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Navy Crew Newsletter Page 1 Navy Crew Update As Navy heads into the second half of winter training, all three programs are charged up and ready for another spring racing season. Over the winter break, our men’s pro- grams decided to add a winter training trip down to sunny Florida, while the women opted to put more hours into their training on campus by going “in-season” early. Heavyweight Crew - San Diego Bound e heavyweights took 20 varsity oarsmen on a trip to Stuart, Florida af- ter Christmas, rowing from the Treasure Coast Rowing Club. Some of our athletes flew directly to Florida, while others drove vans from Annapolis. In Stuart, Navy rowed on the south fork of the St. Lucie River, which turned out to be a beautiful stretch of water. It was a great week of training, allowing the coaches to focus on one 8 or two 4’s at a time. Yale’s heavyweights were also train- ing in Stuart, so we made sure our rowing was very sharp every time we passed them by. It was very clear that the trip paid off, since Navy’s erg training has begun at a much higher level than usual. e team is still as large as ever with the varsity and plebe heavyweights combin- ing for over eight boats of athletes. Even with the absence of the rowing tank for Crew Update cont’d on Page 3... AVY CREW NEWSLETTER Winter Issue www.navysports.com January 2012 In this Issue... Clothier’s Retirement Boathouse Christening Team Updates Admiral Hubbard’s Log Athlete Interviews Spring Schedules Rick Clothier Elects to Retire Rick Clothier, head coach of the heavy- weight rowing team at the Naval Acade- my, has announced he will step aside from intercollegiate coaching at the end of the 2011-12 season. “I’ve given this decision a lot of thought, and now is the right time,” said Clothier. “With the completion of the Hubbard Hall renovations, the establishment of the Excellence Fund for equipment needs, and a team of student-athletes attaining an increasingly higher level of perfor- mance, my most recent goals for the pro- gram have been achieved. At this time in my life, there are many other things I want to do – public service being foremost on my mind. I want to commit some time and energy to other programs in which I can help make a difference.” “Coach Clothier’s personal and profes- sional contributions to competitive crew at all levels, our midshipmen, and our com- munity at large have been phenomenal,” said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. “It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of his positive influ- ence on so many lives over an unparal- leled and distinguished career. He is the benchmark for collegiate achievement in the sport and has been a role model for those at the Academy through his ability to both practically and philosophically bal- ance every dimension of our moral, men- tal, and physical mission. Year aſter year his leadership emerges in influential and inspiring ways and Rick has proven to be one of the Academy’s overall finest coaches and educators. As he now leaves intercol- legiate coaching to others, I look forward to his transitioning into a number of new teaching and administrative challenges that will also include advancing our devel- opment efforts as a liaison to the hundreds Clothier Article cont’d on page 2... Hubbard Hall Christening On behalf of The Director of Athletics of the United States Naval Academy you are cordially invited to the Hubbard Hall Christening on Saturday, the nineteenth of May at ten o’clock in the morning Hubbard Hall United States Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland 1000 hrs May 19, 2012
Transcript

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 1

Navy Crew Update As Navy heads into the second half of winter training, all three programs are charged up and ready for another spring racing season. Over the winter break, our men’s pro-grams decided to add a winter training trip down to sunny Florida, while the women opted to put more hours into their training on campus by going “in-season” early.

Heavyweight Crew - San Diego Bound The heavyweights took 20 varsity oarsmen on a trip to Stuart, Florida af-ter Christmas, rowing from the Treasure Coast Rowing Club. Some of our athletes flew directly to Florida, while others drove vans from Annapolis. In Stuart, Navy rowed on the south fork of the St. Lucie River, which turned out to be a beautiful stretch of water. It was a great week of training, allowing the coaches to focus on one 8 or two 4’s at a time. Yale’s heavyweights were also train-ing in Stuart, so we made sure our rowing was very sharp every time we passed them by. It was very clear that the trip paid off, since Navy’s erg training has begun at a much higher level than usual. The team is still as large as ever with the varsity and plebe heavyweights combin-ing for over eight boats of athletes. Even with the absence of the rowing tank for

Crew Update cont’d on Page 3...

