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SAMMAMISH ROWING ASSOCIATION
  • Inside SRA
    • Forms, Resources, and FAQs
    • Safety
    • Facility
    • Parking
    • Staff | Coaches
    • History
    • Board of Directors
    • Jobs
    • Videos
    • SRA Stories
    • Calendar
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  • Programs
    • Adults
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    • Row for a Day
    • Learn to Row
  • Support SRA
    • SRA Development
    • Scholarship Fund
    • Steady State Giving
    • Donate Now
    • Sponsors

Sammamish ROWING
​SRA Stories

SRA Stories: Aimee Woolwine

11/30/2018

 
Aimee Woolwine was asked by her doctor, “what are you going to do for activity?” Woolwine had undergone a very intensive weight loss program around 2011 and her doctor wanted to ensure she kept up with her progress. At the age of 22, Woolwine had her congenital knee malformation condition fixed, but she still deals with cartilage damage. Running was out of the question, but she noted to her doctor that, “I kind of like that rowing machine thing in the gym,” to which her doctor replied, “well there’s this rowing club right down the road, and there are these women who row together in the morning.”
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Aimee sporting her SRA gear
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Aimee- a decorated SRA athlete, rowing past Mt. Hood
After that conversation, Aimee began the Learn to Row program in the summer of 2011. She was hooked. “The mid-morning team is my new family,” Woolwine said. “I had never been an athlete before in my life. I am still somewhat amazed that I can use the term ‘athlete’ about myself. I am not from an athletic family. We didn’t grow up doing sporty things. This [rowing] was my first experience with a sport as a participant. It was addictive. When I got to the point where I realized I could be competitive, and I could compete- I got addicted to that.”
When Aimee joined SRA she was part way through her weight loss journey. Prior to joining she estimates she lost about 60 pounds, but knew she had a long way to go. She hasn’t reached her goal weight yet, but mentioned that her peak weight loss was 120 pounds. Woolwine has been close to her goal, but a rough year has slightly set her back. She lost her mother a year ago, and also went through her surgery this year to repair severe cartilage damage. “One of the things that rowing has taught me is that I can do hard things. I was never a person who did difficult things if they were difficult for me,” Woolwine said when reflecting on her weight loss. “I can do hard things, and it’s worth doing hard things. I know I will get to my goal weight some day.” ​
Woolwine, now a Wellness Coach for Weight Watchers (WW), had so much insight on health and wellness to share. She attributes most of her weight loss to a healthier diet, but acknowledged the role that physical activity and rowing played in her weight loss journey. “The benefits to being fit, never having been fit in my life before, I can tell you that having my knee surgery when I was 22 and my surgery now- being fit and strong and flexible makes recovery so much easier.” 
 
“The absolute greatest gift that rowing has given me is a new vision for aging.” Woolwine began to focus on her mid-morning crewmates more. “Until this last year I’ve been the youngest mid-morning rower. I’m rowing with women who are 20-30 years older than I am. I lost all of my grandparents very young. They had been ill for a long time, so before rowing, that was my primary example of aging - ill, limited mobility. Now I have a different idea of what being older can look like.”SRA has a wide range of ages of rowers ranging from middle school children to adults in their 70s. It was inspirational for Woolwine to see the rowers from the mid-morning team living and leading healthy, strong, and competitive lifestyles.
 
