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vol. 135 // iss. 11 Mon., Sept. 25, 2017
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Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Carrie Cook-Callen is the new head coach of Kansas women’s rowing. Cook-Callen was a rower and assistant coach at KU.
Lifelong Jayhawk takes over KU rowing
Carrie Cook-Callen, University graduate, is the new head coach of Kansas rowing after being with the program for 15 years SHAUN GOODWIN @ShaunGoodwinUDK Finding pockets of space between the crowded dock filled with rowers and dripping wet longboats, Carrie Cook-Callen instructed the group of girls around her to quickly clean off and store the boats that had just been pulled from the Kansas River. After being in and around the Kansas rowing program since 2002, Cook-Callen finally sat at the helm of Kansas rowing - something she expressed an interest in when hired as an assistant coach in 2012. For the first time in the program’s history, the Kansas rowing team will not be led into the new season by former-head coach Rob Catloth, after the Lawrence native retired from coaching at the end of the 2016 season. “I feel that I’m at a point in my career that was the step I wanted to take,” Cook-Callen said. “I have plenty to learn, but I’ve had lots of experiences to draw upon, and I’m just excited to be leading.” Having come to Kansas as a student in 2002, Cook-Callen spent her first two years as a Jayhawk competing on the rowing team for Catloth. After
earning several Jayhawk Scholar Student-Athlete awards in her first two seasons, Cook-Callen made the transition to team manager in 2004, a move which got the wheels moving to her eventual hiring as head coach 13 years later. Following her graduation in 2006, Cook-Callen headed to the University of Iowa where she spent six years before returning to her alma mater as assistant coach.
“I have plenty to learn, but I’ve had lots of experiences to draw upon, and I’m just excited to be leading.” Carrie Cook-Callen Kansas coach
“I’ve had the opportunity to coach under two really great head coaches, both Rob Catloth here at Kansas, and Mandi Kowal at the University of Iowa,” Catloth said. “I’ve had a chance to really draw what I love from both programs and both long-term mentors, and I feel like I’m trying to use the best of both and take us into the new era of Kansas rowing.”
Senior Angie Allen and junior Abigale Lane have both performed under Cook-Callen at Kansas while she was an assistant coach. The pair look forward to Cook-Callen stepping up into the head coaching roll, believing she can take the Kansas rowing program to the next level. “I think just because of the relationships that are already there, it was a smooth transition. I think if we would have hired outside, it would have been a little bit harder, but I still think it would have been good,” Allen said, who rowed for the First Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight as a junior. She was also a rower on the Second Varsity Eight team that finished fifth-place in the 2017 Big 12 Championships. Lane agrees with Allen’s sentiments, believing that CookCallen has reenergized the squad and instilled a positive attitude heading into the new season. Lane was part of the Third Varsity Eight team that rowed to a fifthplace finish in the Grand Final of the 2017 Big 12 Championships. The pair are also excited to work with Cook-Callen as head coach, with Allen stating that they didn’t work as closely with Catloth as they have with CookCallen so far this season. One of the major changes the pair see is the intensity of
“Kansas is a lot more special because I am an alum, and because I grew up wanting to to be a Jayhawk since I was yay-big.” Carrie Cook-Callen Kansas coach
workouts compared to previous seasons. “We’re in the weight room every day this year, which is new - we weren’t last year. In the practices we have different drills and different ways of approaching things,” Lane said. “I think we’re setting ourselves for a really successful season. I think this is going to be our best season yet.” The Weldon Springs, Missouri, native was also excited to point out how the team have bonded really well in the first couple of weeks of the season. Lane said that the team has ‘team nights’ on Fridays, with events including movie nights and game nights. “We need to be developing new relationships, not only with the new team members, but as people are taking on new positions within the team,” Cook-Callen said, referencing the 13 Jayhawks that graduated in May 2016 — 22 percent of the 2016 squad. Cook-Callen has high
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Members of the Kansas rowing team practice in the off-season. University alumna Carrie Cook-Callen recently took over the women’s team.
expectations for her squad in 2017 and 2018, as she looks for the Jayhawks to represent strongly in the 2017 Big 12 Championships and advance onto the NCAA championships. Lane and Allen are also focused on improving their individual times, with Allen pointing out the erg test. The erg test is a way to test how fast a rower can race individually, which then translates directly onto the water when racing with a team. For both girls, the individual goals are just as important as the team goals, because they go hand-in-hand once it comes to competition. “Rowing is weird because it’s individual - but teams. You all have to go as fast as you can, to make the boat go as fast as you can,” Lane said. “So if you have all these individual goals, then you’re helping the team as a whole.” The hiring is extra-special for Cook-Callen, not only because she was a rower herself at Kansas, but because she grew up a Jayhawk fan as a child. “For me, Kansas is a very special place. I had a very positive experience here, I got my coaching start here. I had the chance to go learn at another school and bring back some things that I learned. So for me, Kansas is a lot more special because I am an alum, and because I grew up wanting to be a Jayhawk since I was yaybig,” Cook-Callen said, lowering her hand towards the ground. The words echoed what she said when hired as an assistant in 2012. The Kansas rowing team will see its first action this season when they take the water for the Jayhawk Jamboree on the banks of the Kansas River, which will be accessible via Burcham Park. The event sees the Jayhawks face off against several division one schools, with the event set to take place on Sunday, Oct. 22.