AVY CREW NEWSLETTERWinter Issue www.navysports.com January 2012

In this Issue...• Clothier’s Retirement• Boathouse Christening• Team Updates• Admiral Hubbard’s Log• Athlete Interviews• Spring Schedules

Rick Clothier Elects to Retire Rick Clothier, head coach of the heavy-weight rowing team at the Naval Acade-my, has announced he will step aside from intercollegiate coaching at the end of the 2011-12 season. “I’ve given this decision a lot of thought, and now is the right time,” said Clothier. “With the completion of the Hubbard Hall renovations, the establishment of the Excellence Fund for equipment needs, and a team of student-athletes attaining an increasingly higher level of perfor-mance, my most recent goals for the pro-gram have been achieved. At this time in my life, there are many other things I want to do – public service being foremost on my mind. I want to commit some time and energy to other programs in which I can help make a difference.” “Coach Clothier’s personal and profes-sional contributions to competitive crew at all levels, our midshipmen, and our com-munity at large have been phenomenal,” said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. “It is impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of his positive influ-ence on so many lives over an unparal-leled and distinguished career. He is the benchmark for collegiate achievement in

the sport and has been a role model for those at the Academy through his ability to both practically and philosophically bal-ance every dimension of our moral, men-tal, and physical mission. Year after year his leadership emerges in influential and inspiring ways and Rick has proven to be one of the Academy’s overall finest coaches and educators. As he now leaves intercol-legiate coaching to others, I look forward to his transitioning into a number of new teaching and administrative challenges that will also include advancing our devel-opment efforts as a liaison to the hundreds

Clothier Article cont’d on page 2...

Hubbard Hall ChristeningOn behalf of

The Director of Athletics of the United States Naval Academyyou are cordially invited to the

Hubbard Hall Christeningon Saturday, the nineteenth of May

at ten o’clock in the morningHubbard Hall

United States Naval AcademyAnnapolis, Maryland

1000 hrs May 19, 2012

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 2

Clothier Article cont’d...of alumni and friends whose lives he has touched over the past 38 years. Thank you, Rick Clothier, for being who you are.” Clothier has a history of making a dif-ference at the Naval Academy. During his tenure as head coach of the Midshipmen, he has achieved a career mark of 203-97-2 (.675), competing against some of the best teams in collegiate rowing. His overall re-cord in over 40 years as a Division I head coach is 243-98-2 (.711), which includes five years at his alma mater, the University of Washington, prior to taking over the Navy program in 1974. Among his many coaching accomplish-ments, Clothier oversaw the program’s return to the Intercollegiate Rowing Asso-ciation (IRA) National Championships in 1980 with an upset win in the Varsity Eight event. His crews went on to win seven Ten Eyck Trophies (overall team champions), three Varsity Challenge Cup titles (var-sity national champions) and five Ken-nedy Trophy Cups (second varsity national champions). In 32 years at the IRA, Clothier’s Navy crews won 28 IRA championships. Ad-ditionally, he coached Navy to four con-secutive gold medal wins at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta, the only col-legiate crew to ever accomplish that goal. Under his tutelage, 30 Navy oarsmen successfully rowed their way onto U.S. National Teams, competing at world-class events such as the Olympics, the Pan American Games, the World University Games and the World Rowing Champion-ships. Clothier was also tapped as head coach of U.S. teams at the Pan American Games

in Mexico City (1975) and then again in Caracas, Venezuela (1983). He also coached the U.S. at the World University Games in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (1987). Although he will no longer be involved in a coaching capacity, Clothier will remain on staff as a professor in the Physical Edu-cation Department at the Naval Academy. “In all my years at the Academy, there has never been a day in which I wasn’t ex-cited about my work,” said Clothier. “It has been a privilege to be part of Naval Acad-emy athletics for so long, and to partner in shaping the character of young Naval and Marine Corps officers. I feel incredibly blessed to have coached some of the finest young men in the Fleet, and look forward to continuing my support of Navy rowing.” Clothier has long been known for his emphasis on the “whole man” development of his student-athletes. Navy rowing mem-bers take with them into their future lives the many lessons learned in Hubbard Hall. The Clothier mantra has been repeated by those he has coached: “It’s not so much what you do during your undergraduate rowing experience, but what you become by it.” What others are saying about Rick Cloth-ier…Dr. Tom Virgets, Senior Associate Ath-letics Director/Physical Mission “Rick is the consummate professional in his coaching and teaching. He has served on the highest-level committees at the Na-val Academy, including the promotions and tenure committee. Rick has always been the individual that we call on to rep-resent positively the image of the Physical Education Department.”