“It makes aging exciting rather than scary,” Woolwine said about continuing rowing.  She noted that if she can get in a boat and hold an oar at the age of 70 she would count that as a victory! Woolwine just wants to continue moving. She made it clear that she wants to live a life of meaning and purpose. “I want to be mobile, but not just be mobile, I want to enjoy moving.” She has seen the difficulties that can come with aging contrasted against active older lifestyles that are full of fun, vibrancy, and energy. Seeing those two sides - mobile and immobile, healthy and unhealthy, active and inactive - has motivated Woolwine to pursue a life in motion.
When Aimee knew she wanted to live that life of motion her change and progress happened gradually. “ I am a significantly different person than I was 10 years ago. That didn’t happen quickly. There wasn’t a single catalyst.” Her changes came slowly over a long period of time. Over that period of time she received support from her husband and kids. As a family they learned together how to be healthier. “We never ate badly, there just wasn’t as much variety as there could be.” To bring more nutrition and variety to their diet, Woolwine and her family often incorporated new greens every week to keep vegetables fun and exciting. Her family was also understanding of her rowing time. “They see how happy mom is when mom is rowing. When mom wants a weekend away for rowing, there is no question involved.” 
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The Woolwine family
Support also comes from her mid-morning teammates. “They are amazing. When my husband had to go out of town on my fortieth birthday for work- I celebrated with the team. We all went out to lunch.” Woolwine didn’t expect anything, but she was showered with gifts. When her mother died, her team was there for her. After her surgery her teammates visited and offered meals. She refers to her mid-morning team as her family.
Woolwine has learned a lot of lessons from rowing and weight loss. “It took external validation. The first coach who actually said to me that I could make the Charles boat one of these days if I worked hard enough was Kara.” Kara planted the seeds of motivation in the back of Woolwine’s mind. That belief in her ability made Woolwine realize that she could achieve any goal she set her mind to. She said her goal used to be going to the Charles to cheer on teammates. Instead she went to the Charles in 2016 and 2017 as a competitor and placed top ten both times. 
 
Being a teammate has given Woolwine a sense of responsibility. She finds it easier to stick to her goals with a team motivating her and also counting on her at practices. She said her favorite memory was her entire 2016 season. That year her boat won Tail of the Lake, placed top ten at the Head of the Charles, and they won Head of the Lake. The camaraderie and success of that team during that head-racing season was an incredible experience for Woolwine, and the first time that she accepted the label of “athlete” in reference to herself. 
 
As a Wellness Coach, and someone who has gone through an incredible health and wellness journey, Woolwine had some advice for others. “When you are trying to improve your health and wellness, you can’t change everything at once. It comes down to two things. It comes down to changing a lot of little habits and letting that build up over time. The other thing is that it is all about what is going on above the neck.” For Woolwine, physical and mental health are equally important. She preaches the importance of mental fortitude and belief in oneself. “You will fail over and over and over and over. The only true path to success is failure. If you expect yourself to be perfect you will be disappointed on a regular basis. True success is humbling”.
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Woolwine and her supportive sons
​Currently, Woolwine is going through rehab for her knee surgery. She is itching to get back in the boat and rejoin her mid-morning rowing family. As mentioned before, she had surgery to repair severe cartilage damage. The cartilage damage that was caused by her congenital knee malformation left no cushion between her knee and femur. Her recovery will be long, but she is making sure to take care of herself so she can jump back into rowing as soon as possible. “I miss being on the water. I think what is bugging me most is thinking about how hard it will be to get strength back. I will be back, and I will be rowing again,” she said positively.
“Head of the Charles 2019- I want it,” Woolwine said with that competitive tone in her voice. Aimee has gone through an incredible journey. One that has made her a different person than the one she was 10 years ago. She went from being overweight with limited athletics in her life to being a strong, healthy, decorated athlete at SRA. Her journey has given her an incredible group of friends in the rowing community, a new understanding of health, and an ability to chase down her goals. She, like many of our rowers, is truly discovering her unbounded potential. ​​​
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Woolwine rowing with her teammates

