Q&A with Hylton High’s crew team coach Miller Khete
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — A Q&A with Hylton High’s crew team coach Miller Khete.
What is crew?
Miller Khete: The short explanation of crew is that it is a rowing team. The word “crew” means a group of people that work together. Teams compete in regattas where the sprint distances are 1500 meters (high school) or 2000 meters (college) and for the six minutes that it takes to get from the start to the finish, every muscle in the body is pushed harder than one can imagine. Each member in the boat must focus on putting their blade in the water, driving the boat (shell) to the other side of the blade and with an elegant grace, take it out, feather it over the water and place it in again. The sport is as physical as it is mental.
What does training look like?
Khete: Training is year-round. We have land training and on-the-water training (practices). Land training usually incorporates the rowing machine (erg) for technique, body and muscle sequence, strength, endurance and finesse of the rowing stroke. On the water, things are more challenging. Slight shifts in hand heights or weight can make one side of the boat go down, causing rowers to have a hard time getting their blades out of the water. We row in rain, wind and sun (not thunder or lightning). Typical practices are two hours, five days per week with races on Saturday. There are shirts that say: “I can’t, I have crew.” The sport is also mental–rowers must be able to push through the point at which their body begins to scream in pain during the piece, but their mind will not let them quit and gives them what they need to finish strong, often setting a newer personal best. Crew is intense–there are no breaks. It means all in, all the time.
What records/standings does the team hold?
Khete: Hylton’s team is not as large as many of the other programs in Prince William. In the time that I have been associated with the program, Hylton rowers consistently place in regattas beating more experienced rowers and much larger programs. Hylton has earned bids to compete at the SRAA National Championships by coming in first or second in the Virginia State Championships each year for almost 30 years.
What do you love about crew and/or being a coach?
Khete: I get to see leaders and athletes develop each day in our program. Watching rowers that have already crossed the finish line cheer for that last boat and congratulate them as if they set a new record is amazing. They support and encourage each other and even as adults maintain the friendships that began as novice rowers.
What is your background?
Khete: Like many coaches, I became involved as a parent of a rower. This sport was not available when I was in school, but the first time I got into a shell and took a few strokes, I was hooked and have not looked back. I am a math teacher at Benton Middle during the day and have used my rowing machine in my classes to help demonstrate proportion and other math concepts.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Khete: I wish more people would at least try the sport. Our boathouse in Lake Ridge Park makes it so easy to be a part of the rowing community- and that we get to row on the Occoquan which makes this graceful and elegant sport even more beautiful.
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