Nov. 7, 2006

Throughout the season, members of the UNC rowing team will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at the Carolina program and the experience of being a varsity athlete at UNC. This installment, the seventh of the 2006-07 school year, is by Kayla Hackett, a sophomore from Plainsboro, N.J.

These past couple of weeks after the disappointing finish at the Charles reflected a change in Carolina Rowing. Once Haney and Carrie called each one of us out and asked us, "Are you pushing yourself beyond that wall? I know you can go harder and faster than you are showing us," this year's mission to start the legacy of Carolina Rowing suddenly became truly real. No longer was it just a way to end practice or as part of putting fire into a pre-race speech, it became the reason why we put in effort. It represents every stroke on the water, every second on the erg, every rep in the weight room, and they way we carry ourselves at and away from practice. It is no longer okay to just meet our goals - every time we enter a piece, we want to smash it. We want to ask them, "What were you thinking with that goal?" We covet the chance to let them know that they are underestimating us.

With this in mind, we began "Tryouts ... The Sequel." This weeklong battery of tests involved a 6000-meter erg piece, a run at the cross-country course, and a 40-minute erg piece, and of course everyone required an all out effort. This was the coaching staff's way of showing us how far we have come while also determining lineups for the Head of the Hooch. These three tests with everyone going all out on every piece caused us to push ourselves the same way we push that teammate just in front of us. Through this week alone, our boat speed increased exponentially as we shattered the goals set by the coaches.

With such a successful test week, the Hooch represented Carolina Rowing's coming out party. We swept Duke and our two eights were nine seconds and one second away from Clemson teams we haven't beaten or been this close to in a very long time. As we continue to improve in practice through race pieces, technique, steady state, and tests our confidence grows. With this increase, we can only grow faster and faster. Now, it's up to us to show everyone that the Hooch results represent the future of this year's team and the future of Carolina Rowing. We're ready for the challenge, this next step, and plan on meeting it, just as we have with every challenge put forth by ourselves, by our coaches, and by those that underestimate us.

I hope to see you at one of our regattas, this fall or in the spring, as you join us in this challenge, to start the legacy of another great Carolina team.

-Kayla Hackett