SRA Stories: Jan Schelter

11/26/2018

 
Over the years, rowers log thousands of meters on the water.  This year, Sammamish Rowing Association rower Jan Schelter logged thousands of miles on land, completing all 2,652 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. Stretching from Mexico to Canada, the Pacific Crest Trail is a legendary wilderness path made famous in part by the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Every year “thru hikers” spend several months covering every single one of those miles. Jan Schelter was one of those thru hikers this year.
In 2004 Jan was talking to a co-worker who used to row at Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) when they suggested that Jan might like rowing. Schelter said, “It was like a no-brainer to me. Of course I would love rowing.” Schelter described herself as an outdoor person ever since she was a teenager so the decision to try rowing was a natural one. She decided to take a sculling class, but it ended up not being the right time in her life to pursue rowing so she quit. “Then in 2015 I read The Boys in The Boat. While I was reading it I was telling my husband ‘you got to read this’. So he read it and said he wanted to try this. We both signed up for Learn to Row in the summer of 2015.” She has stuck with SRA ever since.
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Jan, far right, with other SRA rowers.
Eager to hear about Schelter’s recent journey on the PCT I jumped right into asking her about the endeavor. “I was mostly a northbound hiker,” she said. Thru hikers typically go from Mexico to Canada making them north bond hikers (NOBOs), but some choose to go from Canada to Mexico making them southbound hikers (SOBOs). “We started April 18th, and I finished October 9th.” Schelter had a partner who was with her for most of the journey, but had left the trail around Crater Lake about 2-3 weeks earlier of when Schelter finished. I was curious if hiking alone made her scared. “Culture tells me I’m supposed to be scared, but I wasn’t. I had no reason to be.”
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Schelter reaching the Northern Terminus
Schelter explained that no one was around, because she had to “flip-flop” around the trail. Due to heavy smoke and fire in California, Schelter and her partner had jumped from Mt. Shasta to Willamette Pass in central Oregon (400 miles). When they later returned they went southbound so her actual finish was at Mt. Shasta instead of the Northern Terminus she had reached earlier in Canada.
While the end of her thru hike was quiet and free of too many hikers, Schelter said it was in stark contrast to the beginning of her trip when there were crowds of people. “Fifty people start a day. You have to get a long-distance permit, which was instituted to spread people out. There used to be hundreds of people starting every day.” Schelter agreed that the increased popularity of hiking the PCT could be partially attributed to the publishing of the book Wild that she compared to the rising popularity of rowing after the book The Boys in the Boat was published.
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Thru hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail often give trail names to fellow hikers, based on defining characteristics or trail moments. Schelter’s trail name was Neon- given to her because of the high viz neon rowing hat she wore every day to honor her rowing friends. Her now sun-bleached rowing hat also resulted in a chance meeting of another rower who knows a member of the 5am team - alas - the small world of rowing.
On her Facebook page, Schelter posted updates and photos as often as she could. Her friends from home served as her own personal cheerleading squad that motivated her each time she read their encouraging comments. Most of those cheerleaders were from SRA. Her other big cheerleader was her husband who sent her boxes of food and supplies along the trail. 
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A photo of the PCT posted on Schelter's social media
Support came from not only friends and family, but strangers as well. Along her PCT journey, Jan met many “trail angels”- people who help thru-hiker’s with food, supplies, encouragement, shelter, transportation, and other bits of “trail magic”. Trail magic can be as simple as leaving behind water bottles or as elaborate as hosting an entire barbeque meal just off the trail or hosting hikers in personal homes. Jan experienced many of these trail magic moments and was blown away by the kindness and goodness of people. She couldn’t help but reflect on the intangible trail magic her friends from home had given her. “Learning about the amazing people here [SRA], and the support that they gave me- that was nothing short of amazing.
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A typical river crossing
I asked her if she ever had a point where she felt like quitting. She said, “Mostly no. The only time I considered it was near the very end. When there was 315 miles to go my partner had left the trail so now I was by myself. I felt like I had already been successful since I had done 2300 miles so what was the point. But my husband encouraged me to keep going. When there was 100 miles to go, the weather turned - it was unsettled and rainy. My husband was nearby and again encouraged me to keep going. Plus, we were able to camp together the last three out of four nights so that was helpful. Deep down I knew I wouldn't quit.”
Knowing she wouldn’t quit came partly from her drive to achieve goals. She said she has always had a strong drive, but through rowing she found a new dimension to it. With rowing, she experienced her drive as more than commitment and determination – there was a depth to it. She said she was “pulled” to Canada, like a fish on a fishing line being pulled in. There was no choice.

​Reaching the end, which for her was Mt. Shasta, was a bittersweet moment. “I was incredibly grateful for the experience,” Schelter commented, “I suppose I was a little teary-eyed to have actually finished. I was also thankful for the support that all my SRA friends gave me along the way. I didn’t expect that- I didn’t know it was coming. I was also relieved to be finished!” Schelter is glad to be back in her own bed and to have indoor plumbing, but she occasionally misses life on the trail. To help prevent the sense of loss one can feel after finishing this big of adventure Jan is throwing herself back into rowing to help with her transition back to “normal” life. 
For Schelter there were too many amazing moments to narrow just one down to her favorite. The desert section was fun because of the new environment, each sunrise and sunset served as a new masterpiece in the sky to be admired, and hiking north of Snoqualmie Pass to the Canadian border was heart-warming since it has been her backyard playground since the ‘80s. On her trek, Schelter logged 2,652 miles over 6 months, she met people from all over the world, online cheerleaders followed her progress, she ate more pizza, hamburgers, and candy bars than ever before, and she discovered how truly unbounded her potential is. 
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Reaching the 1,000 mile mark
As Jan prepared to start a post-PCT workout at the SRA boathouse, I asked Jan if she had any advice or final thoughts about this incredible adventure. “The PCT is such an amazing journey, so many experiences. So, I would say, live the National Geographic’s Nature Magazine motto- Dream it, Plan it, Do it.”
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Schelter- sitting atop a rock on the PCT

