Coaching by trust: how Diederik Simon lets athletes find their own way

You get the distinct impression that Diederik Simon likes to have fun. It’s, the middle of winter at the Dutch National Training Centre. There’s snow on the ground and temperatures feel below zero. Not surprisingly, training is inside. But Simon has a quick laugh that spills out regularly. He’s very used to the winter routine. He should be. He’s been part of it since the early 1990s – first as a rower then as a rower and coach and now as a coach.

Recently returned to Amsterdam after collecting his award for the 2025 World Rowing Coach of the Year at a ceremony held in Lausanne’s Olympic Museum, Simon gets nostalgic. Forty years ago Simon was on holiday in Lausanne and, at the age of 12 had his first rowing experience.

“My parents had a little sailing boat, but we discovered there was no wind so the only solution was to row.”

 This was the beginning for Simon continuing for fun in the family’s sail boat. He then moved to rowing racing and in 1995 Simon made his first Dutch national team. He went on to compete in five Olympic Games, some of the time as a coach and rower. He picked up a gold and two silver Olympic medals along the way.

“I liked the lifestyle and I liked working with my body. I was able to do that and I didn’t have any big injuries.”

Simon’s final competition was the London Olympics at the age of 42.

“I was too old to row any more. At 41 I was the national champion in the pair so I’m very pleased I was able to do that as people are much fitter and train harder now.”

He went between national team coaching, some time at his club, ASR Nereus and back to the national team. He laughs when asked what his current job title is as the 2025 World Rowing Coach of the Year, settling for His Majesty Sir Duke of the Bosbaan. The Dutch Rowing Federations has four coaches, each with two crews.

In 2025 Simon coached the men’s double and men’s eight. The men’s eight beat the British at the 2025 World Rowing Championships, propelling them into history. The Netherlands also achieved a milestone performance – the first-time ever that the nation won gold in the men’s AND the women’s eight at the World Rowing Championships.

Simon is quick to point out, well, a lot of things, but especially that this award is for the many staff involved in the rowing crews and also to honour the work of a coach over many years, not just the results from the most recent year. Simon’s involvement easily stretches over many years including the overlap of coaching while competing as part of the Dutch national team. Along the way Simon says he has gathered knowledge from many coaches and rowers.

“I’ve been coached by many people and they weren’t always the best but every coach has good things to say and I took something from all of these people – the good things and maybe the bad things too!”

Asked how he sees his coaching style, Simon pauses. “I’m not a drill sergeant, I’m not very directive. I like my athletes to find the answers for themselves. I don’t say that much, I’m not carrying a megaphone and I hate shouting across the water. What I want to do is create an atmosphere where everyone’s happy. If there’s no stress then you can train harder and recover better.”

“Half the time coaching is quite boring. You’re sitting on a bike for 20km (following the crews). But I like being outside and I like to see people succeed, not just by winning but by them having a good row or a good progression. I see them happy and that feels good.”

Simon says the 2025 season was not any different from any other season. As a non-Olympic year it was not as much training as the previous year. He was in some ways starting fresh with five new people in the eight and a new coxswain. His double made the b-final in their first season together.

You can be sure wherever they came, they had fun getting there.