Women's Rowing | 9/24/2020 3:36:00 PM
MINNEAPOLIS – For someone who began her rowing career on a lark, University of Minnesota assistant coach Victoria West has found a passion and a purpose that few others could understand as one of the NCAA's only minority coaches in a predominantly white sport.But that can change…and that will change…if she has anything to say about it.
GopherSports.com caught up with Coach West as she embarks on her second campaign with the Maroon & Gold to talk about her experiences as a Black rower and a Black coach, how the Gophers have responded to the program's call to action and the efforts being made to create more inclusive opportunities throughout the sport.
GopherSports.com: Across the country, no issue has been more prominent this summer than racism, discrimination and social injustice -- by no means starting with but certainly thrust into the spotlight with the murder of George Floyd on May 25. Since then, the Gophers rowing program has challenged itself to address some of those issues within the team and within the community. How has the team taken action and what has the response been to this challenge?
Coach West: The rowing team has had a lot of hard conversations and I feel, extremely productive conversations. We have had time to sit and process with one another, via Zoom of course. These conversations have forced us to ask ourselves tough questions, such as "what are we doing to help our community", "what are we doing to help our sport" and "what are we doing to help our department".
At the beginning of quarantine, we were looking for a way to stay connected, so we started a book club. While the first topic was related to sport, the second book club was set to start at the end of May. At that time, as a coaching staff, we decided that it was our duty to cover the topic of racism with our team. Four books were chosen, with different levels of intensity on the topic. I have to say, that was the best book club this summer. We got deep as a team and asked ourselves the questions above and shared open, honest and raw feelings.
Since we felt that we did have work to do as a team, we created two committees. The first is Diversity and Inclusion and the second is Civic Engagement. We recognize that rowing is a predominately white sport and with that, we recognize the need and we want to increase diversity on our team too. As someone who identifies as a Black female, I'm proud of the action this team is taking in this direction. As for Civic Engagement, this committee is currently looking at local programs and volunteer opportunities with the community for ways that our team can fill a need for them. Lastly, in the wake of the George Floyd tragedy, we also put forth action items for our team. We decided to do this because we wanted to put action and meaning behind our words. I am proud to say, we have and are continuing to achieve those action items. I'm so proud of the conversations we have had as a squad, I already see growth and I'm looking forward to seeing additional changes come to light.
GopherSports.com: One of the actions Minnesota laid out earlier this summer was the proactive recruitment of women of color. First off, can you tell us how you initially got involved in rowing? Second, as a coach, what goes into that proactive recruitment especially when rowing (I imagine) is a sport where young women of color might not have opportunities to even try rowing until college? Does it help having that recruitment come from a person of color and is the lack of minority coaches part of the issue?
Coach West: I started rowing in high school at Ann Arbor Pioneer in Michigan. I actually got into the sport as the result of a challenge and I love to share this story. I had a few friends at the time who didn't think I would have what it took to even join the team and stick with it. I like to look back at my journey through the sport now and think the joke was really on them. I thank them for it, because without that challenge and me wanting to prove them wrong, I wouldn't be where I am now.
Rowing has certainly become more popular at the junior level in the Midwest. Speaking of the specific area where I grew up, the sport has certainly blown up over the last 10 years. We were fortunate enough to have the Huron River running right through Ann Arbor and quite a few rowing clubs, but that isn't the case everywhere. The biggest challenge with this sport is accessibility at the junior level, and that's not just access to a body of water. It's affordable access to the team itself. I was fortunate enough to go to a high school that had a rowing team. Yes, we still had to pay dues to travel, for gear and etc., but it was still accessible through my public school. I'm certainly not the first to point out that there is a lack of diversity in this sport and it does go back to accessibility. As I said earlier, I was fortunate enough to attend a school that gave me somewhat direct access to a team. I know that I am one of the very few coaches of color at the Division I level in the sport of rowing. I am also one of even fewer female coaches of color at this level. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity and what I want to do is turn around and bring more with me. That's how we are going to add more value to rowing.
