2009 USRowing SW Masters/Open Championships

SW Masters Regionals is coming up in less than two weeks. Both coaches will be competing along with Brittany Machala ('09) and Karen Hewell ('11). Karen will be coxing the Women's Open 4+ and the Women's Open 8+, while her former ASU teammate, Brittany, will be sitting in the two seat of the Women's Open 8+ and in two seat of the Women's Masters 4+ (AA-A). Coach Steinmann will be competing in the Men's Masters 1x (AA-A) and the Mixed Masters 2x (AA-A) along with Coach Burkett. Coach Burkett will also be joining Karen and Brittany as the stroke of the Women's Open 8+ and teaming up again with Karen in the Womens Open 4+.
USRowing rules used to not allow people under the age of 27 to compete in Masters events. Recently the AA Category was added and per the rules – “AA” refers to anyone who obtains the age of 21 by December 31, 2009. Individuals whose age places them in the AA category (age 21-26) may now compete in any age category where the average age of the boat falls within that specific age category. All four ASU competitors fall in the AA category. Although Karen is only 20, the coxswain's age is not included in the boat average.
Racing will start at 8am on Sunday, July 12th on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. We would welcome any and all ASU supporters from the area! Results can be found on http://www.row2k.com/ and will also be sent to the ASUCrew Twitter page (which now updates on the website, please see top right!) as soon as we can access a cell phone after racing!

Seasoned Amateur - My story with ASU Crew.

Since it's only three weeks from, well, yesterday that I'll be leaving for a year abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, it's needless to say that I will be M.I.A. for the 2009-2010 season.  As desperately sad as this is (and if you don't know who I am, trust me, you'd be devastated!  Not really, but seriously.) I'm going to try and keep as close in touch as I can.  Plus, I'll be rowing while I'm in Copenhagen with the Dansk Studenters Roklub - don't worry, I can't pronounce it either - so I'll even be able to share what it is like rowing on the other side of the world.

For those of you that were lucky enough... ahem... to not get a chance to meet me, my name is Karen Hewell - although usually referred to as Ginger by Coach Burkett - and I was the varsity women's coxswain for the 2008-2009 racing season.  I, like most of the new rowers we'll have for this season, had absolutely no experience in the sport of rowing before arriving at the first day of recruitment in 2007, as a freshman.  I wouldn't even call myself an athlete then, either; I had been a dancer for a better part of my adolescence, but after injuries and the inevitable burn-out that comes from daily rehearsals put me out of the competitive dancing circuit, I spent a good two years doing absolutely nothing except, of course, something resembling competitive eating.

So, when I showed up with my 5 foot 2 frame and no distinctive muscle mass to speak of, I was hardly the physical epitome of rowing success.  Regardless, I was given the chance to learn to row, first on the ergs and then on the water, and instantly fell in love with this unique, exhilarating, and surprisingly intense sport.  My bliss was to be short lived, however, when on an 'erg test' day (if you don't know what that is yet, you will, and I'm just sure you'll love them) I re-injured my already mangled back, making it difficult for me to stand up straight, much less row without being in pain.  I spent about two weeks trying to convince both my coach and myself that I could row again, but after the warm-up loop at Newport Fall Rowing Festival left my back and neck in flames, I knew I had to call it quits.  

Luckily for me, I had something much more suiting in my future.  By this time, I had lost nearly twenty pounds from the running, rowing, and the general lack of affordable food at ASU.  I was a bossy redhead at 5 foot 2, 115 pounds, and a lot to prove.  I was made to be a coxswain.

The road was far from easy.  Most newbie coxswains last a grand total of one semester - the stresses of everything being your fault (because, as the only one not rowing, it always is) and trying to earn the respect and trust of your rowers without being a pushover, usually scare off anyone who ever tried to strap a microphone to their head and ask tired athletes for more.  There were days during my novice year that I was sure I wouldn't show up at practice the next day.  But, because I'm a stubborn, petulant little child sometimes, I did... just to show everyone I could.  

The bad days became fewer and fewer, until eventually my 'bad days' were the ones I didn't get to be in the boat.  It turns out that even with the bad days, I loved rowing, I loved racing, and I couldn't get enough of it.

So here I am, two years later, one novice and one varsity year under my belt, ready to take on the sport on a different continent.  And although I'm itching to go abroad, I do know that I'll miss being with ASU Crew.  After all, this is where I first learned how to carry a boat, and which side port and starboard were on, and what 'check' and 'run' and 'weight enough' meant.  This is where I found out how good it feels to have a good piece on the water, and how easy it is to forget about the not-so-good ones.  I've found sisters and friends and soulmates with ASU Crew.  I'm not the only one, either.  It comes with the territory.

