New era begins at Tufts University

Following the retirement of longtime sailing icon Ken Legler as head coach of the Tufts University sailing programs, Johnny Norfleet has accepted the appointment as the new Head Sailing Coach for the program in Medford, MA.

“A highly accomplished national champion sailor in his own right, Johnny has led the Fordham University sailing team to new heights over the last nine years,” said John Morris, Tufts Director of Athletics. “He embodies the values of Tufts Athletics and is excited to build upon the legacy of Tufts Sailing.”

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to take over as head coach of Tufts Sailing,” said Norfleet. “This is a storied program at a great school in the strongest conference in College Sailing within an athletic department that cares deeply about the success of all its teams. All of that speaks to immense potential.”

Norfleet served as the head coach of the at Fordham sailing team since 2014. He helped lead the Rams to the team’s first-ever appearance at the College Open, Team Race, and Match Race National Championships including a program-best seventh place finish in 2017.

During his time as an undergraduate at Hobart College, Norfleet was an Intercollegiate College Sailing Association All-American skipper while also serving as a captain of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges varsity sailing team in 2012 and 2013. Norfleet is a US Sailing Level 3 Certified Coach, while winning national titles at the US Sailing Team Racing Championship Hinman Trophy in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

Outside of the collegiate scene, he has worked as a 420 Class Coach at yacht clubs and other private institutions specializing in the Club 420 Class. He has coached multiple national champions at the 420 Class along with back-to-back Orange Bowl Regatta winners in 2018 and 2019.

He also was a collegiate program executive for Blue Keel Sailing as a consultant and sales representative, helping advise on development of the Z420 sailboat.

Norfleet steps into the role for retiring Tufts head sailing coach Ken Legler, who served as the head mentor of the program since 1980. Legler was the longest tenured head coach at Tufts at the time of his retirement and helped the team to 20 national championships during his time.

“Following Ken, a true legend of the sport with a successful career spanning more than 40 years, will be a challenging task, but I look forward to the opportunity to coach such a talented team and begin this new chapter for Tufts Sailing,” said Norfleet.

Norfleet graduated from Hobart in 2013 with a B.A. in economics, as he earned the Blair C. Currie Prize in Economics for the highest GPA of graduating Hobart economics majors. He also was an ICSA All-Academic Sailing Team honoree in 2013. Norfleet will start his duties at Tufts on July 5.

“Sailing is a unique sport where we don’t always compete as one unit and Tufts Sailing is a uniquely large roster,” said Norfleet. “I’m most excited to get to know the team and hit the ground running with competitive practices so the team can achieve success at all levels.”

Source: Tufts