Smoke Signals
It's All iLbout Winning The Governor's Cup
Tribal member David Harrelson leads his crew to victory from the bow seat.
6 MAY 1, 2004
, Mil, ft A
f c?rai-yry-flt' n -
I jT U
By Ron Karten
On a bright Saturday in the middle
of April, the $18,000 William Garnsey,
a shell in which eight Lewis & Clark
College Novices rowed for all they were
worth, passed through the orange
buoys first. The time was 5:56.07,
nearly eight seconds faster than its
closest competitor. The time was
about what the varsity team does for
this 2,000-meter race, this day going
up the Willamette River in Salem, said
Lewis & Clark Novice Crew Coach
Josh Adams.
This novice crew, that includes
Lewis & Clark freshman and Tribal
member David Harrelson, is as fast
as any that has come through Lewis
& Clark in five years, said Adams.
Harrelson held down the bow seat
in the eight-person shell, which is the
last seat.
"What coaches tell you is you put a
technical person in the bow," said
Harrelson, a lively, strong, competent
leader-type, who also talks about feel
ing "all the forces in the boat" from
the bow and setting "the balance of the
boat." He just has to move his head a
little or lift the oar in his hands, he
said, to alter the hair-string balance
of the 8-man crew. It's most impor
tant skill is teamwork, he said.
You could be forgiven for thinking
that "crew" is a slow business
maybe like ballet as you watch the
oars come up out of the water
in unison, paddles feathered
to cut down wind resistance,
the shell gliding effortlessly
across the water's surface,
and you could be forgiven for
thinking it's not all that
much work either because the
athletes doing the work are
such superbly conditioned
athletes, but try racing one
of these shells in say, a 1995
black Celica with the sunroof
open, from where the shells started at
Wallace Marine Park in West Salem,
they going under and you going over
the Center Street Bridge, racing to the
finish line behind the carousel in
Salem's Riverfront Park on a perfect
Saturday morning in April, and you
might begin to appreciate just how fast
these young athletes propel these
pricey shells.
Coach Adams, in his first year at
Lewis & Clark, calls the sport "physi
cally demanding. It requires the most
amount of oxygen of any sport." Bik
ers, he said, use 5.8 liters of oxygen
per minute. Rowers use 6 to 6.2 li
ters. "It involves all of your muscles."
Harrelson, from Tacoma, whose
mom is Tribal member Kim Campbell,
turned to the sport as something of a
challenge after running cross country
in high school.
p- '.- n
"A friend
suggested
I try it," he
said, and
discovered
that it was
"the most
difficult,
physically,
the most
intense
sport" he
had yet
come across, and that promise was
just too much for Harrelson to pass
up.
"You have to be willing to feel lots of
pain for long periods of time," he said,
his eight-man race one for the history
books, a big smile on his face. "It's a
mental pain game," he went on. "It's
also the most team-oriented sport. You
can't just pull hard. You have to trust
that everyone else is doing their part."
His coach called him, "a real utility
guy-"
"He's really a superb athlete. Even
in his first year racing he's been re
ally adept at picking it up," said
Adams.
But winning isn't everything for
this coach that ran away with more
winning teams that day - from Nov
ice to Junior Varsity to Varsity than
any other coach.
"I definitely don't coach for my crews
to win medals," said Adams as the
morning sun was still rising and only
the Novices had come through for him
so far. "My main challenge is devel
oping character. I want to unify four
to eight bodies (crews race in four- and
eight-person shells), to mesh together,
to act as a unit."
Harrelson practices for crew 25
hours a week, and even off-season, he
is at it six days a week, twice a day.
He spends an equivalent amount of
time studying. "That's all I do," he
said. "No social life." He turned to
his roommate, also on crew, and they
laughed. But grades are not really a
joking matter to Harrelson. Last se
mester, he posted a 3.5 grade point
average.
Already, he is decided on a history
major, and is considering fire fight
ing once his college days are done.
"I've reverted back to the dreams I had
when I was five," he said.
For the summer, Harrelson has
applied for one of the Tribe's
firefighting positions. It's the start of
his interest in this part of his heri
tage. "I can access it on my own terms
(now)," he said. "Just to realize it's
part of my life and part of my heri
tage. It's getting to know a part of
who I am."
1 . ' J (r ? i
l -Hi-? I
' -.,
' - .- I
The Eyes Have It Lauren Lincoln, (left) Wallacki Yuki Tribal member from
Round Valley Indian Reservation in California was at the college fair with his son,
Lauren "little Lauren" Lincoln, age 7 months.
SMmSi JQj . :; . in f
-(r' 1L i
Opportunity On Tuesday April 20, the Tribal Education Department held
its Annual College & Career Fair at the Tribal Gymnasium. Over 200 students
attended the career fair which had 34 booths, with representatives from North
west Indian College, all of the state colleges, private universities, military recruit
ers, community colleges education, lending agencies and job corporations. The
purpose of the carried day was to promote colleges and careers for students
after they graduate from high school.