M. Sean Hall,  Program Director & Head Coach 

M. Sean Hall is an accomplished international Level 3 rowing coach with over 25 years of coaching experience that has resulted in dozens of athletes, both at home and abroad, achieving success at national and international championship regattas. Coach Hall’s career in the sport of rowing began as an oarsman at W-L High School in VA, eventually becoming a three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000), 5-time US National Team member, and National Rowing Foundation Hall of Fame inductee. Coach Hall's rowing accomplishments include a gold (Men's 8+) and two bronze (Men's 8+, Men's 4-) medals from World Championships, featuring a record-setting performance in the M8+ at the 1994 World Championships. He's also won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, and multiple medals from World Cup, Pan Am, Goodwill Games, and other international racing.

Mr. Hall has coached all levels of rowing, and has helped many athletes achieve national and international success in the USA, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. His coaching career began in 1990 when he led a fledgling Episcopal Academy program from club to varsity over the course of 2 seasons, on the back of a Scholastic Nationals gold medal.  He took a hiatus from coaching to pursue his Olympic dream after the 1991 season, only to return to it immediately following his 3rd Olympic appearance in 2000, under legendary sculling coach Igor Grinko, at the newly-formed Augusta Training Center in Augusta GA.  4 years later, he was invited to coach a Chinese provincial team (Fujian) to their 10th and 11th National Games (the highest-level multi-sports event in China), leading them to a silver medal in the W8+, their highest finish ever.  From there he spent time working with the Hong Kong and Taiwanese national teams, as well as an 18-month contract with the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Upon his return to the US in late 2015, Coach Hall was hired to reinvigorate a troubled Penn AC high performance program. During this tenure he landed dozens of athletes on the National Team, putting Penn AC athletes in multiple international regattas, including a win at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. Some of his athletes went on to represent the US at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

In 2021 he left Penn AC and started the Black Sheep high performance program to help aspiring athletes achieve their goals while also helping to energize the local rowing community and build connections between top senior, junior, and masters athletes. Since its beginnings in 2021, Black Sheep Racing has already achieved remarkable success, sending athletes to the World Championships in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and half a dozen other prestigious international regattas.

Art Post,  Senior/U23/Junior Assistant Coach

Art brings a lifetime of rowing experience and an impressive track record to our team. With roots in the rowing community dating back to the 1960s, he has achieved success at every level of the sport. As a high school athlete, he rowed for the Groton School in Massachusetts before continuing his journey at Dartmouth College, where he competed in the men’s varsity 8+ for four years. After graduating, Art made his mark at Philadelphia’s Vesper Boat Club, where he competed at the elite level for nearly a decade, capturing multiple National Championships in both sweep and sculling events. To this day, Art can be found rowing his single on the Schuylkill, embodying his lifelong passion for the sport.

Art’s coaching career is as distinguished as his rowing history. He has mentored a wide range of athletes, from high school novices to collegiate varsity competitors and world-class teams. If you’re familiar with Philadelphia’s scholastic rowing scene, you’ve likely witnessed the success of Art’s crews, particularly during his 19 years as Associate Head Coach at Malvern Preparatory School. Under his guidance, more than 20 crews have become National Champions, and over 40 of his rowers have gone on to compete at Division I varsity programs.

Additionally, Art has made significant contributions to the sculling community at Lower Merion High School and Bryn Mawr College. His expertise extends to the national team level, where he has worked with six National Team crews. Notably, Art played a key role assisting with the formation and development of the 2019 USA Men’s quad, the 2021 Men’s Olympic Trials winning quad, and the 2022 US National Team Light Women's quad.

For over ten years, Art has also coached the Whitemarsh Masters, further showcasing his versatility and commitment to the sport. His extensive experience and dedication to developing athletes make him an invaluable asset to our team, inspiring the next generation of rowers to strive for excellence both on and off the water.

Cassandra Cunningham, P3PE 

Technical, Strength and Conditioning Coach

Coach Cunningham brings a wealth of coaching, training, and competing experience at every level to the team. As owner of P3PE, LLC Coach Cass also brings state-of-the-art indoor training facilities to our annual training programming.

Coach Cunningham spent ten years assisting with the U.S. Junior Women’s Rowing Team. During three of those years, she was the Women’s Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania.  Cunningham now specializes in personal fitness instruction and individualized college counseling.

Coach Cunningham began her athletic quest at Mills High School in Millbrae, CA where she competed in cross-country and track for four years. Entering college she began her next sport in women’s rowing. While at Sacramento State, Coach Cunningham earned three state championship titles as well as winning the 1995 Pacific Coast Rowing Championships in the Women’s Varsity Eight. In 1996 she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Physical Education. After graduation she spent three years training with the Women’s U.S. Rowing National Team. She is a five-time winner at the US National Elite Championships. She earned two international silver medals in the women’s lightweight quad at the 1998 World Rowing Championships and the 1999 Pan American Games. After her time on the national team, Coach Cunningham earned a Master of Education in Administration specializing in Athletic Directing at the University of Massachusetts while simultaneously coaching the school’s varsity women’s lightweight rowing team. Following graduate school, she moved back to California where to began teaching Physical Education at San Francisco City College and coaching boy’s rowing at Junipero Serra High School transforming it from a club program to a varsity sport.