Under the scorching, summer sun, a boat slices its way through the deep blue water. The rowers’ sweat drips down their face as they struggle to keep up their strength in the race. Shouts echo through their minds, keeping them focused, as the coxswain yells directions. They fluidly slide through waves, crossing the finish line, winning silver for their country.
Senior Amanda Rutherford was a coxswain for the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team at the World Rowing Championships this summer, where they received a silver medal, validating their team as second fastest in the world.
The championships took place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
As coxswain, Rutherford’s job goes under three categories; steering, motivation, and organization.
“Basically, I’m the leader of the boat and during the race I become the little voice in [the rower’s] head that makes them keep going even when they think they can’t,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford is expected to lead her team, by understanding the technical calls and issues with the crew, managing all the various personalities, and finding a way to get everyone on the same page. She needs to be a coach in the water, Oakland Strokes varsity women’s head coach Derek Brynes said.
“Much like a quarterback, when things go right you get a bit of the credit but when things go bad everyone points to the coxswain,” Brynes said. “So a lot of the time it can be a very thankless position in a boat.”
Rutherford has been rowing for four years now.
“I first joined crew because I really wasn’t good at any other sports and I always had a knack for being really bossy so coxing really came easily,” Rutherford said.
The process to be admitted on the National team was to first get invited to the selection camp in Connecticut, based on one’s performance in the regular season. Rutherford was admitted due to the Oakland Strokes’ success this year. At the selection camp, 16 athletes and one coxswain get chosen to be on the team from a group of roughly 35 athletes and five coxswains. The section camp lasts for two and half weeks.
“What sets her apart for other coxswains is her race day confidence, her ability to eliminate distractions, and totally focus on the job at hand,” said Junior Women’s National Team coach Sandy Armstrong.
Armstrong said Rutherford is incredibly motivating and handles herself with great maturity when she is in the boat.
“I chose Amanda for the seat and I made the right decision; I never questioned that,” Armstrong said.
“Basically we gave up our whole summer to be on the national team, and separately on our club teams we trained all year long,” Rutherford said.
The USA team practiced twice a day, three hours per practice at the Princeton University Boathouse. The practices were mostly rowing, building up the team’s speed.
“Honestly, it was the most amazing experience,” Rutherford said. “There were just so many different languages [spoken] and we finally got to do what we had been waiting for all summer which was to race hard for what we wanted.”
Armstrong said Rutherford and her teammates made history because they were the first USA Junior Women’s National Team to win four medals in the same year.
Rutherford said, “The best part was crossing the finish line at the end of our final, knowing that we just medaled on the international stage.”
“Our coach had said to us that not many people get to race for their country and we had to do the USA proud, and we really felt like we had done that.”
Armstrong said that she was extremely proud of Rutherford and she did an incredible job for the USA.
“Once the team was selected I recognized that they were a young, inexperienced team,” Armstrong said. “They had a long way to come from the first days of selection and they did just that.”
Rutherford said that she became really close with her teammates from Oakland, who supported her all summer even when she was across the country racing for the USA.
“At this point, I couldn’t imagine my life without crew,” Rutherford said. “I’ve always been a really competitive person and it gives me an outlet for that.”
Brynes said Rutherford shows up for practice every day, five-to-six days a week, rain or shine.
“She gets yelled at by this crazy man until she executes what he wants flawlessly and when she thinks she finally gets it all down she is asked to do more,” Brynes said.
Brynes said even with crew, Rutherford excels in school which is why when most high school seniors are stressing about where to apply, she just gets to choose where she wants to go between three of the top schools in the country, Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton.
“Nothing was handed to Amanda, she just busted her ass and went out and took it,” Brynes said.
Brynes said he cannot even express how proud he is of Amanda after coaching her for the past two years.
“In that time I have witnessed her grow from a shy, young girl into [a] solid leader,” he said.
He said as a sophomore she had the skills to be great but emotionally lacked the confidence to succeed. This past year she just grew up and allowed herself to succeed, which led to her team’s wins at the three most prestigious races in the country: the Head of the Charles, the San Diego Crew Classic, and US Rowing Youth Nationals Championships.
Brynes said, “She is still a dork but now she is a dork with a ton of skill, drive, and a bright future.”
Rutherford plans to row in college and is currently taking official visits to a couple of schools around the country, with Stanford as her top choice.
