Former Hobart and William Smith Rowing Coach Jim Joy passed away on Saturday, March 23. Novices to world and Olympic champions benefited from Joy's holistic and technical support approach to a cyclical rowing stroke, where there is a strong bond between body, shell, and water, creating a state of flow.
 
Joy is survived by his wife, Cecilia, and daughters, Chris, Kathleen and Alicia and her wife Sheila Rabideaux, and grandchildren, Bea and Gus. Flowers, cards, and remembrances can be sent to Cecilia Joy at 11111 River Hills Drive #317, Burnsville, MN 55337 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The family has set up an online memory page.
 
"Jim Joy was a master coach," says HWS Director of Rowing Paul Bugenhagen. "He was certainly an expert in what it took to make boats go fast, but he was a master at his craft because of how he taught life through rowing. Anybody who had the privilege of knowing and working closely with Jimmy found a man balanced in uncompromised first principles, a relentless curiosity, a deep connection to the world around him, and an enormous heart full of love and kindness. He was as complicated as he was simple, and this was reflected in his coaching."
 
"When he spoke with us, we always knew there was more to discover," added Bugenhagen. "He would encourage his athletes and coaches to do a simple task mindfully, knowing the complexity and beauty of the challenge in front of us would be revealed. Jimmy impacted rowing around the globe, and he changed the lives of his athletes here at Hobart and William Smith forever. He will be sincerely missed, and we are enormously grateful that we can celebrate his legacy and impact on our HWS community permanently through the recently endowed racing shell, the James C. Joy."
 
Joy was the 2017 recipient of USRowing's Medal of Honor, which is awarded to a member of the U.S. rowing community who has rendered conspicuous service to rowing. Selected by the USRowing Board of Directors, it is the organization's highest honor.
 
Joy was involved in the sport of rowing for over 60 years, including more than a decade as the head coach of Hobart and William Smith rowing. He coached and developed athletes with a holistic approach, sending three Hobart student-athletes to the US National Championships and one to the Olympics. Joy had three Hobart crews medal at the IRA during his coaching tenure, winning IRA Championships in 1993 and 1994. Hobart also attended the Royal Henley Regatta in those years.
 
After qualifying for the 2004 Athens Olympics as a member of the U.S. quadruple sculls, Hobart Hall of Famer Kent Smack '97 called Joy the most influential person in his rowing career.
 
Joy's William Smith crews earned the program's first three NCAA Collegiate Rowing Championship bids, racing in the all-divisions national title chase in 1997, 1998 and 1999. The Herons won the 1999 New York State Championships and became the first Division III school to win the prestigious Champion International Regatta.
 
After stepping down as head coach at HWS, Joy continued to work with Hobart rowers in a consulting role for several years, focusing on technical development and mental training.
 
Joy coached at the University of Western Ontario, MIT, Yale University and Wesleyan University. In the 1980s, he served as the technical director of the Canadian National Team. The decade was very successful with the Canadian crews winning more than 60 medals at various international competitions, including a gold medal in the men's eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Additionally, from 1981 to 1995 Joy was a member of FISA's competitive commission that was responsible for the successful coaches' development program.
 
Joy founded and ran the Joy of Sculling Conference, educating coaches at all levels of the sport, for more than 30 years. He was also the author of several books, including "The Mind's Eye: The Evolution of the Athletes' Skills and Consciousness" and "Hanlan's Spirit."