Each spring, NC State Sailing travels to Oriental, North Carolina for an intensive week of training designed to accelerate development during the heart of the collegiate sailing season. The team charters boats, lives and trains together for the week, and works closely with a visiting elite coach who leads daily on-the-water sessions, video review, and tactical debriefs. This year’s guest coach is Stan Schreyer, assistant coach at Harvard and former head coach at Boston University. Schreyer is a former collegiate All-American and national champion sailor who has also coached Olympic and Paralympic sailing programs and helped develop multiple collegiate All-Americans. Past guest coaches have included Boston College standout and College Sailor of the Year Sophia Reineke and US Sailing’s Blair Overman, bringing world-class perspectives and coaching expertise directly to NC State’s sailors.
Coach Stan debriefing after a morning session on the water
Over the past decade, this annual spring break training program has played an important role in the growth of the NC State Sailing program. Ten years ago, the team was still building depth and consistency. Through focused training weeks like the one in Oriental, the program has steadily raised its competitive standard, producing stronger regatta results, more consistent team racing, and a deeper roster of skilled sailors capable of competing across multiple fleets. The immersive format allows sailors to complete dozens of races, drills, and starting sequences in a single week, building decision-making speed, boat handling, and communication in ways that typical two-hour practices cannot match.
In the past, teams such as Boston University have joined the Sailpack for training in Oriental
Just as importantly, the week builds the culture of the program. Living and training together creates shared habits of preparation, teamwork, and leadership that carry through the remainder of the season. Sailors return from Oriental sharper, more confident, and more cohesive as a team, often translating the lessons learned during the week directly into improved performance at regattas.
Because the program brings in professional coaches, charters boats, and rents housing for the team, the cost of the week is paid largely by the students themselves. Donor support helps reduce that burden while ensuring the team can continue to access high-level coaching and maintain the training environment that has helped drive the program’s growth over the past decade. Gifts that support spring break training directly invest in the development of NC State’s student-athletes and the continued rise of the SailPack program.
You can help us reduce the cost of spring break training for our student-athletes by donating here: https://www.sailpack.org/donate.