So good luck for the 2009-2010 season, I'll be following and keeping tabs on everyone and everything involved (seriously, I will.  I'm a creeper like that.)  If you're a newbie and just starting out - in which case, don't worry, the blisters heal fast! - or if you're a veteran of the team (Cristina!) - don't forget what you loved about the sport in the first place.  

Trust me, you haven't heard the last of me.  Poor novices.  They thought they'd gotten off scott free.

-- Ginger.

Bio- Matt Steinmann- Men's Head Coach

Matt Steinmann began rowing in the fall of 2000 at the Atlanta Junior Rowing Association. By his sophomore year, the team was in contention to be amongst the fastest programs in the Southeast region. Under the leadership of accomplished Olympic and world level coaches, he was part of the first AJRA men’s heavyweight 8 to qualify for the 2004 USRowing Youth Invitational National Championships in Cincinnati, OH. In addition, his boat placed 5th out of 67 at the prestigious 2003 Head of the Schuykill Regatta in Philadelphia, PA.

With these accomplishments, Matt was recognized by the head coach of the rowing program at Jacksonville University in Florida and was offered an athletic and academic scholarship. In 2005, Matt was part of the Jacksonville University Men’s Freshman 8 which won the Florida State Championships for the first time in 23 years. By his sophomore year, he helped lead the 2nd Varsity 4 to a 1st place finish at the 2006 Florida State Championships, and his 2nd Varsity 8 placed 3rd in the region at the 2006 Southeastern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta.

After a sudden lower back injury, Matt had to leave Jacksonville University, and returned to the Atlanta area to assistant coach the varsity men’s squad at Atlanta Junior Rowing Association. In the spring of 2008, he led the Men’s Heavyweight 8 to qualify for the USRowing Youth Invitational National Championships; exactly 4 years since his own qualification for the same category.

The ASU Automotive Engineering program attracted Matt to move to the Phoenix area, and then moved to the valley in May of 2008. In the meantime, he underwent intensive physical therapy and lower back rehabilitation to return to competitive rowing and then joined the ASU Men’s Rowing program. Matt is very motivated to get the team to grow and achieve new successes. He has gladly accepted the position to become the Men’s Head Coach and is highly motivated to expand recognition of the program.

Likes: Exceeding expectations.

Dislikes: Too much talk and not enough walk.

Goals: To provide ASU students with the opportunity to compete in high level competition and to achieve national recognition in the rowing community.

Bio- Emily Burkett- Women's Head Coach

Schooling: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Pursuing a possible life in coaching and poverty.

Rowing Experience: A 2005 NCAA National Champion, Emily began rowing in Boston at age 13 at Community Rowing Inc. The eventual captain of her junior team, Emily amassed eight National Championship titles during her high school career and trained with the U.S. Junior National Team. She was among the top two single scullers at the New England Interscholastic Championships every year she raced it, winning the singles title in 2000. She made a clean sweep of all her events at the 2000 Northeast Junior Championships, winning in the coxed-four, the quad and the eight. In 2001, her senior year, she won the Northeast Junior Championships in the varsity 8 and placed 3rd at the Youth Invite (now the USRowing Youth National Championship). She was elected MVP of her team at the end of her senior year. After high school Emily was recruited to row at the University of California, Berkeley. Her freshman eight's victory over the University of Washington in 2002 was the first Cal women's 8+ to win the bitter rivalry between those two schools since 1990. A four-year letter winner, she was one of only four freshmen called up from the frosh squad to row for the varsity in her first year. During her tenure, Berkeley's women's crew won the overall titles at the PAC-10 championships in 2004 and 2005. Although injured for most of her senior year, Emily capped off her college career by winning the Carley Copley Cup at the San Diego Crew Classic as well as Cal's first-ever NCAA Women's Rowing National Championship. Emily comes to Arizona State after two years as the assistant coach of Berkeley High School crew and is now entering her third year with ASU.

Goals: To take a group of girls who have never rowed before and turn them into a PAC-10 challenging boat. Making ASU crew into the team everyone wants to cheer for.

Likes: Sunrise and sunset over the water. People who take responsibility for their actions. Being able to laugh between pieces and then turning your game face on during three to build.

Dislikes: People who ask how many pieces we have left (answer: previous total plus 2 for asking). Motor boats. Wet oar handles. Check.

Purpose of this blog

As we are having difficulty updating our website with regularity, I have decided to start a blog for the program. This blog has already been linked to the ASU Crew Twitter account (@ASUCrew) and Twitter updates will be posted here. My goal is to eventually have updates from both coaches (Matt Steinmann for the men's program and myself, Emily Burkett, for the women's) as well as updates from members of the team. My hope is to be able to let parents and friends of ASU Crew updates throughout the season as well as live race updates (through Twitter). As this is my first blog, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know!
Thanks!