he turned 16 he was
hired to be the assistant coach of the
420 Fundamentals and Beginning Race
classes. Last summer he also taught a
Pre-Pram class for children ages 4-6 and
an adult class designed as an intro to
sailing. He has sailed in the high
school program during the spring and
fall since he was a sophomore at
Minnehaha Academy. In his own word, “I
look forward to another great year at
the Lake Minnetonka Sailing school
teaching kids the skills to continue on
with a great lifetime sport.”
Meet Our Opti Team Coaches!
Opti Fundamentals
Head Coach: Maddy Kennedy
started sailing at the Lake Minnetonka
Sailing School in optis and for the past
ten years has sailed optis, E Scows,
lasers and 420’s both during the summer,
and the fall and spring with the high
school program. She also sails her DN
Iceboat during the winter! She has
sailed on the Minnetonka High School
Varsity Sailing Team through all four
years of high school, and plans to
continue sailing in college. She
graduated from Minnetonka High School in
2010 and plans to attend the University
of Hawai’i. She began working at LMSS in
2009 as a mentor and substitute coach.
She says, “I am really looking forward
to working at the island this summer.”
Assistant Coach Robbie Allen:
Robbie has grown up on the water
participating in both the Lake
Minnetonka Sailing School and as a
member of the Minnetonka Yacht Club.
Robbie has sailed in Optis, X-boats,
Lasers, 420’s, E scows and A scows. For
the past two years, Robbie has
participated on the Minnetonka High
School Varsity Sailing Team was a
Captain this year. Robbie has an
impressive race history, including
winning a national competition last year
in High School Sailing. He also has won
the youth Laser Full Rig sailor of the
year at Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club.
Robbie is super excited to translate
what he has learned coaching youth
hockey, to now coaching his favorite
sport. He says, “I’m very excited to
spend my time on the water coaching
sailing, and beating my children with a
stick!”
Opti Race:
Head Coach: Adam El Khazindar
Adam was born in France and raised in
London, England. While in London, he
attended the Lycee Français Charles de
Gaulle, a French state school.
Currently in his freshman year at Loyola
University of New Orleans, he is
studying common curriculum classes. Last
year he coached Optimist green fleet and
fundamentals. Since then he has been the
head Optimist green fleet coach at
Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans. He
first started sailing Optimists on Lake
Minnetonka and found a great love for
the sport and a thrill in competition.
Later he competed in the British
Optimist circuit and unfortunately, soon
after grew out of Optimists. He moved on
to sailing Lasers, starting with the
Radial and currently sails Laser
Full-Rigs. In addition to lasers, he
crews on E and A-Scows sails at Loyola.
Adam describes himself as “easy going
and enthusiastic” in his own words: “I
love to teach and have fun! I look
forward to having a fantastic summer at
the Island!”
Assistant Coach: Maclean Potts
Maclean started sailing the Laser with
Gordy when he was 15. Since then he has
moved on to sail bigger boats such as
the A Scow, E Scow, and J/22. He has
also competed in match racing with a
team comprised of former LMSS students.
From his personal sailing experience,
Maclean has the skills and the knowledge
to teach younger sailors the joys of
sailing, both competitively and for
leisure. Maclean has learned a great
deal from sailing aside from just on the
water skills. He is a firm believer in
the life lessons that sailing teaches
its students. Maclean is a mechanical
engineering student at the University of
Minnesota, and looks forward to the
summer break. “Summer at the sailing
school is a great change of pace from
school life. It gives me time to get my
nose out of the books and show kids all
that I have learned from the sport,”
says Maclean.
Opti Advanced Race Team Coaches:
Mike Hanson grew up
sailing on Lake Minnetonka. He has been
a student of Lake Minnetonka Sailing
School and a member of Minnetonka Yacht
Club for many years. He has raced Optis,
X boats, Lasers, and 420's with success.
Mike has participated on sailing teams
in high school and in college. He is now
in his second year as Head Opti Coach at
LMSS. Growing up through the program,
Mike relates well to the kids. It is
visible in the success his students had
last summer in TCYS and ILYA regattas.
