Guenter Beutter
Technical Director
Guenter Beutter (Technical Director) was educated at Giessen University, majoring in sports science and psychology. He published research in lactic acid production, oxygen uptake and the use of magnesium supplements among high performance athletes.He began rowing at 16 for the Rudergesellschaft Wetzlar in Germany where many world champion and Olympic athletes trained. He competed with this club for 4 years in every type of boat at the German championships. From 1984-1997 he coached Wetzlar’s intermediate and elite rowers, earning many medals during his tenure, and gaining recognition as one of the most successful young club coaches in Germany.
In 1988 he was recruited for the German National Team. From 1989 – 1997 he coached both men and women in sculling and sweep boats, taking his athletes to five world championships and earning four gold and one silver medal. In 1997, he was appointed head coach of the women’s lightweight Quadruple Scull which medaled at all the important regattas in Europe and earned a gold medal at the world championships that year.
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In addition to coaching, his responsibilities for the national team included athlete selection, preparation camps, cross training at high altitude, nutrition advice, lactic acid testing, and calculating and monitoring work-out plans (one of the few coaches in the world with this expertise). During his tenure, he worked with Professor Uli Hartmann, an internationally renowned sports physiologist who consults for high-performance athletes and monitors the German Olympic teams in all sports. Mr Beutter continues his association with Dr. Hartmann who lectures at GMS camps in Europe.
Mr. Beutter came to the U.S. in 1998 where he began as technical director of coaching and head sculling coach at Saugatuck Rowing Club in Westport, CT. He founded GMS Rowing Center in 2004. His master rowers have competed and medaled at US Masters Nationals and Masters World Championships. His junior rowers have competed and medaled at the U.S. Nationals and Canadian Henley regattas. They have been recruited by, and rowed for Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Georgetown and many other universities.
Mr. Beutter is also a consultant for various other rowing clubs including Henley Rowing Club in England, Piermont (NY), Willamette (OR), elite masters at Princeton and Yale Universities and other master rowers around the world. He maintains his associations in Germany as a technical advisor for the rowing website Rudern1.de and consulting for Rudergesellschaft Wetzlar.
In 1988, Coach Beutter was recruited as a coach for the German National Team. From 1989 to 1997, Beutter coached both men and women in sculling and sweep boats, taking his athletes to five world championships earning four gold and one silver medal. After spending time in Germany, Beutter headed to the states. In 2007, he coached the USRowing senior W 2x at the world championships in Munich, the race that qualified them for the 2008 Olympics. In 2008, Coach Beutter started working with US Junior Team boats, the W2x, being his first. From 2009 – 2015, the US Junior National team W 4x was under the guidance of Coach Beutter and improved their record from the C-Final in 2008 to a silver medal finish in 2012 and 2013 and a 7th place finish in 2014 and a Bronze medal in 2015.
In 2009, Beutter coached the US Lightweight Men’s 1x and the Lightweight Women’s 4x at U23 World Championships, bringing home a silver medal with the LW 4x. In the summer of 2010, Coach Beutter coached the US U23 LW 4x at the Worlds in Belarus and the US LM 2x and LM 4x, all GMS Rowing Center Athletes at the Senior World Championships in New Zealand. Victoria Burke, one of his athletes, earned the silver medal in the LW 4x at the 2010 World Championships in New Zealand. For the last ten years, Coach Beutter has resided at the GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, CT where his crews have won numerous gold, silver and Bronze medals at prestigious races such as the Head of the Charles, Elite, Club and Youth Nationals.
Linda Leaden
Coach / Personal Trainer
Linda Leaden (Development Coach) attended Western Connecticut State University majoring in science. She has been working with children for over 35 years in many different capacities. Linda starting rowing at GMS when the club came to New Milford and fell in love with the sport. She is a US Rowing certified coach and a NASM certified personal trainer. She brings this knowledge to assist her rowers in developing their rowing technique and fitness. Linda is the head of our development program at GMS. Linda currently coaches our adult learn to row and novice program, middle school and high school learn to row and novice program, and private lessons. Coaching and instructing people on their wellbeing and fitness is her true passion.
Paula Meyer
Coach/Sports Dietitian
Paula Meyer (Intermediate Coach) is a US Rowing certified coach as well as a Registered Dietitian with a master’s degree from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Food Studies, Nutrition, and Public Health. As a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD), Paula provides counseling to adolescent, master, and elite-level athletes and currently serves as a consultant for sports teams and individual athletes. She is an active member of the ADA practice group Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN), whose members are experts in nutrition for athletic performance, fitness, and body composition. Her rowing career began in 1995 and highlights include many national and international training camps with Guenter Beutter, two-time gold medal wins and a course record at HOCR in WClub 4+, first place 1x finish at Henley Veteran Regatta, several Master National Championships gold medals in W1x, W2x and W4x, and 1x gold at Silverskiff Endurance Regatta in Turin, Italy.
