Washburn follows family into coaching

PU graduate leads Hun girls’ crew

By: Justin Feil
   Spencer Washburn’s decision to teach and coach crew at The Hun School wasn’t much of a surprise to his family. It’s what he has always wanted to do.
   "For as long as I wanted to remember," said Washburn, who takes over for the departed Will Porter as head coach of the Raider girls’ team. "I never imagined being a lawyer or doctor. My mom has something from kindergarten that says I want to be a farmer. But everything else I imagined outside of college, was me as primarily a coach, but also a teacher in a prep school environment."
   It’s something the Washburn family knows a thing or two about. It’s what Washburn grew up with, and he decided early that he wanted to follow in the family footsteps. After graduating from Princeton University last year after captaining the men’s crew team, he got his chance to follow his dream at Hun.
   "Rowing is a family sport," Washburn said. "My grandfather was a coach and teacher at St. Andrews in Delaware. My father and his brothers grew up at his school rowing. I grew up in an educational atmosphere at Philips Academy, where my mom and dad teach. I rowed for my dad there. Coming out of that, I knew I wanted to teach and I wanted to coach rowing. I knew I wanted to find a school that I could teach and coach.
   "I love the area," he added. "The opportunity to work with rowers here was something I’d been looking for. It was an easy decision."
   Washburn is teaching American History to sophomores at Hun, and though he coached the middle school girls’ soccer team, his real passion is for the crew team that took over this spring. In fact, his whole family was excited that he is having a chance to do just what they’ve done.
   "Both my parents were very excited about it," Washburn said. "The teaching occupation worked out well for them. Prep school worked out for them. They were excited I followed in their footsteps.
   "My dad, once I told him, he basically started calling every other day with advice and suggestions. He was pretty fired up."
   Washburn has relied on his background — from growing up in the midst of the Philips Academy crew team to being a two-year first varsity boat rower at Princeton University before a knee injury cost him his spot as a senior — in taking over the Raiders crew team. He pulls from his former Tiger coaches and from his dad’s methods.
   "I take a lot of what he did and use a lot of the thoughts and philosophies he had," Washburn said of his father. "Coming from Princeton, it’s really a competitive program. I don’t want to push them too far. High school is more about getting them excited about rowing. It’s more about teaching. So I’m trying not to do everything we did at Princeton. High school is about having fun and doing something you enjoy with your friends. I’m trying to help them do that, as opposed to pushing them too far. They should enjoy racing."
   In the college rowing environment, he noted, the goal is pretty basic: train hard and win. Washburn has come from that environment and has had to return to something more like what he was used to growing up, except that he’s in charge of a girls’ team which adds another aspect.
   "It’s been an adjustment period to being that fired up to coaching the high school level," Washburn said. "Then there’s the team aspect. What girls bring is different. I’m getting used to it. There are times we’re out there doing pieces, and I’ll be more fired up than they are. There are times I wish I was out there rowing.
   "Having trained at that level, I can bring a lot of experience and perspective some of them haven’t seen before. I try not to bring it too far. But I want to show them a little of the level of competition. A lot of them want to go to college, and I don’t want it to be a shock when they go there. I’m trying to teach them what it’s all about and get them to enjoy it."
   That challenge is all the tougher given that the spring season is barely two months long, and the Raiders have gotten quickly into their racing season. Washburn is hoping Hun can continue to show improvement through the season as its boats gain more experience together.
   "A big thing is just learning how to race and take on their opponent," he said. "Right now you can’t worry about being the smoothest crew or about having the cleanest race. We want them to worry about just racing your opponent.
   "They have to just go out there and leave it all in the water. Learning how to row is a huge part of high school. If you’re tough, you’ll probably be good. Early on, no one is going to have a real smooth team. Learning how to race is a key aspect."
   Washburn has been impressed by how quick to pick up everything the Raiders girls have been. Part of that is due to the cohesiveness of the crew team and their desire to keep passing along the skills that have made it one of the state’s best programs.
   "For some people it’s a new sport. It’s not like soccer which everyone has been playing since they were 6," Washburn said. "You have to learn how to do it. You have to learn how to train. One thing I’ve really been pleased with is the older girls are really good about incorporating the younger girls under their wing. I haven’t had to be too hands-on with it. A lot of the older girls have taken it upon themselves to pass along this Hun legacy of rowing."
   Washburn is happy to be a part of that legacy as well. Some of his earliest memories are of riding on the launch with his father as he coached Philips Academy. It wasn’t long after that when Washburn told his father that he wanted to be the best rower he’d ever coached. Now, Washburn is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a great coach. It’s all part of the family business. It’s something he’s wanted to do forever and in his first year after graduating from Princeton University, he has his chance at Hun.
   "If this doesn’t work out," Washburn laughed, "I don’t know what I’ll do."