Author

Elizabeth W. Wilson
​[email protected]

Positive Coaching Alliance: Social Media Training

11/15/2018

 
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In August, Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) announced a 3 year partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). The PCA works to develop better athletes and people through resources for youth and high school sport coaches, parents, administrators and student-athletes. Through its resources such as printable tools, videos, workshops, and audio tools, PCA strives to create a positive, character-building youth sports culture. 
 
SRA’s partnership with PCA aims to help our coaches become and remain Double-Goal Coaches. A Double-Goal Coach strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. Our coaches continuously think about balancing the drive and ambition to win while also building a lifelong passion for rowing. 
 
Just this fall our coaches have participated in a PCA workshop, and have been taking part in the ACCEL Sports Management Certificate at the University of Washington. In these courses our coaches have worked alongside other sports coaches to discuss team culture, leadership, and athlete development. They’ve learned creatively through engaging lectures, group work, role-playing coaching scenarios, and completing worksheets and assignments meant to explore all areas of their coaching.
 
PCA training has seen higher retention rates of both coaches and athletes which they attribute to the Double-Goal Coach Model Training that influences coaches to change their coaching behavior, enabling them to more positively influence the experiences of the athletes on their teams. We believe that our athletes deserve the best, and when we invest in our coaches we invest in our athletes.
 
The PCA also works with student-athletes and parents. Many SRA parents attended the Second-Goal Parent workshop in September to learn how they can best support their student-athlete. This Saturday, our rowers will attend their own workshop focusing on social media usage. All rowers are required to attend the PCA training this Saturday, November 17th, from 8:30 am-10:30 am.
 
In a world where social media is becoming increasingly used in our daily lives this training will be an opportunity for our athletes to examine their use of social media and its impact on the team, themselves, and the community as a whole. A certified PCA trainer will use a series of personal reflections and several real-life scenarios to help athletes think deeply about their use of the various social platforms. Rowers will consider their personal brand and how social media plays into other people’s perceptions of them, including collegiate coaches and recruiters.
 
Upon conclusion of this workshop, our student-athletes will leave equipped with social media guidelines that they can enact in their school community, personal life, or team. We hope this training helps carry on the goal of PCA to create better athletes and better people. By being deliberate in how our athletes present themselves at school, around the boathouse, and within their own communities they can work towards becoming a positive influence on others and leading by example. 
 
We look forward to seeing all rowers present at this training, and we hope this workshop creates an open dialogue within friend groups and families on the importance of smart social media use. If you would like to learn more about the PCA and explore some of their 1,500+ free resources, check out their home webpage linked in the article. To read about our 3-year partnership visit our blog post linked below.

Learn More: PCA
Learn More: PCA & SRA

SRA Stories: Susan Myers Cameron

11/14/2018

 
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Susan Cameron in her SRA gear
When I walked up the stairs after sending off my junior rowers, Susan Cameron was already outside my office and greeted me with a huge smile. Instantly I could feel her warmth, sincerity, and kind spirit as we sat down to talk. I would have never known that just a year ago she was diagnosed with Acoustic Neuroma, a tumor in her brain. Together we sat upstairs in the boathouse and she shared her inspiring story with me- her beginnings at SRA, her journey through the brain tumor, and everything that came after.
 
