SRA Stories: Liza Dickson

Just off Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, Liza Dickson grew up around plenty of water while living on an idyllic farm. As a huge admirer of the Olympic Games, she participated in plenty of Olympic sports with dreams in her head of elite competition. None of those sports, however, included rowing, despite her dad having been a rower. That all changed when she attended Washington College in Maryland and decided to walk onto their Division III rowing team with no experience. Like many other rowers, she decided to join the sport because she was tall and because her dad had been a rower. That decision led to her rowing all four years of college.

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In addition to her student-athlete role, studying for her pre-law and political science major kept her busy in college. Dickson originally had plans to be an environmental lobbyist— a career that was influenced by her wanting to protect the beauty of places like the bay she grew up near. The universe had something else in mind for her though. While working a consulting job, Dickson spotted an ad in the USRowing magazine asking for a junior rowing coach at the Annapolis Rowing Club. In a matter of three months, Dickson graduated college and became the first Head Junior Coach for the club with no experience in coaching rowing.  As a quick learner and natural leader, Dickson used her collegiate coach, Mike Davenport, as a blueprint for her new coaching career.

It was that ad in the classifieds section of a USRowing magazine that jump-started her now thirty year coaching career in the rowing world. Her resume is peppered with a myriad of rowing clubs all around the country. After three years with Annapolis Rowing Club, she moved south to Miami to work as the manager and head coach of Miami Beach Rowing Club. Dickson enjoyed the change. Not only was it a huge leap in distance away from home, but the new job was also a huge jump in responsibilities as she was the head of both the junior and masters teams while basically running the entire club! 

In Miami, Dickson was exposed to many elite rowers who trained there in the winter. That gave her the itch to dive back into rowing as an athlete, and take a break from the coaching role that was burning her out from all the responsibilities piled on her plate. Feeling like she had been a late bloomer as a rower, she quit her job and began training in a single. Her training was a constant battle to defy expectations from others and see for herself what she was capable of. Her hard training paid off as she won races at the national level.

After some time training, Dickson needed a job to support herself again so she coached for a year at Colgate University in New York while she continued to train as competitive masters rower. Florida didn’t let her leave for long though, and called her back to a coaching position for a few years at the Pine Crest School before she eventually became the Varsity Men’s Coach with Sarasota Crew in 2009. In her four years at Sarasota, Dickson led her team to the first state and regional titles in 8+’s for Sarasota Crew; wins at the Head of the Charles; and the first Youth Nationals medals in 8+’s. After Sarasota, Liza moved to Oklahoma where she coached for Oklahoma City University and the Oklahoma National High Performance Center,  representing team USA as a coach for the World University Games, as well as coaching athletes at World and Olympic Trials.

Having previously spent a summer coaching at Craftsbury Sculling Center, Dickson had met Tony and Hanna Andrews who had tried to convince her to come out to a club in Washington called Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA). She originally dismissed the idea, thinking she could never thrive in Washington state. Gradually, former athletes began sending her a job posting from SRA for the Head Boys Coach position. Dickson was familiar with Steven Freygang from the rowing world, SRA’s Executive Director at the time, and thought she might as well send him an email expressing her interest in the position. She still did not feel confident about a move to Washington, but athletes continued to send her the job posting so she figured she would at least check it out. Freygang quickly called her and invited her out for an interview.

During her visit to interview at SRA, Dickson went for a run by the Sammamish Landing. Looking out at Lake Sammamish, something came over her and she thought, “I think I am going to live in Washington!” She began her role as Head Boys Coach, 5am assistant, and the Head Sculling Coach at SRA in July 2017.

“The people were so great at SRA and I really trusted Steven,” Dickson said. “SRA is the longest I have worked anywhere. It’s the people who keep me here. There is just something about the energy here that is different at this club. The support is different. I’ve never been anywhere where there is so much support and flexibility for me to run the program I want to run,” she added.  

Soon after she joined SRA, Dickson got a taste of success. At Northwest Junior Regional Championships, she led the Boys team to sweeping the 8+'s which had not happened in quite some time at SRA. She felt pride that her coaching had made a difference in their performance. She and Freygang stood together watching the races when she felt a surge of emotions flood over her as she realized all the hard work had paid off. 

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Despite a career full of accomplishments, none stand out above the rest to Dickson. “I have had a lot of really amazing experiences, but I tend not to look back,” she admitted. “I look forward and think the best is yet to come.” She did say that whether you are a rower or a coach, winning is always going to be a top memory, but often the things leading up to a win are the best memories of all. “Honestly, the funny jokes, laughing with kids or coaches, bus rides, crazy regattas where it rains— the medal winning memories are there but those snapshots are fleeting. The interactions with people where you are laughing and having fun is the best. The true reason to stay in such a hard job and sport is the people,” Dickson added.

Coaching is a tough job. Hours are spent poring over training plans, lineups, equipment inventories, safety trainings, regatta planning, athlete development, parent relationships, and so much more. Yet Dickson remains energized in her role and views rowing as an integral part of who she is. “It is dangerous to tie your identity to what you do, but it has permeated so much of my life that rowing and coaching bleeds into who I am. I started when I was 17 and have been involved in this sport for my entire adult life. The sport has taught me to continue striving, it enhanced what my parents taught me about work ethic,” she said.
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Looking back at her thirty year career, Dickson offered some words of advice for new and seasoned rowers alike. “It is a long game,” she said. “It takes so much longer than you think to be great at this sport. We can teach you to erg in five minutes, but rowing is a pursuit over the long game. Patience. Patience with yourself. We all want so much instant gratification, but rowing is not a sport that gives you that. Have your goals, but enjoy the journey as you go.”
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From her coaching perspective, she shared that coaches always have their athlete’s best interest at heart. “When your coach is being tough on you, it is because they see something you are capable of and they want you to see it and believe it too.”

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Outside of the world of rowing, Dickson is a passionate Seattle sports fan and cheers for the Mariners and Kraken while attending games regularly. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at the University of Western States. Like many Washingtonians, she has a love for the outdoors and enjoys exploring the state. Additionally, as some may know, she has a deep passion for cooking and posts many of her recipes on her @Coachlizacooks Instagram page.
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For nearly nine years, SRA has been privileged to have Dickson as a pillar of our team. She has coached hundreds of athletes, guiding them through transformational and significant moments within the sport of rowing. We feel immensely fortunate to have her as part of our community and alongside her, plan to look forward for the best to come! Thank you, Liza!