Bill Roberts, Director of Aquatics/Navy Men’s Swimming Head Coach“My earliest memories of Rick are also some of my fondest. As a new assis-tant coach working un-der Coach Lee Lawrence back in the late 90’s, I also had the honor of being the young one on many of the classes with Coach Bob MacDonald, Coach Lawrence, Coach Duff (emeritus) and Coach

Rick Clothier. It was terrific and it was there that I spent a great deal of time work-ing alongside and getting to know Coach Clothier. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for Rick Clothier and will no doubt miss his presence as a coaching colleague.”

Dirk Mosis, Former rower, U.S.N.A ‘73“For Rick, rowing has always been part of the bigger picture at the Naval Academy in what it takes to become an officer. He truly embodies and instills all of the qualities of the Academy. For all of his success and ac-complishments in rowing, I think they pale in comparison to what he has meant to the Academy, and ultimately to the Navy and Marine Corps. To do what he has done for as long as he has with such commitment, I really don’t know how you can put that into words.”

Chris Clark, Wisconsin Men’s Rowing Head Coach and former Navy assistant (1992-94)“I consider Rick a great mentor. I speak to him at least a couple of times a month and have done so since I got to Wisconsin 17 years ago. His career is amazing and what’s more impressive to me is how his person-ality is unchanged – he still has the same energy, vigor and intelligence about rowing as when he started coaching. “He has had an incredible career with victory after victory and is definitely one of the legends in our sport. It’s a sad day to see him retire.”

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 3

Boathouse Renovation: Tank Nearing Completion Coaches and athletes are anticipating the completion of the new rowing tank this Spring. Engines, tank bed and filtra-tion system are completely installed, while a special accoustical stucco is being applied to the walls and ceiling of the tank room to help buffer the noise when the tank is at full steam. The new erg rooms have had great use during these winter months but the most popular addition to the boathouse has to be the laundry service. Gone are the days of competition to see how long the athletes can wear one pair of trou without washing them. Now, their laundry gets washed ev-ery day. The final plans for boathouse decora-tion are being made. We recently planned a historic oar display beside the fireplace in the lounge. We are excited to announce that Dick Murphy ‘54 and Howard Winfree ‘61 have donated their Olympic oars for the boathouse display. They will join oars from the 1938 and 1980 Men’s Varsity Heavy-

weight IRA Champi-onship, as well as the 1992 Women’s Dad Vail Championship and the 2004 Light-weight IRA Champi-onship. Along with his Olympic Oar, Dick Murphy has donated all of his medals for display in the boat-house, which includes a 1952 Olympic gold medal, as well as three IRA gold medals that he won in three unde-feated seasons. Rear Admiral Paul Shultz ‘38, stroke of the 1938 IRA winning Navy varsity was happy to donate his picture of the 1938 crew to the boathouse and share many of his Buck Walsh stories that led to the selec-tion of that storied line-up.

If anyone has artifacts that should be dis-played in the boathouse, please feel free to contact us at any time at [email protected] The boathouse christening will be held on May 19th, 2012 at 10 AM. If you are able, we would love to have you there to share in this glorious event.

Crew Update cont’d...another year, the bar has been raised and many of our erg records are ready to be broken. The heavyweight varsity will be travel-ing to San Diego for the Crew Classic this year. It was a last minute decision and with the help from the regatta itself, we are excited to make it out there one more time. With California, Harvard, Stanford and Cornell slated to race in San Diego, the trip will be a great way to judge our early season speed. If you plan to attend the San Diego Crew Classic, please con-tact our parent organizer for the event, Lisa Kelly: [email protected]

Lightweight Crew - Deland, Florida The lightweight team used their winter break to develop their technique as well in the warm climate of Florida. They were rowing in a popular training area of De-

land, near Orlando on Lake Beresford. The accomodations were great and right on the lake, making for easy access to the boats every morning. Over 120 miles were rowed during the week and huge technical improvements were made. The lightweights established a

great foundation of training to translate into more speed during the spring sea-son. The lightweights’ first race this year is against Princeton at home on March 24th. We hope to see you there.