 Susan has been a rower with Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) for five years now. Starting at the age of 12, Cameron had been an avid runner. She focused largely on long distance running and often ran with a running group.  At one point she was training for the Paris Marathon, but ended up injuring her Achilles that resulted in surgery. Always looking on the bright side, Cameron happily added that while it was unfortunate that she suffered from this injury it eventually led her to the sport of rowing.
Cameron had heard about rowing from friends and had driven by SRA several times. Her curiosity for the sport led her to one of our highly popular Row for a Day (RFAD) programs. Immediately she fell in love with the sport, and attributed much of her initial excitement for joining SRA to Jay Connelly’s infectious energy as Captain Row for a Day. It was then she decided to continue with the sport and she ended up registering for Learn to Row that day. Cameron also remembers Anne Corley walking into school board meetings decked out in her SRA gear. Corley and Cameron’s sons both attended the same high school. 
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Cameron and family
​Being a member of SRA for five years means that something has brought Susan back time and time again. When asked what keeps her coming back to the boathouse she cited off several reasons immediately. “Love for the sport, teamwork unlike any other sport, a strong community, the individuals, always something more to learn, supporting one another,” she said instantly. Cameron added, “The other thing that keeps me coming back is having a place to push myself to the maximum- my maximum physically, my maximum mentally, emotionally- just pushing myself and discovering what my limits are. I don’t think I’ve discovered what my limits are. I’ve touched them physically, but I want to keep pushing that and see how far I can go.”
 
Flash back to 2017 just before the Head of the Charles Regatta. Cameron was training for and competing intensely for this event. “It was 100% my focus and nothing was going to stand in my way,” she said. “The six months leading up to that I had felt some dizziness, experienced some hearing loss. After the Head of the Charles I just noticed more symptoms and the symptoms were more pronounced. So I decided to get checked out.” Her MRI was November 21st. Cameron had actually gone to the Internet for her own research and correctly self diagnosed herself before the MRI- one of the few times where looking up symptoms online has been accurate! Her radiologists confirmed that she had Acoustic Neuroma. 
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Cameron with her SRA bag the morning she left for surgery
When asked about what she felt after her diagnosis she admitted that initially she felt fear, but quickly moved into making a plan of action to determine how she was going to handle her diagnosis. She met with a couple of neurosurgeons, one of who was recommended by Heidi Aylsworth who works at Swedish, and ultimately picked a surgeon who was the right fit and able to get her an early surgery date. Her initial surgery date was December 15th, however her tumor had gotten quite large (about 4cm) and was pressing against her brain stem. Her surgeon was able to move the surgery to November 30th, 2017. 
To recover, Cameron needed 24/7 care the first week home. Cameron had an inner circle of care that was comprised of her sons, former husband, and her sweet golden retriever Hobbes who recently passed away. Her outer circle was a small army of friends, a large amount who are rowers at Sammamish. “I felt that people were just there to catch me and carry me through. I had meals; I had people coming to take me for walks, because I had to re-learn how to walk. People signed up and would come take me for a walk.” 
 
She then went on to describe all the people who helped her and the various ways they supported her during her recovery. There was Celine who made her a French meal and took her on a walk, Deborah gave her a courage necklace, Dennis, Lee, and Raina visited her before the ECM holiday party to bring a little holiday joy to her. There was also Marilyn and Jennie Proby who gave her fuzzy socks, a mug with the word “fierce” on it, and they provided delicious fudge. Jocelyn gave a coloring book and doughnuts, Lana provided dinners and a handicap parking pass, Mari was there to provide treats, dinners, and walks, and Sarah came by to visit and brought some meals as well. Yvonne, Niels, Chong, and Bronyn provided even more walks and meals. Finally, Debbie had someone pressure wash Susan’s driveway and also created the acronym FAN that stood for “F*#! Acoustic Neuroma”, a phrase that their boat rallied around. Cameron was amazed by the support she received from friends and the SRA community.
 
 “My balance isn’t 100%, and the right side of my face is still numb. There are things I continue to feel and I do have a residual tumor, and I am going back to have an MRI and have it checked on November 26th. It will have either died, stopped growing, or continued to grow,” Cameron said when asked about how she is currently doing. “I think back to what we can control and what we can’t. There are so many things in life we can’t control, but what we can control is how we deal with it.”
As we approached the end of our interview, I asked Cameron what she learned from her situation and if she had any words of advice. She started to reflect on energy, and how that played a role before, during, and after her initial surgery. “A tumor is essentially an energy blocker. I thought about what we could do in life to remove negative energy blockages and focus on the joy. We should take time to pause to acknowledge the precious moments in life. We should acknowledge how we feel about things and what brings us joy.”
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Six months post surgery- Susan focuses on joy
“Pay attention to yourself. In retrospect there were things six months ago that I should have paid more attention to.” Cameron felt it was very important to add that we should take time to listen to our bodies and seek proper attention when things seem “off”. Some other advice she provided was to be open to receiving help. “For me it didn’t come naturally, but people want to help.” We circled back around to Sammamish right before Susan left for an ECM meeting. “The community is so incredible. I was just overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support. People were there. People were on it. I am incredibly grateful for this amazing community. We’re people first, rowers second – and I love how we honor each other as individuals.”
 
