Grant to Leave OCC Crew Team After 29 Years

Dave Grant, who built Orange Coast College’s crew program into an internationally known rowing power while working his way to the presidency of the school, has decided to give up his coaching duties for at least a year.

The announcement came the same day his heavyweight eight crew extended those duties for at least a day by beating Phillips Academy of Massachusetts in the second round of the 153rd Henley Royal Regatta in England.

Grant, 54, has headed the Pirate rowing program for 29 years and been in the unique position of also being OCC’s president for the past three.

He said he will use the one-year sabbatical to decide whether he will return to coaching at all.

“We’ll see how things go,” he said in a statement released by the college. “There are so many important projects on campus right now that require my full attention. Both jobs are full-time, year-round responsibilities, and I think it will be good for me to be away from crew for a year.”

Jim Jorgensen, freshman coach since 1983, will take over the varsity. Chip McKibben, who will compete as a member of the U.S. Olympic quadruple scull team later this month in Barcelona, will take over the freshmen.

Grant came to OCC in 1962 as the sailing coach and assistant crew coach after rowing at OCC and UCLA. He became head crew coach and a teacher in the history department the next year. He was assistant dean of students from 1964 to 1974 and dean of students from 1976 to 1986.

Grant was inducted into the U.S. Sailing Hall of Fame in 1975. He was an assistant coach for the Olympic crew team in 1984 in Los Angeles and is currently a member of the Olympic rowing committee.

He told his OCC rowers that he was stepping aside the day they left for England. Now, they will try to send him out as a champion.

OCC takes on Worcester-Balliol, a combined team from two Oxford universities that defeated the University of Scotland Thursday, in today’s quarterfinals.

OCC advanced with an easy, 2 3/4-length victory over Phillips Academy. OCC was clocked at 6 minutes 47 seconds over the 2,300-meter course despite letting up toward the end. Phillips finished five seconds behind.

“We took the rate down over the final few hundred meters,” Grant said. “We wanted to save something for (Friday).”

OCC opened competition Wednesday in the 32-boat field with a victory over Reading University of England. The championship is Sunday.

“We were jittery in our opening win,” Grant said. “After a good night’s sleep and a team meeting in which we were able to talk things over, we were cool and composed and very much in control of ourselves.”