Andrea Miller
Postnatal Fitness Head Coach, Group Fitness Coach at CrossFit Outlaw North

Experience Coaching since 2003
Andrea brings over two decades of coaching across some of the most demanding settings in Canadian sport:
-CrossFit (Outlaw North): 2 years — general fitness, Legends (masters), postnatal
-Rowing clubs: 14 years — learn to row through competitive masters (Leander Boat Club)
-University: 2 years — Brock University, McMaster University
-High school: Head coach at Westdale SS and Havergal College, multiple Canadian Secondary School -Rowing Association championship medals
-Sport Development Manager, Row Ontario
-Manager, Advanced Coach Diploma Program, CSIO
-Lead Coach, Team Ontario — Canada Summer Games men’s rowing team (6 gold, 1 silver)

Athletic Background
Andrea competed in rowing at the club competitive and varsity university levels. Her notable results include gold at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta (lightweight women’s eight) and silver at Ontario University Athletics (lightweight women’s coxed four).

She has also taken on endurance challenges outside rowing: completing her first marathon in 2020, her first half marathon six months postpartum, and a 10K PR in fall 2025.

Coaching Philosophy
“My job as a coach is to hold a mirror to people — to what’s already there: their inherent value and worth. They deserve that time at the gym. They deserve to be strong, to be healthy, to find joy in doing hard things.”

Andrea’s biggest challenge to fitness culture is the all-or-nothing trap. “There’s a beautiful grey area between all or nothing. Learning to embrace the grey is what keeps people active for the long term.”

Her approach to coaching has evolved over two decades. Early on, she was stricter — expectations set from the top down. Now: “I’m more aware of how important it is to meet people where they are. I still believe people rise to the expectations you set for them — we often underestimate people — but I let those standards be created collaboratively now.”

On the hardest part of coaching: “The mental drain. Coaching is a lot of giving — your time, energy, care. You have to protect your own energy. You can’t give more than someone is willing to receive. And when someone is all in, it’s important to keep it their journey, not yours.”

Background & Perspective
Andrea is a teacher by training, a high-performance rowing coach by practice, and someone who has spent over 20 years thinking carefully about how people grow. The combination of Special Education qualification, Mental Health First Aid, and decades working with athletes from learn-to-row beginners to national team programs gives her an unusually wide lens on human potential.

Her mentor, rowing coach Chantelle Hanley, modelled something Andrea still carries: that coaching excellence and personal development aren’t in competition. “She created a culture of excellence but supported people as they needed it to succeed.”

What keeps her training: breaking a cycle. “I’m already doing far better than anyone in my bloodline. I’m breaking that cycle every day I show up — and my kids deserve it.”

What sport taught her: “I can do hard things — when I’m tired, when life is hard, when conditions aren’t ideal. And I can have fun pushing to my limit, if I’m surrounded by the right people.”