That is what it comes down to at SRA. People first, rowing second.  Our community is made up of incredibly strong people like Susan, and incredibly devoted friends like some of the people mentioned in this story. We are a community, a family, a team. We are Sammamish. 
 
 Written By: Elizabeth W. Wilson
Susan's Journey Video

Coaches of Sammamish- 2018/2019

11/9/2018

 

Meet Some of Your Coaches of 2018/2019!

Tom Woodman
Tom rowed at Oregon State University and then on the 1978-1981 US National Teams.  Some of his rowing highlights include racing in the 1980 Olympic eight (second fastest in the world behind the doping East Germans), winning the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, and winning a silver medal at the 1981 World Championships in a 4+. In 1981 he was the head men’s coach at OSU.   After taking  a break from rowing, he returned in 2007, taking the position as a head coach of a small 5am Masters group at SRA.   The group has grown in size and enjoyed an unrivaled success at major regattas over the past 12 years

Tom has structured the program with a focus on maximizing water time and making the fastest boats possible.  Selection is based on a variety of criteria but paramount is seat racing.  Typically boats training for the priority regattas will train together for at least the month leading up to the race.   
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Eliza Dickson
Liza Dickson enters her second year as Experienced Boys Head Coach at Sammamish Rowing Association.
Dickson arrived at SRA with an extensive background in coaching rowing. She served as boys’ varsity coach for Sarasota Crew in Sarasota, Fla. Sarasota Crew won the varsity eight at youth nationals in 2013.
She led Sarasota Crew to several state and regional championships from 2009-13. Sarasota Crew took runner-up in the boys’ varsity eight in 2012 after taking fourth the previous year and ninth in 2010 in national competition. Additionally, Sarasota Crew collected two wins at the Head of the Charles regatta during her tenure.  Many Sarasota alumni have competed for the U.S. junior national team, under-23 national team and one is currently training with the Senior National team.

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​Dickson holds a level 3 coaching certification from USRowing. Dickson has developed junior scullers at the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia as well as coached at the Craftsbury Sculling Center in Vermont.
Also in Florida, Dickson has been Director of Rowing at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale and Manager and Head Coach of Miami Beach Rowing Club.
Dickson entered coaching following her college rowing career, becoming the first head coach for the Annapolis Junior Rowing Program. She also served as assistant women’s coach at Colgate University.
Liza spent 4 years in Oklahoma City.  In 13-14 and 14-15, Dickson primarily served as the Women’s Rowing Coach for Oklahoma City University.  During that time Liz Mathews medaled at the Head of the Charles and won the National Championship in the 1x at the Dad Vail Regatta twice.  In 2015, the Women’s team finished 5th in the Women’s Varsity 8+ at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Regatta (SIRA) – a highest ever finish for the women.  Also in 2015, Dickson coached a Lightweight 2x in its inaugural year at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) to a fifth place finish.
In the spring of 2016, Dickson coached both the Men’s and Women’s squads.  At the SIRA Regatta the Women won the Petite Final of the Women’s Varsity 8+.  Every Men’s entry collected a medal: the Men’s 2- notched OCU’s first SIRA gold ever, the Men’s 4+ finished 2nd and the Men’s Varsity 8+ finished 3rd.  The Stars qualified for the IRA Regatta for the 2nd time. The Lightweight 2x finished 6th, the Men’s Varsity 4+ finished 26th and the Men’s Varsity 8+ finished 23rd.
Also, while in Oklahoma City, Dickson coached High Performance and Development Athletes at the Oklahoma City National High Performance Center.  In 2015, she was named the Women’s Coach for the US Team at the World University Games in South Korea. In 2016 she coached athletes competing both at Olympic and world Championship Trials.
Collegiately, Dickson competed for Washington College (Chestertown, Md.) under Coach Mike Davenport. Dickson earned her degree in political science from Washington. Dickson is originally from St. Michaels, Md.
Lee Henderson
Lee Henderson was born and raised in Ohio. While in high school he competed in cross country and track. While attending the Ohio State University he joined the crew team and competed as a lightweight. After graduating, Lee took a position with the OSU women’s novice team introducing walk-on athletes to the sport of rowing. The success of the novice women’s team laid the foundation for OSU to take the women’s program varsity. 

