Junior Harper Smith only started rowing three years ago, and this February, she committed to row at the Division I level at Bucknell University.

When Smith was in 8th grade, her dad suggested she try out rowing. During her first season, she rowed before switching to coxswain, which she said better matched her strengths. She is currently the first coxswain for the girls varsity rowing team and recently announced she will be continuing her rowing career at Bucknell University.

Smith said what she likes most about being a coxswain is the competitiveness and the fact that her role supports the team in such an important way.

“If the rowers aren’t doing all the same things at the same exact times, the boat moves slower, so my job is making sure they’re all matched up and doing the proper thing at the proper time,” Smith said. “Knowing that that’s my role, being on a team is very special.”

Senior and captain Elana Braun-Jones first met Smith last year on the crew team. She said Smith has grown a lot as an athlete.

“Beyond just skill in terms of steering and maneuvering, she’s gained a lot of composure and confidence, and it helps a lot in the boat,” Braun-Jones said. “As rowers, we’re very sensitive to the tone and to the intonation of our coxswain, and she’s been doing a really good job. She has a really good race voice.”

Junior Frances Mathews also met Smith last year when she first joined varsity crew. She said Smith has risen to the occasion, is very responsible and has also become a mentor to younger teammates.

“Harper’s had to assume this position of authority over athletes that are older than her because, as a coxswain, you kind of have to act as a coach because you’re responsible for all the athletes on the boat,” Matthews said. “She’s always trying to help and trying to get people to be contributing and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. She’s definitely a mentor, especially this season, because we have other coxswains who are less experienced that came and joined the team.”
Smith said getting outside feedback, especially from the rowers she works with, is very important for improving as a coxswain.

“I ask them all the time, ‘What can I do to improve?’ ‘What did you think of today?’ And their feedback is what helps me learn and grow,” Smith said. “I also do outside research, which teaches me a ton, but getting the feedback from the rowers is the most important part of it.”

Mathews said Smith’s constant willingness to look for feedback was one of the factors that helped her reach her goal of committing to Bucknell.

“I think overall what helped her reach this goal is that she was extremely committed and passionate,” Mathews said. “She’s always trying to do the most to contribute and be responsible and just make sure she’s doing what she can to better herself.”

Braun-Jones said the team spends most of the season preparing for the Head of the Charles Regatta, a major race that brings in competitors from across the country and around the world. She said the coxswain plays an especially important role in that race because the line they take can change the length of the course by hundreds of meters.

“We were obviously practicing racing during practice, and she was practicing her lines and her turns and making sure that those were as sharp as possible so that we rowed the shortest course possible, and she did a great job,” Braun-Jones said. “She’s one of the coxswains who knows the river really well.”

Braun-Jones said Smith’s speech during that race this past season was very memorable and is one of her favorite memories from rowing with her.

“I remember the last 300 meters, she was telling us about all the work that we put in, and it was a really nice moment. It was a really good sprint, and I’m really lucky that I got to do that with her,” Braun-Jones said.

Smith said she is looking forward to college rowing, especially for the new level of competition, the team environment and the commitment that will come with it.

“I’m definitely excited for the new level that it’s gonna take me to,” Smith said. “I think there is a big change from going to high school rowing to college, but it’s definitely a change I’m excited for and ready to take on.”