The staff at NRRA represent decades of experience coaching, rowing, and being involved in the community.
Steven Quagliano, Coach, Director of Youth Rowing: stevenq @ norwalkriverrowing.org
A 1978 graduate of Manhattan College, Steven was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. In college he was a three-time finalist in the Dad Vail Championships. Competing for the New York Athletic Club, Steven cox’d 18 National Championship Crews and was a member of ten consecutive USRA Barnes Trophy National Team Championships. As a competitor on the US Men’s National Team, he represented the US at the World Championships. He was a member of the inaugural competition between the US and Russia at the Goodwill Games and a coxswain on the US Olympic Team in Seoul, South Korea. Steven has coached the US Junior National Team, Men’s National Team, and the US Olympic Team.
Vinny Houston, Coach, vinny @ norwalkriverrowing.org
Coach Vinny Houston is a certified Physical Education teacher with a Masters in Exercise Physiology. He rowed for Manhattan College and the NYAC. An avid competitor, he’s won countless races earning US Rowing’s Elite status in sweep rowing and sculling. He is also a four-time medalist at the Head of the Charles. He remains a fierce competitor with a recent win at the 2021 Masters Nationals. Houston took a break from rowing to raise three children. He returned to the sport when his oldest son began to row from a boathouse with a masters program. All three children rowed—his daughter is now the Woman’s Head LtWt Rowing Coach at Stanford University. In 2014, Vinny started coaching at Iona Prep and PCRA. He joined NRRA in 2018 to build the program and make it the best in the area. Says Vinny, “Being a coach is the best job in the world. I love teaching athletes to row and get goosebumps when they take their first clean strokes and have those magical A-HA moments.”
Jay Ruzbacki, Coach, jayr @ norwalkriverrowing.org
Coach Jay Ruzbacki is originally from Coal Run, Pennsylvania and joined NRRA in 2023 to coach the youth program. She started her sculling career at Steel City Rowing Club in Pittsburgh, PA. Jay successfully competed as a coxswain on the Lightweight Men’s Rowing Team at Mercyhurst University until 2018. On her breaks from university Jay coached at Steel City Rowing Club where she eventually served as the Head Coach until 2021. Jay served as the Head Coach of Oakland Catholic’s high school rowing team in 2021. Jay has developed relationships with boathouses in China and worked with members of the Greek National and Olympic team while working in Ioannina, Greece as a teacher. In addition to coaching, Jay is a certified to teach History and English as a Foreign Language, and has a M.S in Educational Research. Her favorite thing about coaching is watching athletes cultivate a better community and environment than she could have ever anticipated.