Women’s Crew - Eyes on Patriot Title Since the women’s crew did not make a winter trip, they were able to go “in-sea-son” earlier than the men’s programs and bulk up their workouts to 20 hours per week. Along with the extra hours, going “in season” gives them the opportunity to get on the water early, utilize Noon weight room instruction and enjoy lunch

training tables. They have been benefitting from their extra time, as the team is showing signs of having one of their strongest years in recent memory. The goal is the Patriot League title and they are reminded of that every day at practice. With new rule changes in women’s rowing, soon the Patriot League winner will earn an automatic qualification for the NCAA Championship. The women’s next event will be their spring training trip down to Miami, FL in March.

Navy Lightweights training in Deland, FL over New Year’s

Heavyweights’ post row cool down

John Hubbard’s LogThe Origin of Navy Crew and its First Boat Race

Admiral John Hubbard, Class of 1870, is known as the stroke of the first crew ever to race for Navy. From the guidance of Ben Hallowell ‘60, a distant cousin of Hubbard, we learned of the admiral’s log that now resides in the Nimitz Library. When we asked to review the original copy, we found loose pages inside the typed manuscript. It was Hubbard’s hand-edited speech from the Hubbard Hall dedication in 1930. Here is what he wrote:

In speaking to you this afternoon, I should wish it understood that I make no claim to being either an orator or a wise person. As to the latter, I have sufficient wisdom to know what I can do, and to not be ashamed to admit what I can not. One of the many things that I should admit under this latter category is a very definite inability to orate. My mission here today is a simple and almost congenial one: To make public confession of my deep appreciation of the honor that has been conferred upon me in the naming of this splendid building that we are dedicating today to its intended purpose, and further to make acknowledgement of my thanks to those responsible for the selection of my name among the many that must have made the choice an embarrassment. Some one has said that in the lives of all men there come certain moments when one feels thankful to be alive, and draws in pure delight with every breath. Too sweeping perhaps to say “all”, but no doubt a fair statement as to most lives. We have known these moments in youth, we have know them, probably more acutely, through the years of middle life, and I can testify here today that we may even know them in old age, unless we have become altogether insensitive. On this occasion, however, these moments are not without a tinge of sadness, a sense of loneliness, in the feeling that I alone survive of that little group of loyal comrades, all of whom were equally as keen and willing in the game, and fully as worthy as myself of the distinction that has fallen to my lot after these three score years. I hope that I may have the privilege, some day in the not distant future, of placing in this building a tablet, suitably inscribed, with the names of a crew which must always have a place in the athletic history of the Naval Academy. If we were hunting for titles, which we are not, it might perhaps be call “The Crew of Precedents”, for there were many of them associated with it. It was the first team in any athletic sport to represent the whole Academy. As such, its race in May, 1870, against a crew from the Quaker City Boat Club, of Philadelphia, was the first athletic event of any kind in which the Naval Academy, as an Academy, was a competitor. In that race, both crews, for the first time in this country, used the “sliding stroke”. I have always felt it unfortunate that this initial race could not have been against a crew from one of our colleges. The problem was to find a college having a Varsity crew. So far as any of us knew, only two colleges, Yale and Harvard, had them. No other college, certainly, was at all prominent in rowing. We did have some parley with Harvard, but it came to nothing, because of inability to find a date that was practicable. This race, by the way, was the outcome of an impulsive moment in the life of Vice-Admiral D. D. Porter, who had recently given up the superintendency of the Naval Academy for a position in the Department, through which he had become virtually ruler of the Navy. Quite unmindful of the fact that there was no such thing existing as an Academy crew, he issued invitations amounting to challenges, to any crew in the country to go to Annapolis and “row his midshipmen”. One effect of the knowledge that the Vice-Admiral was deeply interested was to stir a deeper interest in the officers at the Academy, which became at time an immense

help to us. Again, for the first time in the annals of Naval Academy athletics, use was made of a coach.

Now, I think it fitting, at this time, to pay a word of tribute to this coach; His name was William Blaikie, a Harvard graduate of 1866 and stroke of a Harvard crew of that same period that lifted that college from a despondency into which successive defeats at the hands of Yale had plunged it. If we had had athletic heroes in those days, I am quite sure that Blaikie would have easily been the outstanding one at Harvard.