In 2006 Lee joined the Sammamish Rowing Association as the head coach of the Weekend/Evening Masters Recreational team. After coaching the team for a couple years Lee stepped away to complete his masters at Bastyr University. In 2009 Lee returned to SRA as a learn to row coach. From there he and James Conlu started to build an evening competitive team, known today as the Evening Masters Competitive team (ECM). The team has gone on to compete and win medals at the Head of the Charles, Masters Nationals and Worlds. 


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Simon Williams
Simon rowed at Shawnigan Lake School in BC Canada. He represented Canada at the Junior Worlds in the 2+ (’69) and 1x (’70). As an Elite sculler he medaled at US Nationals and had top 5 finishes at the Head of the Charles. As a Master rower he medaled at NW Regionals, Canadian and US Masters Championships and won the C1x Head of the Lake. Prior coaching includes Women’s Coach and Head Coach at Yorktown HS in Arlington VA and Sculling Coach at Potomac Boat Club. At SRA he has coached the Novice boys since 2010. He is an Architect and his free time he likes to do Yoga and rest!
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Steven Freygang

Steven currently serves as the Executive Director of Sammamish Rowing Association and sometimes will fill in as a coach when needed. He is also seen sometimes riding around in a launch watching practices. 
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Steven’s rowing career began in 2001 at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, FL, where he won two state championships and a national championship in the Varsity 8+. After his freshmen year of rowing at the University of Washington, Steven hung up the oar and began coaching for Sammamish as the novice boys' coach during the 2006/07 season. In 2008, Steven returned to his alma mater Winter Park High School where he worked as a teacher and coach for five years, including two years as head coach. During his tenure at Winter Park, the program won three state championships and two national championships in 2009 and 2012. Steven returned to Sammamish in 2013 to lead the junior boys’ team and has since coached every program at SRA. In June of 2016 Steven was promoted to his current role as the Executive Director. Steven has a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in athletic administration from the University of Washington. 
Kelley Pope
Kelley began her rowing career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the lightweight team from 2005-2009. There, she won the Lightweight 8+ at Eastern Sprints and the IRA National Championships in 2008 and was Academic All Big Ten Athlete, CRCA Lightweight All-American, National Scholar Athlete, and Team Captain. She began her coaching career at Crystal Lake Rowing Club in Illinois in 2008 and decided to continue her passion at Sammamish when she moved to Seattle in 2012. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, rafting, and backpacking with her husband and dog. 

Kelley and her husband welcomed a baby girl on September 17th, 2018. She plans to come back to SRA in early 2019.


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Elizabeth Webb Wilson
Elizabeth graduated from the University of Florida in May 2018. During her time in the Gator Nation she spent 4 years as a certified fitness instructor teaching classes such as Total Body, iBurn, Stadiums, Interval Training, Cycle, Gator Theory, and Core.

Elizabeth rowed in the second varsity boat at Winter Park High School in Florida. She rowed as a port and started off in 3 seat moving her way up to 5 seat and then 7 seat. Her favorite spot was 5 seat. She now rows recreationally and this is her first year coaching! When she isn't at the boathouse she is often hiking, backpacking, baking, or reading in a cozy nook. 
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David DeWinter
David first picked up an oar right here at SRA in our Masters Learn to Row program in 2009. He didn't know anything then about the beauty of being on the water, the thrill of racing, and the camaraderie of growing with a team from their first strokes to national and international competition, but he learned to appreciate these and many other lessons over his almost 10 years in the sport. During that time, he learned from great mentors at Sammamish and other clubs in the Seattle area to become the rower he is today.
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David's many years of hard work, smart training, and willingness to learn new things resulted in multiple medal-winning performances at some of the world's most prestigious regattas for masters, including the Head of the Charles, Masters' Nationals, and Masters' Worlds. Afterward, David shifted his focus to passing on his passion for rowing in the same way his coaches had done for him. He now coaches the Masters Sculling and Experienced Girls teams as part of his never-ending drive to help every rower reach their potential.

