Wesley Ng brings a whole new philosophy to Penn women's rowing

In a sport so focused on, quite literally, getting ahead of the competition, first-year Penn women’s rowing coach Wesley Ng has somewhat of an odd philosophy.

“We’re making sure we’re not looking ahead, ever.”

For Ng’s squad, process comes first and the actual races second. As Ng makes a transition he calls “intriguing,” his goal is to focus the energy of the team toward a more solid foundation of technique.

“We’re being very process oriented,” he explained. “We’re only looking at the practice that we’re on, and we don’t necessarily have the luxury of being able to look anywhere other than ourselves. The spirit and the work ethic and all the great things that Penn athletes have can be focused in a new and technically sound way, and that’s where we’re going to find good gains.”

Following the decision not to renew former Penn head coach Mike Lane’s contract after 12 years at the helm, the Quakers brought in Ng, who was previously the head coach at Trinity.

A former lightweight rower at Yale, Ng first returned to his alma mater for two years after falling just short of making the Canadian National Team. After his tenure with the Bulldogs, Ng took an assistant coaching position at Trinity, transitioning to the head coaching position after two years and heading the program for nine.

Trinity, a Division III program, enjoyed great success under Ng’s tenure, winning two NCAA titles. Ng also had success on the world stage, coaching the U.S. U-23 boat at the world championships in 2014 and 2015.

The women’s program also added Libby Peters and Andrew Blum as assistants. Peters both rowed for and was an assistant coach at Ancient Eight rival Columbia, as well as a coach at Philadelphia’s Germantown Academy, at Philadelphia’s Vesper Boat Club and for the U.S. Women’s team at the World Championships in 2015.

Before her tenure as a coach for the Red and Blue, Peters competed at the world championships in 2008, earning a bronze medal, and was also a two time world indoor champion at the Crash-B Sprints, the world championship of indoor erging. Not only a decorated athlete, Peters is also a cancer survivor — her Olympic aspirations cut short by a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which she was able to overcome.

Besides a focus on solid foundations and building a technically sound crew, an emphasis on realism is another caveat of Ng’s coaching philosophy.

“We hope to live up to our capacity, and not always expect something extraordinary on the day — thats a nice surprise, but not necessarily something we can always expect,” he explained.

When taking over a team, it isn’t only implementing new training protocol, adjusting to new facilities or altering technique that can be difficult — its getting to know the 50-odd athletes that constitute the women’s team well enough for them to trust in your process.

“It took some time to get to know them,” he admitted.

“I didn’t think I had to get to know everything right away, and I really appreciated them being patient with me and seeing what I emphasize as an important part of practice and what I think is part of going fast as a team, then adding in the layer that make the team special.”

Spring training proved an opportunity for Ng to not only get in quality training time, but to also learn more about the interpersonal dynamics of the team and the quirks that make Penn women’s crew the team it is.

“This past spring training we saw a lot of the team traditions and a lot of the caring about each other as teammates that doesn’t come naturally to me,” he noted. “I wouldn’t have seen that without them sharing that with me. I feel my role is how I can help them get faster at rowing, and then all of the enjoyment of the team aspect, I really trust them along with that.”

Ng, a student of history himself during his undergraduate career at Yale, also seeks to utilize the past to set the framework for the future. He both communicated with the previous staff as well as made sure to foster the connection that alumna had with the program in order to better understand the best way to push forward.

“It is really neat to see them come back and feel connected to the program,” he said. “We had a really great alumni 8 at the head of the Schuykill, and it’ll be fun to have previous team members return and be more interested in how we’re doing on a weekly basis.”

Ng also met with the departing staff to better understand where the program had come from.

“I had a few nice meetings with [previous coach] Mike Lane — he wrote a really heartfelt letter to the new staff — and it was obvious that the previous staff put down a good foundation for the team.”

Of course, Ng can’t spend too much time studying the past, he’s already looking towards the future — and his first recruiting class.

“We have 15 incoming freshmen that we’re really excited about,” he explained. “This will significantly change the makeup of the team, and they’re a really spirited bunch who want to change the story of Penn women’s rowing.

Eventually, Ng has his sights set on even loftier goals, such as qualifying for the NCAA Championships as well as perennial excellence.

“We want to be a top-ten program in the country,” he said.

The Schuylkill River has long been home to a multitude of boathouses and teams — and a community passionate about the sport of rowing. Working with the energy and history of boathouse row is one aspect that Ng has enjoyed in his inaugural year at Penn.

“I think the energy of being on our river is different because you see a mix of people who are so passionate about the sport, whether they’re learning to row at 12 or still sculling at 80,” he noted. “Its easy to see why you would keep investing passion into the sport when you’re surrounded with these athletes.”

As a former Ivy League rower, Ng was, not so long ago, in exactly the same position as many of the athletes he coaches — waking hours before the other students in New Haven to drag himself to practice before a full day of classes, spending long hours perfecting his abilities as an athlete, traveling with his team week after week to compete. This unique perspective, coupled with his extensive coaching experience at the collegiate and international level, will prove to be an asset to the women’s program. Ng has not only brought significant changes in coaching philosophy and strategy to the women’s program, but also brings to Penn a passion for and a holistic view towards rowing.

“I like the sport for the discipline involved that influences every part of your life. By doing the things required to be a better rower, I think you become a better person.”

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