For Bryans, toughness key to rowing prowess
May 20, 2011 | Women's Rowing
May 20, 2011
MADISON, Wis. -- A late morning rain shrouded Lake Mendota in a misty haze and limited visibility. Inside the Porter Boathouse, Bebe Bryans' vision for her women's openweight rowing program was never clearer.
The Badgers will be making a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA rowing championships -- a school record -- and they will be going back for the sixth time in the last seven seasons under Bryans.
What's been her formula for success?
"I have good kids that want to be good,'' she said.
In the same breath, she praised assistants Karen Rigsby and Megan Cooke Carcagno.
"I have a great staff that gets it,'' she added.
There's a sign in the boathouse that spells part of "it'' out; a definition of what it takes to be a Badger rower. To paraphrase: the ability to bring your best effort to bear, whatever it is, every day.
When asked about the key ingredient to success, Bryans said emphatically, "Toughness, period. Mental toughness and competitiveness. Those two things get you through just about everything.''
Anyone who has ever stepped into a boat can relate, she implied.
"Rowing is one of those sports that's so hard physically that it makes it hard mentally,'' Bryans said. "You have to deal with a lot of pain for a long time. So you have to do a lot of soul-searching.
 | ||
|
"That's why most people quit. We have 300 people come out for the team and we have 100 on the team now. Most people quit because they don't want to work that hard - it's too hard (for them).''
Bryans is about as subtle as a spring thunderstorm. But there's no mistaking her intent. All of those good kids who want to be good are expected to find their place within the structure of things.
"It's amazing but most of those good kids walk through our door,'' she said. "Most of our kids are walk-ons; most of our kids are local or from Wisconsin or from the surrounding states.
"What we've been able to establish is that level of work ethic, `This is the bar, if you're going to come on this team, you need to raise it.' That's why we've been able to continue to be successful.
"We have a great student-athlete population on this team. It's an inspiration to us to see how hard they work and how successful they are in the classroom. We expect them to be excellent in both.''
After spending seven years growing the Michigan State rowing program - taking five teams to the nationals - Bryans found a different culture when she arrived in Madison.
"When I first got here the kids just wanted to go (to the NCAAs),'' she said.
How did she respond to that level of expectation?
"It was infuriating,''Bryans said.
How so?
"Our expectation is not to get there,'' she said, "our expectation is to be competitive there. It's not about just going, it's about competiting. If we're not going to go and compete, I don't want to go.''
After falling short in their defense of the 2010 Big Ten title -the Badgers finished third behind Ohio State and Michigan - there was some question on whether they would be going to the NCAAs.
When it was announced that the UW was one of 16 teams that would compete at the rowing nationals (May 27-29 in Gold River, Calif.), it was almost viewed as a reprieve by Bryans.
"We weren't good enough at Big Tens to seal our own fate,'' Bryans said of the NCAA bid. "That's always our goal. We don't want to be on the bubble. We don't want to sit here and wait to see if someone else thinks we're good enough and that was the position that we found ourselves in this year.''
While there may be an unknown quality to her team - "I know we haven't found our best speed yet, I know we haven't shown how fast we are yet'' - Bryans is still upbeat about the potential upside.
"I've seen what they can do in practice,'' she said.
So what has prevented them from reaching greater speeds and heights?
In truth, it has been a combination of things, Bryans suggested.
"It's not that we aren't good, it's just that we aren't as good as we can be,'' she said. "We're good enough to get there (the NCAAs) and there are only 16 teams in the country that are invited.
"That sort of shows the standard that we hold ourselves to, which I think is important. It's also important we remind them (her rowers) of that, too. We're looking to be the best of the best.''
Inexperience has been a factor. From this standpoint, she conceded, "Our varsity eight has struggled meeting the speed of other people's varsity eight.''
Sophomores have commanded the leadership roles on all three national boats, Bryans noted.
"That's one of the reasons why we're struggling a little bit,'' she said. "But it's also one of the reasons why I know that we can be faster and I know our future is very bright.''
At this stage of their development, nobody is irreplaceable, Bryans acknowledged.
"Although If you've got somebody who's incredibly strong and rows really well,'' she said, "is a leader by example and isn't afraid to be a vocal leader obviously that person can have a big impact.''
