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Holy Names also had a solid regatta. I don't think everyone finished where they wanted to, but most folks are going home pretty content with the experience. Our LW8+ finished 11th overall, beating out Green Lake in the repechage, a team that had finished 4 seconds ahead of us at the Regional Championship. Our W8+ finished 15th overall, in a competitive race against a number of top talent crew from around the nation, and after a very close race in their repechage.
From my more personal experiences, I feel like I have come a long way with some of these kids and have learned a lot this year about how to help everyone get faster. I definitely want to move away from the erg even more, and continue to de-emphasize the earlier races in favor of more intense and voluminous training schedules. More seat racing all season long so kids know where they're at all the time, and more time in small boats (as always).
I am going to really miss my outgoing seniors with whom I have had a chance to work the most these last two years. A couple of solid rowers and a spectacular coxswain who have been with me since my first regatta with the experienced HNA team in San Diego are headed off to bigger and better things (college!). I have been shaped by my athletes, and will likely continue to be shaped in the years to come.
I am very excited about the youth on our team. We have a few very strong athletes who did not make the trip out to Oak Ridge, and there is enough youth on the lightweight squad to keep cranking out fast boats for the next couple of years. We always have to keep an eye on the future - it was right after my championship races that I did the loftiest planning for the year to come when I was in college. It is the same now on the other side of the fence.
