ARCATA, Calif.----  Cal Poly Humboldt's Ashley Donnell is one of 16 coaches who recently completed USRowing's Level 3 High Performance Certification Course. 
 
"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn from and get to know and work with fellow coaches," said Donnell.  "I hope to utilize this experience to continue to build and improve Cal Poly Humboldt's rowing programs."
 
Over the course of several months, these 16 coaches completed 11 elite coaching modules designed to advance their skills in fields such as biomechanics, advanced rigging, long-term athlete development, and rowing philosophy, to name a few.  All told, the graduates completed over 100 hours of training to earn their certification.
 
"I am very proud of the work that Ashley put into her level 3 certification," said Cal Poly Humboldt Head Women's Rowing Coach Matt Weise.  "The amount of material and the collaboration amongst the coaches going through the training made this a challenging and worthwhile experience.  I look forward to Ashley bringing new information to the rowing program at Humboldt."
 
Since 2011, Donnell has been an assistant women's coach at Cal Poly Humboldt. She became the assistant women's coach after graduating as a four-year student-athlete in the program, including an appearance at the 2011 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships. Donnell has been a part of the women's coaching staff that brought home an NCAA national title in 2012 and 2014 and appeared at the national championships in 2015 and 2016.
 
This past season, the Jacks finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in the Pocock/Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Rankings.  Humboldt's Malia Seeley was named to the Pocock Shells Division II Women's Rowing All-America Team.
 
In addition to serving as a coach of the women's program, Donnell also began serving as the head coach of the men's program in 2016. Since taking the helm, she has worked to build a competitive squad, with the notable accomplishment of a second-place finish in the men's double sculls at the ACRA national championships in 2019.
 
Donnell is passionate about Humboldt rowing and plans to continue building on past success by providing a positive student-athlete experience through teaching and empowering students to utilize their uniqueness and resilience in pursuing their best selves.