University of San Diego
NCAA DI • WCC
Date: February 24, 2025
Would Recommend
Tags
Have you ever seen those instagram reels where the coach is awesome on your recruiting visit, and then becomes a conniving devil spawn? That is Bart Thompson in a nutshell. Bart Thompson is the epitome of a horrible coach, through his lack of leadership, little to no understanding of the sport and forcing his religious beliefs on his athletes, Bart Thompson has no place being a rowing coach. If you are considering any rowing program with Bart Thompson as the head coach do NOT go there. Before I support my thesis I would like to say this review is not coming from a someone who is mad they didn't make the V8 or wasn't happy with boat placement. From the beginning I was always a top 3 athlete with A final appearances at youth nationals, sub 6:15, national team recruitment blah blah blah. -Bart Thompson couldn't lead his team out of his own behind if he wanted to (because he already puts them there). Bart often prioritizes "friendship" and "family" over the own well being of the team. He firmly believes in humbleness and gratuity over speed and domination. While these qualities are not bad by themselves, they are when you are arguably the WORST team in the country and your coach thinks praying to god you don't lose your 8 bid at charles will work (it didn't). Never have I ever seen Bart become fired up with any sense of masculinity, this leads to a culture of slogging around and barely hitting your goals. As an athlete on his team you will slowly become adrift from your manhood and conform to his Catholic speed socialism, where you are not allowed to boast and scream about the accomplishments you have worked so hard to achieve. Instead you must ring a bell and hope the angels of heaven will come visit you in your sleep and bestow the praise your coach never gave you. -Bart Thompson is quite literally NOT a rowing coach, you heard me right he is NOT supposed to have this job. Barty got this job by reading the book of whoever hired him at USD, and then proceeded to rip put quotes from the book during his interview and praise the author. He did this because the only reason he was a rowing coach at Adrian was because there was a opening for the rowing coach that NOBODY would fill besides him. His only credential is bringing Adrian from last in their conference to first. At a momentary glance this does sound like a credible achievement before you look at who Adrian competed against. Adrian's conference is *MICHIGAN*, and not even UMich. Name one rowing team in that area, oh wait you couldn't, exactly all he had to do was have a boat average of 6:45 and boom he won. The point is Bart bragged to me about openly manipulating whoever hired him so he could get a job he doesn't deserve screw hundreds of athletes over and ruin a program at a great school. Personally I think the team is better run by former AC Kevin Hinkle or even team captains Derek / Rex. There is even proof of this during the 2024 Spring Bart insisted he must attend a priest initiation in Michigan, and during this team the team made monumental bounds without "barts constant nagging". -You better be Catholic AF. You know that meme of a middle east king saying everything leads to jail? That's basically Bart except its straight to his office for teachings about God. The amount of undermining comments about my own character I have received because I don't believe in God is insane "you might learn compassion for your teammates". This is really killer to the team in my opinion, you will sit after practice for upwards of 45 minutes while Bart gets his fix of being a preacher. He isn't just a preacher in team settings either, try having a 1:1 conversation with him he will talk for 10-15 minutes without stopping; you cant even cut him off. One time I was in my car having a phone call with him and I pulled over, muted myself and started slamming my head into my horn because of this devil spawn. If you are Jewish or Muslim its even worse, he will subtly undermine your religion and place catholicism over it. I am neither of these religions which is why I wont comment on their experiences, but what I have heard from others is utterly insane. -To conclude this flavourful complain Bart Thompson has no idea what he's doing, will invert your testosterone and will convert you into an alter boy. There is no way I could ever row for this guy, and im convinced the only way he got me to commit there was by taking me to the beach to go surfing. By the way his script for getting recruits is taking them to the pool where every teenage boy sees "Cake by the Ocean" and then "Surfing with the boys".