Olympic rower Jake Green is Singapore's first full-time head coach since 2015

A trip to the Pandan Reservoir to see the national rowers in a training session was what convinced South African Jake Green to sign on the dotted line as head coach of the Singapore Rowing Association (SRA).

While in talks with SRA on the role, the Olympic rower travelled to Singapore last October for a first-hand look at the team.

Seeing the dedication of the athletes - who did not have a full-time coach then - sealed the decision for the 30-year-old, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Tokyo Games in 2021.

In January, Green signed a two-year deal, with an option to extend and, in doing so, he is now SRA's first full-time head coach since 2015.

"The willingness of the athletes to still come and train despite the fact that there has not been a head coach in the past, and balance that with their working life or school - that surprised me," Green told The Straits Times.

"That kind of commitment to rowing where you are working hard even when the sun's not up yet and there's no one here watching you..., but you're still here getting the work done, I was impressed. There's a lot of potential, it's very exciting to see all the commitment here."

Previously, Irishman John Holland was hired on a short-term contract for the 2015 SEA Games and he continued on a part-time basis till the 2018 Asian Games.

Japanese coach Goken Sakamoto, who volunteered from 2012 to 2015, was the national coach on a consultant basis till end-2024.

SRA president Paul Supramaniam said Green was appointed after a two-year process, adding that he was picked ahead of several other candidates as he had "a willingness to roll up his sleeves, get his hands dirty and work hard".

And that quality has been on display daily at their training venue. From 6.30am till 9am, Green is on his catamaran at the Pandan Reservoir working with the national squad.

On some weekday afternoons and weekends, he holds training sessions with the community, including aspiring rowers from the nearby National University of Singapore.

Green said he is aiming to develop a structured training programme, and plans to work with Sport Singapore and World Rowing to establish a sustainable coaching system. He has also been tasked with mentoring local coaches. However, the primary goal will be to build a larger pool of rowers who can go on to represent Singapore in major competitions.

Currently, there are only women rowers in the squad, as no man is able to "compete at the required level", he noted.

Greed added: "I signed a two-year contract, but I committed to this with the ultimate goal of taking the team to the 2029 SEA Games.

"The ultimate success in Singapore rowing is building a national team to a level where we can regionally compete for medals consistently. These things take a lot of time. It will take many years of consistent improvement to be able to get to that level."

He has also set his sights on a SEA Games medal on home soil in 2029 to end Singapore's long medal drought at the event.

The Republic's rowers have not stepped onto a SEA Games podium since 2015, when they bagged a silver and three bronzes.

Singapore was not represented in the sport at the 2019 Games and the rowers returned home empty-handed from Vietnam in 2022. The sport did not feature at the 2017 and 2023 Games.

Green also hopes to impart his philosophy to his charges.

Noting that rowing is not one of the popular sports in his homeland, he added: "In South Africa, we have to put a lot of work into what we want. We can't expect anyone to do it for us. You don't always get the required support.

"The success I've achieved as an athlete or what other South African athletes have achieved comes from individuals working together to make things happen, not waiting for someone to make it happen.

"I'm not going to expect someone to come and show me how to do it, or someone to suddenly give me everything I need to build the team to where it needs to be. I want to make it happen."