Thanks for coming
A quick update before climbing into bed. It's been a really long day and it started with a bit of a panic when I woke up - thanks to my cat pouncing on me repeatedly - and realized that I was late. Only I wasn't. Long story.
We raced at the Portland Fall Classic today and it's become quite a happening regatta. Some of the bigger schools came down this way - Washington State, Gonzaga, Oregon State - along with a ton of junior crews. It's a little odd being at a regatta and not being surrounded by juniors for the first time in 2 years. It was even more surreal when our trailer ended up next to Lake Oswego. I ran into a lot of the kids I used to coach - go figure - and we chatted a bit.
Results were solid all the way around. I think the biggest accomplishment of the day was with our Women's Varsity 8. They took 5th in their race but it's worth noting that 1st - 4th place were Division I programs and that we outdistanced our conference rival by over 50 seconds. I'd call that a very successful day.
The day kicked off with the Women's Novice 8 race and they had a very solid race. They got passed by the University of Portland, a brand new Division I program but refused to let their conference rival move through them. Though we lost to them - we took 3rd overall - they would not allow this boat to pass them. You can coach a lot of things but you can't coach heart and the girls had theirs on their sleeve today.
The Men's 2- and Novice Men's 8 had great races taking 1st and 2nd respectively. The 2- happened to be the only boat entered but they still put down a solid time and were able to stay in front of several of the eights that were stacked up behind them. The eight had a great race and while Gonzaga ran away from them, they managed to move from 3rd to 2nd place and then pull away from the 3rd place boat despite losing the bow pair for the final 2000 meters - seat blew up. It was a very solid showing, especially from the coxswain who steered both the novice eights today.
Overall the coaching staff - all two of us - were extremely satisfied with the work and effort shown today. We've got a great base here and the athletes look fired up to get more fit and build more strength. As sad as it is to be shutting down already - I'm used to rowing into November - I'm very excited to see what spring is going to unveil.
We raced at the Portland Fall Classic today and it's become quite a happening regatta. Some of the bigger schools came down this way - Washington State, Gonzaga, Oregon State - along with a ton of junior crews. It's a little odd being at a regatta and not being surrounded by juniors for the first time in 2 years. It was even more surreal when our trailer ended up next to Lake Oswego. I ran into a lot of the kids I used to coach - go figure - and we chatted a bit.
Results were solid all the way around. I think the biggest accomplishment of the day was with our Women's Varsity 8. They took 5th in their race but it's worth noting that 1st - 4th place were Division I programs and that we outdistanced our conference rival by over 50 seconds. I'd call that a very successful day.
The day kicked off with the Women's Novice 8 race and they had a very solid race. They got passed by the University of Portland, a brand new Division I program but refused to let their conference rival move through them. Though we lost to them - we took 3rd overall - they would not allow this boat to pass them. You can coach a lot of things but you can't coach heart and the girls had theirs on their sleeve today.
The Men's 2- and Novice Men's 8 had great races taking 1st and 2nd respectively. The 2- happened to be the only boat entered but they still put down a solid time and were able to stay in front of several of the eights that were stacked up behind them. The eight had a great race and while Gonzaga ran away from them, they managed to move from 3rd to 2nd place and then pull away from the 3rd place boat despite losing the bow pair for the final 2000 meters - seat blew up. It was a very solid showing, especially from the coxswain who steered both the novice eights today.
Overall the coaching staff - all two of us - were extremely satisfied with the work and effort shown today. We've got a great base here and the athletes look fired up to get more fit and build more strength. As sad as it is to be shutting down already - I'm used to rowing into November - I'm very excited to see what spring is going to unveil.
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