When it comes to recruiting young women of color, I'm sure it helps having someone that they physically relate to on staff. I know that when I interviewed for this position at Minnesota, I could certainly relate to someone that was interviewing me from the athletic department. I saw myself in them, I saw that I could be there too and that was one of my reasons for accepting this position. I don't think the recruitment has to only come from a person of color though. I feel that we have to put this back on us as coaches and realize that by making sure the doors of opportunity are equally open to everyone, that can only add value to our squad.
GopherSports.com: When you rowed in high school and college, were there other rowers that looked like you?
Coach West: When I started rowing in high school, on my team specifically, I was only one out of three Black students on our team and we knew it too. I started rowing my sophomore year of high school and the other two were freshman, but we were novices together. Honestly, if it weren't for them being on the team, I probably wouldn't have stayed. When I got to college, I was the only Black student-athlete on the team for the majority of my four years. I remember in both high school and college, going to regattas and specifically trying to see if there were other rowers that looked like me and it was hard to find.
GopherSports.com: With knowing that, how did you blaze this trail for other Black rowers?
Coach West: I wouldn't necessarily say I've blazed a trail just yet. I mean, I hope to eventually, but I would say that I've walked through doors that others have helped me open or helped me realize I can open myself. I know that I want to see change in this sport and I want more people of color.
GopherSports.com: Do you have anyone you look up to as a role model that has inspired you over your career as a rower and now as a coach?
Coach West: John Bancheri was my head coach throughout my time at Grand Valley State University. He was, and still is, a tough coach. He doesn't hold back when letting you know how hard the sport of rowing is. For those who end up sticking with the sport, he has a special way of making you realize that you're stronger and tougher than you think and he can identify that in athletes. If it weren't for the challenges Coach threw my way throughout college, I wouldn't be where I am today. He pushed me to be the best athlete that I could be, to always reach for one more inch, to push just that much harder and because of that, I carried those lessons out of the sport and have applied them to life in general. I think that anyone who has rowed or coached under Coach B will agree, you'll find yourself saying the same things he does and you'll begin to understand why he would say the things he did. I can't help but smile to myself when I realize something I've said has come right from him.
GopherSports.com: August marked the end of your first year with the Gophers -- between COVID-19 shutting down the spring competition schedule and racial inequality issues being front and center in our world -- it can't have been an easy year for you. What are you optimistic about heading into your second year?
Coach West: This year certainly didn't go the way I or really any of us anticipated, but it did make me grow more than I thought I would during this time. As I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of hard conversations had between the department, our staff and our team. As a team, we were able to push one another outside of rowing. We challenged and are continuing to challenge ourselves to be better leaders. We have such an incredible platform as members of this institution. We not only represent our team, but we represent the University of Minnesota. We must continue to recognize that and use that to make change, and good change. I am optimistic that we will continue this change by holding ourselves accountable to the action items that our team shared with the public this spring. Specific to the sport, I'm optimistic about what we will continue to achieve on the water. We left (early) spring break in a really great spot, from varsity to novice. We are eager to get back on the water and pick up where we left off. There's so much drive all around on this team. Whether that's at practice, on the race course or in the classroom, these are some driven athletes. We're just really excited to have the opportunity to safely return to doing what we love.
GopherSports.com: Specifically as a Black Woman in rowing, what do you hope to provide for the next generation?
Coach West: This answer is going to be really simple and cheesy coming from me. But, I hope there's a young girl who looks like me, who stumbles into this sport and maybe she sees a picture of me from when I rowed, or maybe she comes across a picture of me coaching. I hope she thinks "I can do that too", and I really hope she does so that one day, the same thing happens again and again.
I hope to provide hope for someone and I hope that a young Black woman can see herself doing the same thing one day. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for my parents constantly pointing out who I am, what I look like and what I've done. From the beginning, they made me realize that there really aren't many people of color in the sport of rowing. Once I really understood that, that's when I said to myself "alright, let's do this." I love this sport, I love what it teaches, I love the opportunities that it can open up for everyone. I want more people to have access to this too.
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