In 1870, Blaikie was one of the assistants in the Attorney General’s office in Washington. One evening, after arrangements for a race against the Quaker City’s had been completed, he of his own accord appeared at the Academy and asked if he might coach us. To me, he was better known than to other members of the crew, because, at about the time that he was gaining his rowing laurels at Harvard, I was a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, which was then pre-eminently the preparatory school for that college and youth in those days had this in common with youth of the present, that it swaggered a

Article cont’d on next page...

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 4

Heavyweight CrewDonald Bowers Surface WarfareKyle Browne Marine GroundNicholas Denney Marine GroundMatthew Fluhr Surface WarfareChristopher Gear SubmarinesAndrew Gorie Navy SEALsWilliam Huckeba Marine PilotBenjamin Kosman Naval Flight OfficerJohn Minahan SubmarinesWilliam Race Navy SEALsDavid Woods Navy SEALs

Women’s CrewSarah Brown Navy PilotShelby De La Mora Navy PilotChristina Lanouette Navy PilotCaitlin Schemenski Navy PilotMarycate Walsh Navy PilotCodie Younger Surface Warfare

Lightweight CrewChristopher Dinger Navy PilotJeffrey Rossman Navy PilotPhillip Skelley Navy PilotStephen Haury Marine PilotTom Paul Nuke SurfaceWalker Washburn SubmarinesJoshua Marshall Surface WarfareCharles Harty Information WarfareLuke Kerrisk Marine Ground

Navy Crew Service Selection

Hubbard Article cont’d...bit when familiar with the names and the deeds of the greats of its own years. Naturally, his services were most willingly accepted, and arrangements were made by which he should come down to us at least three evenings each week, without expense to himself. His teachings, and the inspiration of his personality, were most valuable to us. In the summer of 1869, Blaikie had been in England with the Harvard four that won over for a race against Oxford, the first Yankee invasion, and an unsuccessful one. It was on that trip that he learned the technique, if that is the proper term, of the sliding stroke, which he strongly advised us to adopt. The changes that we had to make in the boat were crude, but effective, and it was surprising how quickly, under Blaikie’s skillful guidance, we got into the hang of the thing. When our opponents arrived, a few days before the race, we found that they also were using this stroke, under the coaching of a professional, and of course it was well for us that we had had such good advice. Blaikie was a splendid sportsman, a thorough gentleman, and the most enthusiastic oarsman that I have ever known. His name, I think, belongs on that tablet we con-template. I possibly have exceeded my time, but let me add one thing more, even at the risk of seeming boastful. In this initial race, our crew inaugurated what subsequent Academy crews have established as much of a habit. From start to finish, we never saw but the backs of our opponents.

3/C Katherine Ashton - Women’s InterviewWhy did you decide to attend the Na-val Academy and what was your athletic background in high school? In high school I participated in volley-ball, cross country, basketball, and track. My main athletic focus was on basketball because it was my initial plan to play bas-ketball in college for a school with a good engineering program. I first considered the Academy my junior year when I received a small amount of recruiting attention from the basketball program. After investigating further, I found the Academy seemed like a great place for me.

As a novice rower, how did you decide to try out for the rowing team? Well, obviously, things fell through for my future in basketball at Navy, because there was not a spot on the team for me. So when I came to the Academy, I wanted to try something new and challenging. I had always been curious about the sport and this was my chance to try it out.

As a plebe last year, you rowed in the varsity four that won the Patriot League Championship. Can you explain your experience developing from a novice to a championship-winning boat in the same year? It was absolutely incredible. Over Plebe summer and in the fall, everything was foreign and awkward. Feathering was, and still is the hardest part of the sport for me to grasp. The most amazing part of my

crew experience thus far was rowing last spring in the varsity four. It was such I great journey for all of us. We started off not being able to balance those very delicate and finicky small shells at first. But as our spring break training trip in Miami came to a close, we were rela-tively able to functionally row for an entire piece. Then our first race, my first 2k race ever, rolled around in which we managed to catch 3 crabs, 2 of which were mine, and the last one was so bad our coxswain, Jack-ie, claimed the boat actually headed for the neighboring lane for a brief moment. But by some miracle, we were able to regain our composure and finish well enough to make it into finals that day. That really illustrates how our varsity four season went. Kerri, Codie, Becca, and I did not always have the most refined tech-nique, but we all worked hard and worked together every day to do the best we could to become as fast as we could. Coach Stimson dubbed us the Amazons because we were a strong group of girls that knew how to work hard, not necessarily how to row, but by the end of the season it is safe to say we figured it out. I am so glad I got the chance to row with such a great crew because I learned so much from all of them. My knowledge and passion for row-ing grew so much last spring in the four, and I just cannot wait till this spring!

