SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL ROWING
MEET THE COACHES
Assistant Coaches
Ted Bristol
Head Coach
Ted Bristol has been coaching crew at Sidwell Friends since 2008, first as assistant coach and for the last twelve years, as head coach. He recently led the Sidwell Freshmen boat to qualify for their first ever Nationals (2022), during which they made the semi-finals.
He has a long history of rowing on the Potomac River, first serving as co-captain of the rowing team at George Washington University where he was voted Most Valuable Oarsman his senior year. He then coached the GWU freshmen men for a season and has rowed as a member of the Potomac Boat Club. Ted now rows out of Thompson Boat Center and coaches part time at Capital Rowing Club in DC.
Ted is the parent of two Sidwell graduates, Hannah (’10), who rowed for Sidwell, and Daniel (’13). Ted was a principal at Faegre Drinker Consulting, where he headed the public sector practice team.
Colette Nortman
Colette Nortman was introduced to rowing in her first year at St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM). After serving a season as a novice coxswain, she eventually transitioned to become a full-time rower and went on to compete in the 1V8. Her senior year, Colette was elected Captain and helped secure SMCM's first Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference title which led to the team's debut at the 2022 NCAA Rowing Championships in Sarasota, FL. Prior to graduating, she was additionally named SMCM's Female Scholar Athlete.
In addition to serving as an Assistant Rowing Coach for Sidwell Friends, Colette works as a congressional staffer for the U.S Senate on health, education, and labor policy.
Cecilia Laguarda
Cecilia Laguarda learned to row at Sidwell Friends and earned a seat with the varsity her freshman year. She was a four-year varsity rower, chosen to be team captain in both her junior and senior years. She graduated in 2013 and went on to row at Harvard for two years where she earned bronze and silver medals at the Ivy League championships.
After college, Cecilia became a science teacher in Colorado. She returned to Sidwell in 2021 as an Upper School biology teacher and assistant rowing coach. She and Coach Taylor helped guide the Freshmen 8 to the Scholastic Nationals in their first season working together.
Meet the 2025-26 Board
SFS Rowing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the Sidwell Friends School girls' crew team and raises the funds necessary to purchase and maintain equipment used by the team. The capital budget is amortized over ten years so that we can afford large purchases, such as new shells, without unduly burdening current families.
SFS Rowing's equipment currently includes two eights, two fours, a launch and motor, twenty+ ergs, three cox boxes, safety equipment, and lots of oars. We fund the capital budget with donations, primarily from current parents, and from large and small fundraising events.
Debee Yamamoto
President
This is Debee's fourth year on the SFS Crew Board. Her daughter, Emi Nyhan started rowing as a freshman in 2023. Debee has served as a clerk in several different areas within Sidwell's Parent Association and has a background in civil rights advocacy and international development focusing on food security issues. She has a lengthy, ever growing and aspirational list of books to read that she is always trying to tackle.
Monica Harms
Vice President
Nick McQuaid
Treasurer
Matt Bockner
Secretary
Matt has been in and out of Washington, DC since the mid-1990’s. He has nearly two decades of private and public sector experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, a Diplomat with the US Department of State, and a National Security Executive with tours in Africa, Europe, the former Soviet Union, and South Asia. Matt and his family returned to their home in DC’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood in 2017 after having been gone for nearly a decade. Once settled back in DC, Matt founded Redpoint Advisors, a geopolitical and reputational risk advisory firm.
Matt’s family’s first exposure to the rowing community was during Covid when his son entered a “learn to row” program with Capital Rowing Club. Flash forward six years, and he is now Capital’s co-captain, with rowing playing an enormous part of his life. The rowing community quickly became an integral part of their family, with new friends and a deep respect for the teamwork, dedication, sacrifice, and strength needed to compete in this amazing sport. Matt’s daughter has continued the tradition, rowing for Capital for one season and now for Sidwell’s Crew team. When not attending regattas, their family enjoy sailing on the bay, skiing, biking, and hiking in Rock Creek Park with their dogs.
Federico Asch
Communications and Media