Mike is passionate about sailing and
eager to teach others. He has competed
all over the country and is currently
attending the University of Hawaii at
Manoa.
Harrison Burton grew up
on Lake Minnetonka, along with his
brother, Charlie, who is 15. He has
been sailing all his life and attended
many of the Lake Minnetonka Sailing
School classes to improve as a sailor.
He started by competitively racing
Optimists and X-Boats, and now continues
to race Lasers, E-scows, and 420s. He
says, “Sailing is a great way to meet
new people from all over the world and
have a lot of fun at the same time.” He
is finishing up his senior year at
Minnetonka HS where he was Captain of
the Sailing Team both Junior and Senior
Years (He was also captain of the Nordic
Team both years). In the Fall he will
be attending the University of
Minnesota- Carlson School of
Management. “I currently have two part
time jobs. First, I am one of the
coaches of the Advanced Optimist Racing
Team for the Lake Minnetonka Sailing
School and second, I am a Booster Club
Intern at the high school. I really
enjoy coaching the young sailors and
watching them grow as individuals and
helping them improve their sailing
skills” he says. Harrison is an
extremely self-motivated, considerate,
and hardworking individual who is also
social and good with his peers, adults
and young sailors alike. He says about
himself, “I am very organized and am
excellent at managing my time. I like to
challenge myself and am willing to put
in the extra effort needed to succeed. I
enjoy taking on leadership roles and
contributing to a group’s success. I
realize that there are times to have fun
and times to work hard, but the hard
work always comes first.”
420 Fundamentals and Race Team
Coaches!
(Gordy Bowers coaches Advanced Race 420
with Brady, Brady coaches Fundamentals
and Race with Ben Weidmen)
Braden Solum is
finishing his sophomore year at the
University of Minnesota. He grew up
sailing on Lake Minnetonka. He has been
a student of Lake Minnetonka Sailing
School and a member of Minnetonka Yacht
Club for many years. He has raced many
boats with notable success in 420's.
Braden participated on the MHS HS
sailing team and is currently a skipper
on the U of M team where he has placed
very high in regattas even winning
events. The first ever “mentor” on the
Island, Brady has been working at LMSS
since 2005. Often he has worked
directly with Gordy Bowers on Advanced
Racing teams. Brady is known for
relating well to his sailors and keeping
the curriculum entertaining.
Pontoon Drivers and Equipment
Managers:
David Burkhardt has
just completed his first year at
Marquette where he is studying to be an
engineer. David started sailing with
LMSS years ago when he did 420 camp but
got way more involved once he joined the
Minnetonka High School Sailing Team.
David is a warm, hardworking young man
and is great with kids. It will be
David’s responsibility to keep the
Island up and running as far as all of
our motor boats and equipment go. David
is very excited to work with LMSS this
summer!
Nick Baumgard has been
sailing since age 7, initially
participating in day camps at the Lake
Minnetonka Sailing School with
progression to the Advanced Race Teams.
For the last two years, Nick has sailed
a 420 and Laser for the Minnetonka High
School Sailing team in the Spring and
the Fall. Throughout the years, Nick
has sailed and raced the FJ, X boat, 420
and the Laser (4.7, Radial, and Full).
Nick says he enjoys the individual and
team competitive spirit of sailing. He
has enjoyed the opportunity to
participate in numerous regattas locally
and throughout the Midwest. Nick is a
sophomore at Minnetonka High School.
He is a goalie for the Minnetonka U16
Junior Gold hockey team. In his free
time, Nick enjoys snowboarding, jet
skiing, wakeboarding, tubing and hanging
out with friends.
John Ricks is finishing
his Junior year at Orono High School.
John started sailing at the Lake
Minnetonka Sailing School when he was 7
years old. Trained as a diver for his
HS team, he immediately fell in love
with crewing on 420’s and helps train in
other crews. John is extremely
energetic and helpful. John will be
helping with the pontoons and substitute
coaching and working with Preprams. He
says, “I’ve grown up at the Island
sailing, working here is like a dream
come true!”
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