Steering Her Legacy: Boat Dedication for Beloved Coach and Teacher Kerri Roger

On April 12, 2025, the Wappingers Crew Club and the John Jay Senior High School community gathered at the Hudson River to honor the memory of Kerri Roger, a beloved John Jay math teacher and dedicated Wappingers Crew Club coach who left a lasting mark both in the classroom and on the water. In a moving ceremony, featuring speeches from colleagues and former athletes, a new eight-person boat was christened in her name—a tribute to a woman whose passion for rowing inspired generations of student-athletes. 

Roger rowed at SUNY Geneseo while majoring in mathematics, later earning her Master’s in Education from Mount Saint Mary’s College. Beginning in 2002, she taught math at her alma mater, John Jay High School, and coached both the Wappingers Crew Club and the John Jay field hockey team until shortly before her passing.

The boat dedication took place at 10 a.m. at the Hudson River Rowing Association Boathouse, where Roger’s family, John Jay faculty and staff, and former and current athletes and coaches of the Wappingers Crew Club gathered to pay tribute. The new eight-person shell, now rowed by the Girls Varsity 8 team, was named in her honor.

“She gave us her all as a coach,” said Sarah Ruvo, a current Wappingers Crew Club coach and former athlete under Roger. “It is amazing that the team can give back to her in this way so she will be remembered forever.”

The ceremony began with opening remarks by Pat Hancock, former head coach and John Jay science teacher, who founded the Wappingers Crew Club. He recalled the early days of the program and the pivotal role Roger played in its growth.

“Coach Rog took a girls’ four to our first-ever Nationals,” Hancock said. That boat went undefeated on the Hudson River and placed third at the New York State Rowing Championships, earning a bid to the National Championships, where it finished fourth out of 25 teams.

Following Hancock’s remarks, Ruvo reflected on Roger’s enduring influence on her own coaching career.

“She was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had, and she is one of the reasons I am coaching today,” Ruvo said. “I aspire to be a coach like her.”

A moment of silence followed, along with a poem led by current Novice Boys Coach Dom Scecchitano:

From old Bay 4 sweet memories cast, 

Our victorious days have not seen their last. 

But now one of our own has gone to rest, 

Let us remember our coach how we knew her best.

A coach with grit, a teacher with honor, 

Thank you for your service, Coach Kerri Roger.

Roger’s family then christened the boat with "finish line" water—a rowing tradition to bring good luck and speed on race day.

“Kerri did not have any kids of her own, but her athletes and students were like her own children. She believed they could excel in everything they did,” said her sister, Robin Roger McKenzie.

The Coach Kerri Roger will be used by the Girls Varsity 8 crew, who are set to compete at the WARS Regatta on April 26.

“This boat will carry on her legacy,” McKenzie said.