Coach Hughes explains that you are now the top erg on the varsity squad. How has

your second year on the team been? My second year has been great; I could not ask to be on a better team. All the girls are terrific. Everyone is focused on improv-ing and getting better with each day. I love the constant challenge that the sport pres-ents daily. I speak for the entire team when I say our number one goal is to annihilate our races at Patriot League Championship this season and take home the gold!

How has the boathouse renovation helped the team in reaching your goals? The new boathouse is incredible and provides such a great opportunity to train. Having everything under one roof makes the logistics of practice ten times easier and more efficient. Also, the locker room is so nice to have, not only as a place to change, but also as a great place to hang out and create more camaraderie and togetherness on the team.

3/C Ruthie Bates - Lwt InterviewWhy did you decide to attend the Na-val Academy and what was your athletic background in high school? I came to the Naval Academy because I wanted an adventure; it has definitely been one. My athletic career in high school began with bench-warming for JV girl’s field hockey and basketball. I rowed (not coxed) all four years and my Sophomore and Senior years I ran cross-country, aban-doning all ball sports. I did a lot of cycling and a few triathlons in the summers which definitely made me faster for each fall. I learned the most about aggressive racing and competition from cross-country my senior year. After a very successful running season in my senior fall, I had an unsuc-

cessful attempt at CRASH-B’s my senior winter and a disappointing season of rac-ing in the Spring. Although we lost a lot, as captain and stroke of the girls’ eight, I got a lot of experience which I think I’ve been able to use in the past year and a half of coxing for the Navy Lightweight Men.

Your brother was the 2008 captain of the Navy Lightweight Crew. How has his ex-perience on the team helped you be a bet-ter coxswain for the lightweights? After my first day on the water, during which I hit a lot of things, stuttered a lot and got spoken to very sternly, my broth-er David sent me an e-mail with several thoughts. A few of them were: “You’ll make

mistakes and you’ll probably hit some-thing. Don’t dwell on it… Keep them posi-

Bates Interview cont’d on Page 7...

1/C Kyle Browne - Hwt InterviewWhy did you decide to attend the Naval Academy and what was your athletic background in high school? In high school I was on both the Varsity Swim team and the Varsity Crew. I soon found that while I had been swimming for nearly my whole life, crew was in fact my new passion. I rowed for the Varsity Crew all four years and was able to captain that team as well. In middle school I had visited the Naval Academy and was convinced that I wanted to go there. While that enthusiasm died off in the beginning of high school, it was re-invigorated once I began speaking with the Navy Crew Coaches my junior year. In ad-dition to allowing me to continue my new-found passion of rowing, and providing me with an excellent education, I realized that it was the best avenue to becoming an offi-cer. My father and both of my grandfathers all served in the military, and I too wanted to serve at some point in my life.

How did you balance your role on the team with being a Company Commander in your company? Balancing my role both on the team and in my company was quite challenging. With Company Commander, I knew it was critical to pick a staff that I knew would do an outstanding job and would be able to competently oversee the Company when I was not around. My staff was stellar and made the job surprisingly easy. I missed a few parades and formations due to prac-tices and regattas, but thanks to my staff no one seemed to miss me too much. I had my fair share of late nights, early mornings, adjudications, and meetings, but I man-

aged to come out unscathed. Crew was the easier of my two roles. At the boathouse, the only expectations were to come to practice and pull hard. Rowing was the perfect outlet from the often stressful job. Whenever Company Commander threw me a curveball, I was always able to take the stress and frustra-tion out on the water, and I would always return clear-headed and revitalized. While it was a challenge balancing both Company Commander and being a Navy oarsman, I feel that I have grown immensely on both fronts thanks to the experience.

