Making waves
Growth of OKC's rowing scene evident on Signing Day
Kate O'Keefe's sport of choice isn't offered by her high school, but when her school of choice was announced during the Signing Day ceremony at Edmond Santa Fe High School, the buzz was immediate. “She is signing today with Clemson,” the athletic director said. “Ooooh,” the students packed inside the cafeteria marveled. Score another success for rowing in Oklahoma City. On a day athletes signed letters of intent with all sorts of colleges in any number of sports, it was impossible to ignore the steady churn of high schoolers from the metro area who are landing scholarships in rowing. O'Keefe was one of eight in this year's class from OKC Riversport — and while that might seem like a lot of rowers from Oklahoma, of all places, it isn't even the biggest class in the program's history. Having half a dozen or more athletes sign has become the norm. “Our program really does have a standard,” O'Keefe said. It's only been a little over a decade since the boathouse district opened on the banks of the Oklahoma River. Planners had big dreams. They wanted to bring international-level rowing to our city, make this a destination spot for the sport and grow the sport within the area. It all seemed a wee bit crazy. Rowing in Oklahoma? International events on the Oklahoma River? Pffft. But all of those audacious dreams have become reality. While reasonable minds can disagree over the boathouse district's greatest impact — our city is a national training center for Olympians, for crying out loud — it's hard to argue the wonder of expanded opportunities for our young people.
“We really have a variety of athletes that come in,” OKC Riversport interim coach Dinah Harjo said, adding that the program has rowers from every corner of the metro area. “It doesn't really matter what your experience is, what your background is. We want to try to find a way to get these kids involved with the sport.” O'Keefe was one of those kids who stumbled into rowing. She played soccer for years, but in middle school, she found herself battling burnout. One day, she was joking with a coach about trying different sports and mentioned rowing, not at all serious about it. Her coach, however, got serious. “You should try it.” O'Keefe signed up for one of OKC Riversports' summer camps. “And I fell in love with it,” she said of rowing. “It was so unique.” Everything was new and different and challenging. As a novice, O'Keefe dabbled in every aspect of the sport. All the different boats. All the various positions. About a year later, she moved to the varsity team, and a coach moved her to coxswain. It's like the quarterback of the crew. The coach on the water. Learning the position involved trial and error, breakthroughs and setbacks. Three years ago or so, O'Keefe felt like she was making strides, only to be told she was being passed over for the team going to nationals. Another older, more experienced coxswain would be going instead of her. “Never again will I have that conversation with a coach,” O'Keefe thought. Harjo said, “For a long time, she was just working in that development range and just trying to improve. Each year, she just analyzed what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go . ... Really just worked her way up to be our top coxswain.” Along the way, O'Keefe realized she wanted to row in college. Even though her success on the water was growing, she wanted to make sure her name got out. She emailed nearly every major-college rowing program. She talked to dozens of coaches. She completed numerous questionnaires. She discovered coxswains rarely get scholarships as incoming freshmen. Often, they must wait until after their first year in a program. “I'm going to be one that gets it,” she resolved. Wednesday, O'Keefe secured that scholarship from Clemson — and she is certain being from Oklahoma City helped her get there. Sure, she learned a lot and grew a ton in the program here. But she knows she didn't have to go above and beyond to convince recruiters that she was legit. “OKC Riversport?” recruiters would ask. “We'll look into you.” Sounds as though colleges react to Oklahoma City's rowing scene the same way those students did Wednesday afternoon at Edmond Santa Fe. Ooooh.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/ JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.