When not coaching, David uses his background in technology to create a better world for coaches and rowers through his work at RowHero.

Athlete Info Night

11/8/2018

 
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On Wednesday, December 5, 2018 we will be hosting an Athlete Info Night for prospective rowers of all ages to tour the boathouse, meet the coaches, and learn more about the sport of rowing. Sammamish offers programs for all ages starting with our 6th & 7th grade team to our various adult teams. As you are aware, one of the benefits of rowing is that you can start at any age with no experience.  Thousands of youth and adults have changed their lives by rowing for SRA.

SRA invites all to learn about our passion for rowing and commitment to serving our community and we hope to recruit the next generation of Sammamish rowers.  Please share the Info Night invitation with your friends, family, and co-workers.  Current members and rowers are welcome to bring a guest  and show them around the boathouse.

Click on our social media icons above to learn a bit more about our teams and to see us in action. If you have questions you can contact our Director of Membership and Community by clicking the email icon above.

#wearesammamish


Discover Sammamish

Crew Cup Coffee Roasters Grand Opening

11/2/2018

 
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​This weekend is going to be exciting and busy for most of the Sammamish Rowing community. On Saturday we have a regatta for our Novice Masters at Green Lake and Sunday will be the highly anticipated 39th annual Head of the Lake Regatta hosted by the Lake Washington Rowing Club and the University of Washington. We wish all of our rowers the best of luck in their races this weekend as well as some of our alumni who are partaking in an exciting endeavor of their own.
 
SRA and University of Washington alumni Sam Goertz and Madison Mariani are having the grand opening of their new business - Crew Cup Coffee Rowsters. Goertz and Mariani will be serving their delicious brew at the Conibear Shellhouse from 4:45 am - 3:00 pm. If their coffee is as anything like their rowing then it is definitely a beverage you’ll want to try out.
 
Mariani told us a bit about her and Goertz’s new business. Mariani said, “Crew Cup Coffee Rowster’s is two ambitious rowers providing what everyone needs at 5:30 AM, a delicious cup of coffee at a price that doesn’t break the bank. We created this company because we love making, roasting, and sharing our coffee. We have always known we wanted to get into the coffee industry, and we felt that starting in a community we already know would be perfect.”
 
They have big goals for the future and hope to be a regular presence at all regattas in the Pacific Northwest and possibly expand further to national regattas down the road. Goertz is confident that coffee lovers will fall for Crew Cup Coffee Rowsters at first taste. He said, “Coffee lovers will love our coffee because we take great pride in the espresso we pull every day. We achieve the best flavors by sourcing raw coffee beans from around the world by targeting the local growth from around the coffee plantations. This delivers the most precise flavor to the coffee that we are looking for. The forefront taste of chocolate, notes of hazel nut, and a bright finish of caramel. We roast our beans strategically to bring these flavors to life, and tailor the grind of the bean to pull exquisite creamy espresso.”
 
Their catchy name directly ties to the sport that inspired them to become entrepreneurs in the first place. Mariani and Goertz credit their time at Sammamish Rowing Association for teaching them entrepreneurial lessons of teamwork, communication, and stubbornness. They also admitted that rowing gave them an incredible network of individuals who mentored them throughout their entrepreneurial career. Above all, Mariani added, “rowing and SRA taught us to push the limit on everything we do and to dream big. Because when you believe in something so much, anything can happen.”
 
Sammamish Rowing is incredibly proud of Madison and Sam and wishes them the best as they start their new endeavor. We encourage our community to seek out their coffee at the Head of the Lake, and hope to see them serving coffee at the SRA boathouse in the near future. When closing out our interview, Mariani finished by answering our question about what her favorite memory at SRA was. She replied, “There are so many! An easy one is all the life-long friendships and relationships we have built at SRA.”
 
The lessons, skills, and values of rowing extend far beyond the surface of a body of water. For Mariani and Goertz- rowing has given them the confidence to launch their own business. Whether it’s teaching rowing technique or business acumen, Sammamish Rowing has a little something for everyone to learn. 
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​Sammamish Rowing Association
​5022 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE
​Redmond, WA 98052
[email protected]
​425-653-2583
Mailing Address: 
Sammamish Rowing Association
P.O. Box 3309
Redmond, WA 98073
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