Steady State Podcast

On [S2] Ep 16 of Steady State Podcast, hosts Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan are joined by Tom Rooks (Dir. of Rowing, Williamsburg Boat Club). This episode buzzes with authenticity as Tom shares his "fun first" mantra and how he prepares his juniors athletes to be better humans beyond the boathouse. Tom began to coach after 22 years in the United States Coast Guard, and he gets philosophical about vulnerability, resiliency, and saving lives. We also slide into tangents about Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, ultimate frisbee, and vikings.

TIME STAMPS

GCRA has been on Tara's radar for a few years, after she saw adaptive rower Kristen Jackson powering through an erg piece on social media. Tara started following the club's really open and welcoming public group on Facebook, and has always been impressed with their camaraderie, presence at regattas, impassioned calls for volunteers, and shout-outs and high fives for each other.  

GCRA was founded in 1984 as a non-profit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to providing its diverse membership with safe sculling and sweep rowing opportunities. Today, it’s home to 145 members across masters and adaptive rowing programs.

GUESTS: GCRA Board President Laurie Gunzleman, LTR Coach Nicole Arrato, adaptive rower Kristen Jackson, recent LTR grad Cari Palmer, and rower and admin Sarah Stafford.

TIME STAMPS

0:00 - Introduction

4:30 - Speakmon Memorial Regatta / Cari falls in love with head racing / adaptive racing

10:45 - GCRA programs and events / LTR / Relentless Rowing Academy partnership

3:52 - What got Cari hooked during LTR

17:15 - What makes GCRA special

20:34 - How Laurie's son motivated her to learn to row

22:12 - GCRA para program thrives through COVID-19

27:25 - Learn to Row

48:40 - “Flat tire” friends

31:05 - Taking on leadership rolls

34:35 - Cari becomes an avid evangelist and roll model for her HS students

38:35 - Nicole’s perspective on rowing as a metaphor for life

40:20 - Lessons learned from rowing

41:55 - Land/water acknowledgement

46:00 - Rapid Fire Q&A

In the early 1960s, Margie was turned away by a rowing coach in Boston because she was a woman. After a full career in journalism, and raising three kids, she learned to row at 60. Today – at 78 - she's stronger than she's ever been. Together with her husband Mickey, they proudly carry the torch for I, J, and K category rowers as members of Upper Valley Rowing Club and Chinook Performance Racing.

We talk with this Baby Boomer former news woman and self-described tomboy about Title IX, putting herself first, how a Diabetes diagnosis set her on a wellness path, coxing octogenarians, training and racing with Chinook, and a whole lot more.

TIME STAMPS

00:00 - Introduction

Get early access to new episodes of Steady State Podcast. Join us on Patreon.

Steady State Network believes access to opportunities to thrive should be inclusive regardless of ability to pay so we created the Changemaker Scholarship initiative.

Throughout the year, we seek out educational and professional development events and courses for visionaries in the rowing community. We are proud to partner with organizations and businesses to make these opportunities possible for rowers, coaches, and coxswains, plus club boards and staff.

Today on this special episode, Tara and Rachel talk about the Changemaker Scholarship Initiative - the why, the who, and what’s next

TIME STAMPS

00:00- Intro / paying it forward

As the Director of Sports Nutrition for USRowing, and in her own private practice, Liz Fusco helps Olympians, Paralympians, high performance athletes, recreationally active clients, and young athletes establish healthy relationships with food and  improve energy levels.  

Liz is also a sports dietitian for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Oklahoma City High Performance Center. She makes evidence-based nutrition strategies approachable, and in this chat she helps us better understand some of the nutrition choices we all make.

TIME STAMPS

As a 5’1, 108lb freshman at Western Washington University, Rachel Le Mieux was literally picked up and placed in a coxswain seat. Thirty five years later she’s the head coach of Martha’s Moms, a competitive masters women’s team in Seattle, WA. She’s also a USRowing referee and FISA umpire.

During her years in the cox seat, coach’s launch, and chase boat, Rachel’s seen her share of sketchy situations. Today, in her role as the Chair of the USRowing safety committee, she wants to make sure that rowers, coaches, and coxswains have the knowledge and skills to stay safe around the boathouse, at practice, and during regattas.

We talk boat feel, coxing commands, flipping a four at the dock, nearly losing your lunch after a race, the rich history of rowing in Washington, and a whole lot more.

Oak Ridge Rowing Association was founded in 1978 and today is home to the Atomic Juniors and Masters Rowing Team. Oak Ridge offers a wide array of Learn-to-Row classes, hosts several championship regattas every year, and provides a world-class training venue to visiting crews. ORRA – built on the passion and enthusiasm of its community, coaches, and volunteers – successfully navigated COVID, keeping all of their programs intact, healthy, and thriving.

GUESTS:

When recent podcast guest Tracy Falkenthal suggested we talk with Napoleon Griffin, we chased the lead.

A decorated middle distance track runner who learned to scull as an adult, Napoleon beat male breast cancer and today strives to get as much out of life as possible. He also survived Hurricanes Irma and Maria which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, causing long-lasting power outages and leaving residents without access to clean water. Motivated by a desire for more training and racing opportunities, Napoleon relocated to Texas, where he now splits his time between Austin and Dallas.

Eamon Glavin is a former high school and collegiate rower who started experimenting with cameras in boats and drones overhead to capture video of rowing unlike anything else we’ve seen in mainstream rowing media. In February 2021 he began following lightweight Olympic hopefuls through training and qualification trials to produce a rowing documentary about the journey to the Tokyo Olympics.

Take a look back at the launch of Steady State Network in June 2020, go behind the scenes of the podcast, get updates on our Changemaker Scholarship initiative, and listen in as co-founders Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan go unscripted to talk about our own experiences as rowers and coaches.