That being said, a candid Bryans admitted, "We don't have that person on our team this year. While we don't have that one person, we have a lot of other people that fill that spot.''
Her message always seems to revolve around competition.
"Competitor is the word,'' Bryans said. "We want somebody that really wants to race and it's not just about winning - winning happens when you do everything else right and the stars align.''
At the Big Ten meet, the Badgers won a title with their varsity four which featured coxswain Clare Chandler, Mollie Kryka, Shannon Hoffman, Shannon Schlack and Katherine Hanes.
Jacquelyn Koykkar, a sophomore from Madison Memorial, was named first-team All-Big Ten. Lisa Godhardt, a senior from Menasha, was selected to the second team.
Kate Mansfield, a junior from Decorah, Iowa, received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Mansfield is an interesting study in that she's the sixth member of her family to letter at Wisconsin.
Her great grandfather was the late Dynie Mansfield, the former UW baseball player and head coach. Her grandfather, Jack Mansfield, lettered in track and football. Her uncle, Bob Mansfield, also lettered in football and track. Her cousins Sandy and Rick Mansfield lettered in track, too.
On top of that, Kate Mansfield's brother, Taylor played football at Iowa State.
As a prep athlete, Kate competed in cross country and soccer. She got hooked on rowing after attending a summer camp before the start of her senior year of high school.
"If you looked at her, you'd think there's no way she should be in a boat; she's 5-6,'' Jack Mansfield said, adding that his grand-daughter is deceptively strong and powerful for a person her size.
"I remember her telling me, `I'm going to Wisconsin and I want to row.' I said, `Kate, if you want to row, if you want to work your butt off and get zero publicity, then crew is the place for you.'''
He couldn't be prouder of her accomplishments despite the sport's low profile on campus.
That's never bothered Bryans, either.
"Not at all,'' she said. "The beauty of Wisconsin is that the lake is right here - when we can row on it - and everybody knows there's a rowing team here which is not the case at a lot of places.''
That caveat - "when we can row on it'' - was punctuated with a laugh.
The weather has been brutal all spring.
"It's been really bad this year, it's been awful actually,'' Bryans said. "We're very inventive here because we have to be. It's part of our job and we're really good at it. We have three different sites on the lake we can row at depending on which way the wind is blowing and we also use Lake Wingra.''
Cold and rainy is no big deal. Cold and rainy and windy is a deal breaker.
"It's very challenging,'' said Bryans, laughing again.
That often necessitates a Plan B, maybe even a Plan C and Plan D.
"You can't just have a training plan,'' Bryans said. "I used to talk with Eric Hanson (the former UW swimming coach) about that because our type of training is very similar. The more you can script things, the better. But we can't do that. We have to have two or three different practices ready to go.''
It was no coincidence that Bryans identified with Hanson. At San Francisco State, Bryans was a 10-time Division II All-American in swimming. Rowing eventually became a passion, though. "The first time I stepped in a boat, I completely fell in love,'' she said.
That comes through loud and clear. Like her vision for the program.
"There's a legacy here that's unmistakable,'' Bryans said. "On the other hand, there have been some generations that have sort of leaned on that but didn't strive to repeat it.
"It's like, `Well, we're Wisconsin. We row.' Yeah, but you've got to be fast. You need to continue that greatness, not just ride on the coattails of what happened in the past.''
The Badgers were seventh at the 2010 NCAA championships; the best finish in school history. "We were satisfied with our performance on that day,'' Bryans said. "That was the best we could do and it's important to own your best. But we want to be better than that.''
Can the Badgers win a national rowing championship?
"We can, absolutely,'' Bryans said. "We're not there yet (as a team) but our individual boats are there. We could win a national championship next weekend in an individual boat if they really race the way they can. All of our boats are pretty fast. We just haven't found our top-end speed.
"The way the points are skewed, the varsity eight just scores so many more points than the varsity four. And you've got to be competitive in the varsity eight to win a national championship. We can do it. I know we can do it. The trick is to have them believe in that as much as we do.''
Bryans smiled and said, "The trajectory is moving in the right direction, that's everything.''
Even on a cold and rainy and windy day.
--
Mike Lucas
UWBadgers.com
