By Airwaves writer Martha Pitt
Few could deny the impressive success of the Stanford Sailing Team so far this season. For a team with only ten boats at practice (relatively small compared to much of their top competition), they have managed to race in up to four events in one weekend, three-quarters for which they had to fly across the country to compete. The team is young too! With just two seniors on the team, the juniors and underclassmen are proving that Stanford will be a force for years to come.
This team has been building momentum for a few years, having recruited a huge class of talent back in the fall of 2010. The new sailors were fast, but still had a lot to learn about college sailing and team racing at such a high level. Since then, Head Coach John Vandemoer has been conditioning his young team out on the west coast, providing them with the guidance and experience necessary to compete with the ICSA powerhouses that primarily reside on the east coast. Many of the same players have been sailing for the Cardinals for the past few years, and it seems as though they are finally hitting their stride!
While the team has been successful across the board, much of the acclaim that they have received has come from their victories on the team race course. “We are very proud of our team racing success,” says Vandemoer, “especially because we started 10 different boats in the 5 team races we sailed.” They have been the unanimous pick in the Sail1Design ICSA Team Race Rankings since the beginning of March, winning five team race events with a different combination of boats at each, proving not only their ability to win, but also the depth on the team. Their stellar finishes across the ICSA results have also placed them in 2nd in the Sailing World rankings, just behind Yale, and 6th on the women’s side.
The coaches, captains, and sailors alike attribute much of the success to the hard work of the team as a group. “We only have 10 boats at practice so it really means it was a team effort,” commented Vandemoer. “The team has really worked hard together to share information and become great teachers to each other. Coach Hayes has worked hard preparing our team for the new bottom reach and the new run, his work has really helped.” This is Clinton Hayes’ second year coaching the Stanford team, but his contributions seem to be making a big difference with the group and he is equally happy to watch them work hard and to succeed. He notes, “The team is small but dedicated. We usually only have about 9-10 boats at practice but are consistent at that number everyday. We will add more next year with only 2 seniors graduating. I have to give a lot of credit to the captains, Helena Scutt and Katie Riklin. They do a lot to motivate the team and keep them on track while still keeping things fun. The team works hard in the weigh room 2 mornings a week year-round and that has really paid off.” Captains Scutt (’14) and Riklin (’13) have put a lot of value in creating a positive and supportive team atmosphere for the team to grow both at practice and during regatta weekends, even when the team is apart, explaining, “we have a really strong team bond and make a conscious effort to support each other when we are on different coasts each weekend. At the same time we take each victory as a true team victory because we know that our depth in practice is the source of our improvement.”
The winning team at St. Mary’s College
To handle the balance of schoolwork, practice time, travel, and competition, the coaches and sailors are very conscious of over-exertion and burnout. Coach Hayes says that they’ve paid particular attention to it this year, and planned their season accordingly, taking advantage of the fact that they can sail 12 months of the year and by “not taking any real time off, and instead just practicing 2 days a week January to now. We will start 3 days a week soon. The team is much less stressed compared to this time last year. It’s worked out great.” He also noted that they do their best to avoid any one sailor traveling two weekends in a row, which is less than many other teams, even those just traveling by van. To help avoid team burnout, Scutt and Riklin have made sure that they “treat practices as an escape from our schoolwork and other stresses” rather than an additional stress. “It allows us to focus and make practice very productive.”
But the coaches and team have been keeping the entire season in perspective, and know that they have the whole second half of the season to get through. “We have a long road ahead with lots to work on,” says Vandemoer. “Our focus is to improve. We are not focused on winning regattas but rather focused on getting better every time we are on the water.” The team is taking the season day by day, focusing on the daily improvements each time they hit the water, whether that be at team practices or at regattas. With such a deep team, the coaches are going to have a hard time making roster decisions later in the season, but I’m sure that they welcome that problem!
Stanford’s winning team at the John Jackson
Congratulations to Stanford thus far in the season, and keep an eye on the Cardinals through the remainder of this championship season!
Leave a Reply