Charlie DiSilvestro has served as the head coach of the Drake women's rowing team since July 1993 when the program transitioned from club status to a varsity sport in the athletic department.
DiSilvestro has led the program to great success on and off the water, including helping raise funds for the program's new home since 2016, the $1.3 million state-of-the-art Bright-Beckwith Boathouse, that provides Drake rowing and the Greater Des Moines rowing community with a proper environment to safely and efficiently hone their rowing craft. The boathouse, which is located off the Des Moines River in Prospect Park, features three bays for boat and equipment storage, as well as a dedicated locker room and team room for the Drake rowing program. The heated indoor space allows the team to practice when water and weather conditions prevent outdoor training.
DiSilvestro helped lead his team to a third-place finish at the 2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the best MAAC finish for Drake since 2016 when it also earned a third-place showing. It was even more impressive after a challenging spring season due to the weather and high water on the Des Moines River that kept the team from being able to practice on the water in Des Moines since November at the end of its fall season.
DiSilvestro was named the 2012 MAAC Coach of the Year prior to the MAAC Championships on April 27, 2012. Drake captured the MAAC championship the next day, its first conference championship in school history. In May 2011, DiSilvestro was named Collegiate Coach of the Year by the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa. The award is presented annually to a collegiate rowing coach that has had outstanding success and has also contributed to the regatta. In May of 2012, DiSilvestro helped lead Jacque Nowers, Kat Moore, Susan Goullette, Sarah Travis and Maggie Benhart to the women's varsity heavyweight four championship at the prestigous Dad Vail Regatta.
DiSilvestro was instrumental in helping 2010 rowing graduate, Chelsea Smith, be invited to train at USRowing Lightweight Pre-Elite Sculling Camp in the Bronx, New York while finishing second in the lightweight women's single sculls at USRowing's U-23 world championship trials during summer 2009. Smith also was honored in August 2009 with the Tim and Jerry Howlett Award as Drake's top female student-athlete for 2008-09. Smith has continued to excel on the world stage as she helped the United States place fourth in the lightweight senior quadruple sculls at the 2012 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in Bulgaria, Romania. Smith also won a pair bronze medals at the XVI Pan American Games in Ciudad Guzman, Mexico in 2011.
DiSilvestro had served as head crew coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., from 1990 until his appointment at Drake with his teams winning titles in seven races during his tenure, including the boys' novice 8 at the 1991 Midwest High School Championship in Indianapolis, Ind.
DiSilvestro also served as head coach of the Penn Athletic Club Junior Program (1988-89) and Bonner High School (1987-88) in Philadelphia, Pa. He also was an assistant coach of the Penn Athletic Club in 1988.
A member of the United States Rowing Association, DiSilvestro was a collegiate rower at Wichita State from 1984-86. He also competed with the Penn Athletic Club in Philadephia, Pa., in 1986-87 while training for the U.S. National Team.
Outside of Drake, DiSilvestro keeps busy with his daughter, Anna.
