Muscle Memory
John Fuchs has turned Western’s women’s rowing into a national powerhouse by empowering his rowers to lead themselves
Story by Ryan Parish
Photos by Ed Clem
Every weekday, at precisely 4 a.m., John Fuchs wakes to the sound of his alarm clock radio. After 17 years of coaching Western’s women’s row team, his morning routine is second nature. Step one, get out of bed. Step two, put the kettle on. Step three, warm up the truck.
By 4:40 a.m. Fuchs is unlocking the gate to the entrance of Lutherwood Camp. The Viking’s boathouse is on the northwest shore of Lake Samish, hidden by trees at the end of the road. Lake Samish is a rower’s dream: pristine and protected from the wind by the hills and trees that surround it. So much so that Olympians train on the waters in winter.
By 4:45 a.m., Fuchs is joined by assistant coach Courtney Moeller. The two finish their coffee and inspect the boats. There’s always something that needs adjusting and Fuchs doesn’t mind the handiwork. The majority of the space is occupied by 55-foot-long boats resting on racks Fuchs installed himself.
In the back corner of the room sits a shelf that holds two trophies celebrating past glories of the program. They are nearly hidden behind a rack of coats, as if by design. After all, Fuchs insists the moments of his career he cherishes most don’t involve championships and accolades.
But make no mistake, there has been plenty of hardware. Most coaches can only dream of a resume as exhaustive as his. Since his appointment to head coach, the Vikings have finished ranked number one nationally in the USRowing/Collegiate Rowing Association NCAA D-II national poll nine times. Twenty-four CRCA All-Americans have rowed for the Vikings.
Fuchs has been honored three times as CRCA NCAA II National Coach of the Year, while earning another six Coach of the Year honors from various conference and regional associations. The Vikings have made 16 trips to the NCAA Championships in 17 years, winning seven consecutive NCAA D-II National Team Championships.
Despite all that, the man known as “Fuzzy” in rowing circles across the country, simply “Coach” to his rowers, deflects all credit from himself. Bring up the seven straight titles and he praises the culture his rowers established before pointing out that the competition from other schools has steadily grown since the inaugural NCAA D-II Championships in 2002. He’d much rather talk about his rowers.
Fuchs says the team’s success stems from the culture of hard work and independence. It’s a culture he credits to recent Western Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Karla Landis, a member from those first NCAA championships along with Moeller.
“She was a freshman my first year with the women’s team. The team was kind of in the tank, and within three years they were at the national championships,” Fuchs says. “She helped turn the team’s work ethic to higher and loftier goals. And it’s never changed since. Her and her class changed everything.”
Another rower that brings a wry smile to Fuchs face is junior Chloe Burns. Burns had never rowed before she tried out for the team last season. After making the team, Fuchs was forced to cut her when she slept through a practice early in the season. The story would have ended there for most people, but Burns rededicated herself and made the team again this year.
“She’s one tough kid,” he says, the smile returning to his face. It may not sound like much, but that is high praise from the reserved coach.
If Fuchs has one weakness, he admits, it is his communication skills. Many team members expressed admiration for Fuchs, but his life away from rowing remains a mystery to them. There are no team dinners. No fiery, motivational speeches. Though there was one team team barbecue dinner in 2015 before the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Championships.
“I don’t think there’s any big secret about him,” Moeller says. “What you see is what you get.”
Junior coxswain Giselle Kiraly has a slightly different take on Fuchs. As a coxswain, her responsibility in the boat, on top of ensuring safety and steering, is communicating with Fuchs at the end of every practice, going over what went right and what could be improved.
“I think a lot of the rowers take [Fuchs] as reserved, but really he’s calculated and more meticulous than you would suspect,” she says. “I think he doesn’t always want to show all of his cards.”
Whether by design or by accident, the team embodies a lot of the qualities of their coach. Fuchs is by all accounts a self-made man, and that is exactly what he looks for in his rowers: hard working, self-starting individuals who don’t need the coaches to hold their hand. All he asks for is fitness and dedication. The Vikings don’t recruit off campus, something Fuchs takes great pride in. Every single rower is there because they want to be. If they don’t have the drive to work, they don’t have a spot on the team.
It’s 4:59 a.m. when Fuchs puts the finishing touches on one of the boats. There’s no sign of the team as he tightens one of the footholds. As the digital clock in the corner flashes to 5 a.m., a crackling sound of gravel comes from outside. The entire team floods into the boat house as if it were choreographed. It’s quiet and most of the young women look as if they are closer to falling back asleep than they are to vigorously working out. Kirlay and the coxswains get dressed feet first into their heavy, black rubber flotation suits. They chat as they put on the microphones they will use to communicate on the boat.
By 5:05 a.m. warm ups are over and the women load the boats onto their shoulders to carry down to the lake. By 5:15 practice is underway. The varsity eight boat is moving as fast as it can down the lake. The conditions aren’t optimal, a 13 miles-per-hour wind makes the water choppier than Fuchs would like. The sky is overcast, hiding the sunrise. From his boat, Fuchs yells to the girls “5.3, 5.3,” motivating them to reach the meters per-second stroke rate he thinks it will take for them to advance past the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Championships this weekend and on to nationals. The rowers grimace with each stroke, the muscles in their arms practically popping. Rowing is a full-body exercise and races can only be described as painful.
Within an hour, practice is done. Fuchs watches from the dock as the team lifts the boat onto their shoulders and disappear down the gravel road toward the boat house.
“What a bunch of goofballs,” he says. Their laughter echoes through the morning, even as they disappear from sight. “They’re hard workers though. That is for sure.”
He smiles after them. It’s barely 6 a.m. and in just a few short days his team will sweep the WIRA Championships. One month later the team would earn its eighth national title in program history. The varsity-eight boat earned nine points from a second place finish and the varsity four chipped in eight points with a first place finish. Together it was enough to give the Vikings a narrow one point victory over the next closest team, Central Oklahoma University.
It is a familiar feeling for Western Athletic’s most decorated program and coach. Though the faces and boats may change, one thing remains certain: it’s business as usual for the Vikings and their quiet leader.