Athol Hundermark, starting his third year as coach of the Abingdon School first eight, has high hopes for 2011.

The South African, who has been on the school staff for six years, says he is “quietly optimistic” about the coming season.

Hundermark has a strong senior boys group and hopes to be challenging Eton and Shrewsbury, the two schools he sees as the likely strongest at first-eight level.

He felt that his first eight “got things wrong” at the National Schools Regatta in 2010, a year when the Junior 16s, Junior 15s and second eight did themselves justice.

It was a good year for Abingdon on the international front, ten boys gaining Great Britain vests – two at the junior world championships, the remainder in the Coupe GB B team and the GB v France international.

Hundermark has large J16 and J15 squads, the biggest for six years with 25 and 38 boys involved respectively.

The J16s will have a new coach in the person of David Currie, who was junior coach of the year in 2009 when he was at Sir William Borlase School, Marlow.

The J15s remain under the control of Henry Morgan and Mike Webb.

Morgan is the organiserwhile Webb, a former GB squad member, concentrates on the technical aspects.

Hugh Price, an Abingdon stalwart, remains in charge of the numerous J14s.

Abingdon do little river work before Christmas, other sports and notably rugby, taking the boys’ time.

“We always seem to be playing catch up,” says Hundermark.

A big boost is that the school took delivery of a new Empacher eight boat in December.