Coach Bios

Ben Sholl Ben joined the coaching staff in 2010 after learning of CTC’s mission to empower Chicago’s youth through the sport of rowing. An experienced competitive rower, Ben was a Varsity rower at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY where he won the Gilman Cup 3 straight years after starting his career at New Trier High School. Since graduating from Hamilton College in May 2009 with a BA in Psychology, Ben has been taking pre-med courses at Loyola U. in Chicago. Ben’s goal is to enrich the lives of the CTC boys and girls by being a valuable mentor and coach.
Joe Byrd Joe sculled in high school for two years, representing West at the National Sports Festival in 1983. He then switched to sweep rowing, competing for 4 years at the University of Washington. He was also a member of the U.S. Junior 8 that competed in Vichy, France in 1983 at the Junior World Championships. Today, he’s a property manager & licensed contractor residing in Albany Park, married to an architect, and he and his wife have two sons.
Montana Butsch Montana Butsch began rowing in 1994 as a sophomore at Loyola Academy. He was a member of the 1997 Midwest Championship team, and helped the squad place 9th nationally. He was recruited to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his varsity letter in 2001. He participated in selection trials for both the junior and senior U.S. national teams, and placed at both the American and British National Championships in a single scull. After graduating from UPenn, he moved to London and began graduate studies at Oxford University. He continued rowing career while there participating in the prestigious Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race for the (the 149th and 150th running respectfully) . His boat won both times – in the pair (2003) and the eight (ISIS, 2004). His mentors have included world renowned coaches Peter Haining, Sean Bowden, Stan Bergman and Jim McCartney. His past coaching experiences include Loyola Academy, Thames Rowing Club (London) and Lincoln College (Oxford University).
Jeff Marx Jeff has been a CTC coach since 2007. A life long athlete, Jeff attended Boston University and was a 4-year scholarship athlete for the Men's Crew. Jeff majored in biomedical engineering, and hopes to bring his experience of successfully balancing the rigors of both academics and athletics to the CTC boys and girls. Today, Jeff works as an Intellectual Property Attorney in Chicago.
Hunter Harris Hunter joined CTC in the fall of 2009 after moving back to Chicago from England. He started rowing at Winchester College and rowed in the school's 1st VIII in both the National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. At college, he rowed in Balliol College, Oxford's 1st VIII, captaining the club to winning blades in Torpids and reaching Head of the River. He also had the privilege to serve as the club president. Hunter graduated from the University of Chicago with a Master's degree in August of 2010, and currently works on political campaigns in Chicago.
Erika Mitchell Erika Mitchell rowed for Brown University for 4 years (a lightweight on the heavyweight team) and continues to compete as a master’s rower. She has won medals at races including Canadian Henley, Masters Nationals and Head of the Schuylkill in both sweep and sculling events. She has rowed throughout the US and Canada meeting some of the most inspiring people along the way. Erika currently works at Loyola University Medical Center as an orthopedic trauma surgeon.
Jenny Edwards Under construction -
Erik Winters Erik Winters joined the coaching staff with CTC in 2012. He is a graduate of Brown University where he was a member of the IRA champion freshman 8+ in 1999, Varsity 8+ Eastern Sprints Champions boat in 2000, and Ladies Plate Champion at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2000. Along with rowing for Brown, Erik also competed with National Rowing Teams. He won a gold and bronze medal in the 1999 and 2000 Under 23 World Championships in the 8+. He also competed at the World Championships in the 8+ and 4X. Erik also has coaching experience in the sport, most recently as a graduate assistant coach for the Cornell University Men’s Lightweight program. Erik works with a procurement consultancy, TradingPartners, based in Chicago.
Teddy Schreck Teddy was introduced to rowing at the Haverford School in Philadelphia. While at Haverford, he won the Senior Double Scull event at the 2004 National Scholastic Championships in Orlando, Fl and rowed under coach Jim Barker, a member of the rowing Hall of Fame. Teddy attended Harvard University and captained the 2009 crew. Highlights of his collegiate career include a victory in the the 123rd Harvard-Yale Regatta, a four mile race contested annually in New London, CT. In addition, he earned a silver medal racing for Harvard at the 2009 International Regatta in Seville, Spain. At Harvard he rowed under Harry Parker. Teddy works for a trading firm at the Chicago Board of Trade and considers Saturday practices with CTC the highlight of his week.
Maggie Luce Maggie Luce began rowing at Loyola Academy. By sophomore year, she earned the stroke seat, which she would hold for the rest of her career. Maggie has won the Scholastic National Championship for the Women’ s JV8, has meddled four times at Midwest Championships, and participated in both the Head of the Charles and Royal Canadian Henley. After graduating as team captain from Loyola academy, she went on to row at University of Iowa. Here she meddled at the Head of the Charles. She finished her college career at Marquette University with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences. Currently, she is preparing for her master’ s degree by taking courses at Northwestern University. Maggie looks forward to being a valuable member of the CTC team.
Newton Sears Newton Sears joins CTC as a 2009 graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Men's Lightweight Team. He served as captain during his Junior and Senior seasons, and was a 3-year member of the first varsity boat. He currently resides in Lakeview.
Richard Klein III A fencer at Boston College, Rick decided to try rowing a few years ago and has not looked back. He is a member of the Lincoln Park Boat Club men's sweep team, having raced at regattas such as Chicago Sprints, USRowing Club Nationals, and the Head of the Charles. He won the Masters Lightweight Men's event in 2011 at the Chicago Indoor Rowing Championships. A teacher in the Chicago Public Schools and Wilmette for several years, Rick is finishing graduate school at Loyola University Chicago, earning a degree in school psychology. Promoting health and well-being is one of Rick's favorite aspects of working with students.
Chad D. Tepley Chad graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Business in 2002 with a B.B.A. in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. During his time at Wisconsin, Chad rowed with the UW Men’s Freshman and Varsity crews and placed 5th in the Men's 8 at the Freshman National Championships. Chad has volunteered and traveled internationally through over 40 countries and is working towards fluency in speaking Spanish. His interests include golf, scuba diving and the fine arts.
Jonathan Hyman Jon joined the CTC in the summer of 2011 shortly after moving to the Chicago area. He discovered the sport of rowing as a freshman at Wake Forest University where he competed in the Men's Novice 4 and helped establish the crew team during its early years. As a sophomore, Jon moved into the Men's Lightweight 4 with whom he rowed through graduation. The team represented the University at regattas throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Jon works downtown as a MBS strategist for a privately held broker-dealer. He is thankful for the opportunity to introduce others to rowing and to share his experiences as they develop their own passion for the sport.
Jennifer Jones Jennifer picked up rowing during college with the Davidson College club crew team in 2006. She rowed sweep for 3 years and coached novice women’s club crew during her senior year. While rowing she medaled at 5 collegiate regattas, including the Head of the South (Augusta, GA) and the West Virginia Governor’s Cup (Charleston, WV). Currently she is a first year medical student at the University of Chicago.
Laura Brunt Laura is originally from Amsterdam and moved to Chicago in August 2011. She started rowing when she was a student at the University of Groningen and was a member at the students rowing club "Aegir". She competed in the Dutch national competition in the women’s 8+ , 4+ and 4-. She’s also coached several rowing teams at Aegir. During the last couple of years she was a member of her company’s rowing team and loved to go out on the water with her colleagues on Friday afternoons. It gives her great pleasure to be able to share her passion for rowing with CTC students!
Mike Niemczyk Under construction -