How was your experience trying out with the U.S. National Team and competing in the Under-23 trials? This past summer I had the wonder-ful opportunity of trying out for the U.S. Under-23 Team and getting invited to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. 1/C Will Race and I were both invit-ed to try and earn seats in the U.S. boats that would go on to compete at the World Championships in Amsterdam. It was incredible getting to live and train at the Olympic Training Center around world-class athletes. Getting to train with the best oarsmen in collegiate rowing, and get-ting to interact with National Team rowers and coaches was an experience that I won’t soon forget. While Will Race earned a seat in the 4- and went on to Amsterdam, I un-fortunately was not able to secure a seat for myself. I flew out to Philadelphia to train with Penn A.C. in hopes of working my way into the 4+ and qualifying for Worlds at the U-23 Trials in Princeton, NJ. After getting to interact with yet another great

group of collegiate rowers I was fortunate enough to race in Penn A.C.’s top boat at Trials. Unfortunately I discovered that the World Championships were not in the cards as my boat missed qualifying by just less than 3 seconds. What was your motivation on selecting the Marine Corps as your military service? I have always had a strong admiration for the Marine Corps and the honor, tra-dition, and professionalism that they em-body. Over my time at the Naval Academy I found that many of my teammates, up-perclassmen, and officers that I most ad-mired were part of this elite community. The various summer training blocks only confirmed my desire to become a leader of Marines. Having gotten a glimpse at the quality of individuals I would get to lead and the work I would be doing, it was hard to want anything else. I feel very honored and excited to be joining the greatest fight-ing force in the World.

Navy Crew Newsletter Page 7

Bates Interview cont’d...tive… Never allow yelling/bad-mouthing in the boat... There are two leaders in the boat. And Only two. You and the stroke…Be intense. Why? Because you know how to win!” I found this all to be good advice, al-though I definitely dwelled on hitting things and I questioned whether or not I knew how to win. Especially at the begin-ning, when I had no idea what was going on and I was scared of about half the row-ers, my brother was a good source of in-formation of how boys approached rowing

and how they thought in general. While both my sisters have a lot of experience and are great to talk to about getting faster, I quickly discovered that testosterone plays a huge role in the social make-up of a male team, with which I had no experience.

Your father was a rowing coach and your sister was a member of the women’s light-weight national team. What’s your typical conversation at the dinner table like? For a lightweight rowing family, we spend dinner-time eating a lot of deli-cious food and rarely talking about crew.

My three siblings, my parents, my brother -in-law and I are all incredibly close so when everyone is home, dinners usually last quite a while. Typical topics include: our high school, black Labradors, potty-humor, lines from our favorite TV shows, and teasing each other about past haircuts, lisps or significant others.

What service do you see yourself selecting in your first class year? I have absolutely no idea what service I see myself selecting. Fortunately, I have quite a bit of time to decide.

Navy Crew Spring Racing SchedulesHeavyweight Schedule

March 31-April 1 San Diego Crew Classic San Diego, CAApril 6-7 George Washington Invitational Washington DCApril 14 Syracuse and Cornell (Goes Trophy) Syracuse, NYApril 21 Harvard and Penn (Adams Cup) Annapolis, MDApril 28 Columbia (Stevenson Trophy) Princeton, NJMay 13 EARC Sprints Championships Worcester, MAMay 31-June 2 IRA National Championships Camden, NJ

Women’s ScheduleMarch 24 Murphy Cup Regatta Philadelphia, PAApril 1 Occoquan Sprints Woodbridge, VAApril 6-7 George Washington Invitational Washington DCApril 14 Georgetown Annapolis, MDApril 21 Boston Univ. and St. Joseph’s Philadelphia, PAApril 29 Patriot League Championships Camden, NJMay 13 EAWRC Sprints Championships Camden, NJ

Lightweight ScheduleMarch 24 Princeton (Murtaugh Cup) Annapolis, MDMarch 31 Yale (Johnson Cup) Princeton, NJApril 7 Columbia New York, NYApril 14 Georgetown Annapolis, MDApril 21 Harvard (Haines Trophy) Annapolis, MDApril 28 Penn (Callow Cup) Philadelphia, PAMay 13 EARC Sprints Championships Worcester, MAMay 31-June 2 IRA National Championships Camden, NJ

Navy Rowing CampsOffering residential camps in June at the historic United States Naval Academy.

Campers will be thoroughly schooled in all aspects of rowing and coxing by experienced and talented coaches from across the country.

Please visit our websites for detailed information Girls Crew Camp Boys Crew Camp www.navyrowingcamp.com www.navycrewcamp.org 410-263-4655 410-293-3658


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