Bill Palmer began his rowing career at Edgewater High School in 1983, where he was elected men’s team captain as a senior. During his high school career, he competed in six state championship regattas and won all six.

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He continued rowing at Clemson University, where in 1988 he helped establish the Clemson Rowing Club. After one year as an athlete, Palmer was asked to step into a coaching role, serving simultaneously as a student and coach for two years. During that time, he organized Clemson’s first rowing regatta, the Clemson Sprints.

 

Following graduation, Palmer returned to Orlando to help operate his family business, Palmer Feed Store. In 1991, he returned to the sport as head coach of the Edgewater High School men’s crew. One year later, he was hired to lead Boone High School’s men’s crew program, where he coached from 1992 to 1994 and guided the team to multiple state championships.

 

After a period focused on running the family business full time, Palmer returned to rowing in 1997 as a coach with OARS. He later stepped away again to focus on family life, returning to coaching when his daughter began rowing at Edgewater. From 2016 to 2019, he served as head coach of Edgewater’s women’s team.

 

Following a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, Palmer rejoined Edgewater High School as coach of the freshman men’s crew from 2022 to 2023 and subsequently returned to coach the women’s team from 2024 to 2025.

 

With decades of experience as both an athlete and coach, Palmer brings deep institutional knowledge, a passion for athlete development, and a lifetime of stories from the sport of rowing.