Above photo: Alan Capellin became the new Waterfront Coordinator after the sailing team became no longer funded by USF St. Petersburg. Courtesy of USF St. Petersburg
By Brianna Rodriguez
Alan Capellin, former USF Sailing Team Coach, dove into a new position Aug. 1 as Campus Recreation Waterfront Coordinator.
The addition to the staff followed a change in funding for the sailing team, which was reassigned from a competitive team to a sport club.
Now that the sailing team has become a sailing club, to keep Capellin on staff, he was given more responsibility in Campus Recreation.
Capellin is now head of the daily operations involving the boathouse. He manages the sailing and powerboating instructional courses and will continue to coach the sailing club.
Aside from the former sailing team, Capellin’s responsibilities used to fall under watercraft, adventure, and aquatics coordinator Daniel Marshall. His new title became coordinator of adventure and aquatics. The division of duties allowed for a greater focus on quality.
“Having Alan now to split some of the workload will benefit the students because we will both be able to focus more on our specific areas,” said Marshall.
Marshall now focuses on the operation of aquatics,The Edge and adventure trips.
Sailing began as a huge attraction for incoming students to USF St. Petersburg when it was first introduced because it was the only intercollegiate sport on campus.
The switch in funding led to the team’s change in status. As a result, this is the first year it will be a sport club, which means there will no longer be a paid coach running the program. Instead, it will be run primarily by students.
“Sailing is more of a lifestyle then it is a sport — and I have a passion for it,” said Capellin. “I want to take that passion and help people get through not just the sport, not just the job — but through life.”
Campus Recreation planned to expand the athletic department so students could participate in a variety of sports without having to travel to USF Tampa. However, consolidation stonewalled that plan — a contributing factor in changing the sailing team to a sport club.
“We now have more hands on to give a focus to the students,” said Al Gentilini, campus recreation associate director. “I am excited about the quality of our program.”
