Head women’s lightweight rowing coach Maren LaLiberty announced today that Veronika Platzer has been named the new lightweight rowing assistant coach. She will coach the novice lightweight rowing team. Platzer, who replaces North Carolina-bound Sarah Haney, begins August 1st. Platzer will earn $24,000 a year.
Platzer arrives in Madison after serving Mercyhurst College as its head men’s rowing coach in 2000. Currently the head coach of the Dallas Rowing Club, Platzer is also a member of the coaching staff of Craftsbury Sculling Center in Craftsbury, Vt., and the co-founder and coach of “Row Wise”. Row Wise involves corporate-sponsored rowing clinics for novice, junior, recreational and masters rowers.
Platzer spent 1999-2000 as the coach and executive director of the Austin Rowing Club in Austin, Texas, while also serving St. Stephen’s Academy in Austin as the men’s and women’s novice coach. In 1998-99, she was a volunteer assistant coach for New Zealand’s National Rowing Team. She also volunteered at Geelong Grammar School in Geelong, Australia as a coach from 1995-96.
A USRowing Level II Coach, Platzer boasts U.S. Olympic Lifting Certification as well as National Strength and Conditioning (NSCA) accreditation.
In addition to her strong coaching credentials, Platzer stood out on the playing field. A 13-time All-American and Grinnell College Hall of Famer, she was the NCAA Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s. A three-time NCAA Champion in the discus and three-time NCAA runner-up in the shot put, Platzer was a member of the 1993 U.S. National Rowing Team and spent 1991-1995 as a Rowing National Team Candidate and a USOC Level I athlete.
Platzer graduated Grinnell in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. She also attended Cal Poly State where she is short of her city and regional planning master’s degree.
“Veronika brings a wide range of athletic experiences to our program and not just in rowing,” said LaLiberty. “All her experiences have been on the elite level. The main reason I hired her is that she knows how to motivate people and she will do a great job getting rowers ready for the varsity.”
