row2k Features
Interview
Williams' Lindsay Olsen
March 2, 2010
Erik Dresser, row2k.com

Olsen with a 45 pound King Salmon

Alaskan native Lindsay Olsen starting rowing last year as a novice on the Williams women's team. She missed being on the water of her father's fishing boat so decided to give it a try and so far it has stuck. Olsen is the subject of row2k's latest collegiate interview.

row2k - You’re from Alaska and shied from athletics during high school. What was your athletic background prior to rowing?
Lindsay Olsen - I was always tall for my age which made people assume that I would be good at sports like basketball and volleyball. Unfortunately, no such luck. Although I did play basketball, volleyball, and softball from middle school through my sophomore year of high school, I always struggled with sports because I am not especially fast or coordinated. I studied abroad my junior year, and when I returned for my senior year of high school I finally came to terms with the fact that I was simply not meant to be an athlete, and that that was okay! I convinced myself that there was a place for tall, non-athletes in this world, and that I would go off to college and find my place among them. Ironically, I went off to college to find my place amongst the Williams Women’s Crew team. And to my utter dismay, I found a sport that I was actually good at. In high school I was always stronger at academics than at sports, and as a joke my AP calculus class made shirts that said “varsity calculus.” I like to wear my shirt around Williams and tell people that calculus is the only varsity sport I played before college.

row2k - In the summers you work on your father’s salmon fishing boat. What’s that like?
Lindsay Olsen - My dad is a commercial salmon fisherman in Cook Inlet, Alaska so I grew up riding around on his 34-foot long drift boat. At fifteen I started working as his deckhand and ever since have spent June, July, and August picking fish and hauling nets. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a summer! We fish in one of the most beautiful spots in Alaska, where white-capped peaks rise up from pristine blue waters. Watching fish hit our 300-yard-long net and listening to the satisfying thud they make when they hit the deck of the boat is an adrenaline rush. Sometimes we’ll catch thousands of pounds of salmon in one day, and often fishing periods run through the night. Because it stays light nearly all night long in the summer, there’s always excitement and action at the wee hours of the morning. Although the work is physically hard, the weather can be unpredictable, and the hours are grueling, the excitement and sense of community amongst fishermen make it worthwhile.

row2k - Williams is a long way from Homer, why did you decide on Williams and ultimately decide to try out for rowing?
Lindsay Olsen - I always knew that I wanted to go to a small, liberal arts college, and was drawn to the East Coast because it was so different from where I had grown up. When Williams seemed to fit, things fell into place. I don’t think I ever appreciated quite how far away it was until my dad followed through on a childhood promise to take me to college on a motorcycle. Three weeks before I was due at Williams my freshman fall we left Homer, Alaska on a BMW tour bike, and 6,500 miles later arrived in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

I decided to try crew on a whim because I really missed being on the ocean, and thought that rowing would be a good excuse to get out on the water every day. I also missed the camaraderie of being on a team. I never expected to fall in love with the team or the sport in the way that I have, and in a million years never pictured myself as a collegiate athlete!

row2k - What is your favorite aspect of the sport?
Lindsay Olsen - My favorite part of crew, hands down, is the emphasis on being a team. I love how it takes nine women to move a boat and how much trust there is involved with that. Rowing precludes the notion of a star player, and I think therefore attracts a group of women who are really willing to work hard for each other. I have definitely found this to be true about the Williams women’s team on and off the water. My second favorite thing about crew is being outside on the water and the feeling of flying down the racecourse.

row2k - How is your sophomore year going for you? Any specific goals for the season?
Lindsay Olsen - Sophomore year has been great because I feel like I’ve begun to understand what being a rower at Williams is all about. Although I still have a lot to learn, I now feel a lot more comfortable in a boat and on the erg, and have learned how to balance academics with crew. Last spring I was able to watch the Williams 1v and 2v compete at the NCAA national championships, and think it would be amazing to be able to participate in that race this spring. I think one of the best things about the team at Williams is that the same high expectations are placed on every woman. This fosters an atmosphere of integrity and respect that makes you want to work hard for the sake of your teammates. As a team, our goal is to be as competitive as possible on the national level this spring.

row2k - You just got back from studying in the Caribbean, what were you doing down there?
Lindsay Olsen - Williams has a winter study period over the month of January where you only take one class, which allows students the opportunity to travel abroad. A friend and I received a grant to do an independent geology study on the island of Dominica. There is a boiling lake up in the mountains there that we were studying and trying to place in the larger geologic scope of the Caribbean. I think that one of the best things about attending a school like Williams is how many incredible academic opportunities there are waiting at your fingertips.

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Comments

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(unknown)
03/26/2010  7:13:14 AM
Also rowed at Williams (83). Joined crew because I fished all summer and couldn't stand the idea of getting off the water. Never a good athlete in HS, i finally found something I could do well - all you have to do is concentrate and be able to withstand pain (how hard is that?)!

My rowing buddies are some of my best friends to this day. Keep it going Lindsay!


(unknown)
03/11/2010  3:12:10 PM
And, Lindsay Olsen, you are what a lot of people like about rowing, too!



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