More than just rowing
Riley O’Neill, Lakeshore rowing coach Bob Young, and Lauren Patterson. Photo by: BILL POTRECZ
When Lakeshore Catholic rowing coach Bob Young needed some help for rower Lauren Patterson, he knew exactly who to call.
Patterson, a special education student at the Port Colborne school, had begun rowing in the indoor season last year on the ergometer and was ready to make the move to the water.
Young realized Patterson would require an experienced instructor who not only understood the sport, but had the patience and understanding to deal with a special education athlete.
Young hooked up Patterson, a 17-year-old Fort Erie resident, with Riley O’Neill and the two have been inseparable ever since, forming a bond and friendship over rowing.
“Bob trusts me as a coach and I like Lauren,” said O’Neill, a Lakeshore graduate, who recently accepted a full rowing scholarship at the University of Oklahoma.
Young tried Patterson in a quad but she had difficulty adapting to working with three others at a time. A single was still out of reach so he thought a double would be the perfect way to start.
“We had to pull her out of the combination boats and just work with her specifically,” Young recalled. “I’m looking at how we can pull this off. I wanted her to race and we didn’t know if we would ever get to that point of racing.
“We’ve had other individuals step up and work with Lauren in doubles and then this year I wanted her to race but she wasn’t ready for a single, so it had to be a double.”
O’Neill, who has coaching aspirations, jumped at the opportunity.
“I see it as rowing with my friend,” O’Neill said. “Her development has been crazy. It’s like an inspiration when I row with her. When she does something right it clicks and then she does it for the rest of the practice.”
There were challenges along the way — squaring up the blades going into the water was a major issue early on — which saw O’Neill require a change in her approach.
“I had to slow down my teaching techniques,” O’Neill said. “As she got more comfortable, we had to make it more fluid. She got it and was doing it perfectly.
“I had to slow it down and not think so much.”
O’Neill said a eureka moment occurred during one practice they still smile about.
“We were thinking too much at one point. We had to stop. Lauren would tell me she wanted to be perfect. We had to get over that step and get rid of all the stress so we could move on.
“We had to stop, scream, and then keep going.”
O’Neill and Patterson, who train out of the South Niagara Rowing Club, have been racing as a double in local events and may even try their hand at Henley next month.
“When I’m racing with Lauren, I’m also working on my own technique,” O’Neill said. “I’m constantly following Lauren. She has a tough time getting up to high rates. Our race pace is a little lower so I follow along with her. I encourage her. I say more things that are positive rather than fix this or fix that because I don’t want to overwhelm her.”
O’Neill has noticed a huge difference in her friend now that she is rowing.
“Oh my God, even at school she’s a totally different person. She’s talkative and hangs out with her friends,” O’Neill said. “She was telling me in the boat the day we had to scream and get all the stress out the she did that at school, too. She was relating it to school. She’s transferring that to daily life and school.”
O’Neill said she gets a great deal of satisfaction seeing Patterson develop on and off the water.
“It’s more than just rowing. It’s teaching her social skills. Teaching her how to be open as a person and talk to people. She’s a good friend of mine.
“I just genuinely enjoy Lauren’s company. She’s like any other person. We get in the boat and we chit chat. We talk about the boat or our trip.”
Young said he has received positive feedback from Patterson’s family since she began rowing.
“Her mom is noticing in other activities in her life that rowing has been influential,” he said. “When she first started, her mom brought her down and said she was looking for an activity. She did all kinds of other sports but kind of felt on the outside. She started rowing and just swallowed it up.”
O’Neill and Patterson’s partnership will come to an end next month when O’Neill leaves for Oklahoma.
“I’m going to miss her a ton. I’ll be texting Lauren all the time,” O’Neill said. “I have full faith in Lauren. When I leave, I know she will do freaking amazing.
“I’m trying to get her into a single this season. I have full faith she’s going to develop beautifully the season and after I’m gone there’s not much more to work on. She feels in boat what she’s doing wrong. She understands the sport fully and she analyzes her rowing and her technique.”
Young said a spot on the Canadian Paralympic Team isn’t out of the question for Patterson.
“I think it’s very possible (for her) one day to be wearing a Canada shirt,” he said.
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