Taking athletes beyond the win

Vision and Philosophy
"Beyond the win" Philosophy: The fundamental philosophy behind this unique program here at SPU is based in represented best in the Scripture passage Romans 12:1; "I urge you therefore, brethren, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Clearly we are designed with our created physical nature tied to our spiritual worship. Accordingly, we find this to be a tremendous time in the lives of college age adults to begin understanding and expanding their physical being within the context of developing their whole being as an instrument of worship.

Crew is the ideal program offered at SPU to do this. It utilizes the competitive arena to enhance and develop young adults in a balanced fashion. Crew is unique however, in that it is the one athletics program oriented towards students without any direct sport experience. Our own John Terwilliger never pulled a single stroke before arriving at SPU, yet he was an Olympic rower before he graduated in 1981.

Competitive athletics has long been considered a superb proving ground and microcosm of life itself. Many dynamic aspects of personal growth can be attained through the rich lessons of winning, losing, teamwork and testing oneself beyond imagined limits. This is what we seek to do at Seattle Pacific Crew: realizing that this is merely a waypoint and a preparation stage for launching successful community leaders beyond these four years and beyond the win.

Vision Statement: At no time has Seattle Pacific University Crew been more competitive than it is right now. The fleet and facility are increasingly modernized each year, we've streamlined the training with the latest in quality, elite level methods, and increased standards for conditioning and testing. Accordingly, men's and women's crews have represented Seattle Pacific at national level championships twenty-three times in the last ten years alone, medalling 14 times, and winning our first of seven national women's titles beginning in 2000. Falcon crews have earned an impressive twenty-seven medals at the western regional level championships since 1996, including fourteen gold medals. Even in light of these successes, however, we envision this program growing to even greater national prominence as the finest Christian Universtiy rowing program in the country, achieving increasing excellence to be modeled through the character of its athletes and through their consistent national championship results.

Coach profiles:
Head Coach Keith Jefferson - Keith Jefferson began his involvement with SPU crew as a team member from 1980 to 1983. In 1982 he was a semi-finalist at the Dad Vail Collegiate Championships in the Lightweight 4 Event. Following four years on active duty with the Marines, he returned to Seattle Pacififc in 1987 to accept a position as assistant rowing coach, then becoming head coach in the 1990-91 season. Now a Level III certified coach with a Masters degree in Sport and Exercise Leadership, Coach Jefferson provides current expertise with unique experiential perspectives for a holistic athletic experience unlike anywhere else. Falcon crews over the last few years have accomplished many conference and regional championships as well as seven national titles. The efforts of the coaching staff, combined with the unique Seattle Pacific rowing organization and mission, present students with tremendous competitive opportunities as well as opportunities for personal growth not otherwise available to them.

Assistant Coach, women - Katie Wolff. Katie is our own recent 2008 graduate in Psychology. Out of Mid Vermont Christian in Bridgewater, Vermont originally, Katie learned to row at SPU and led the team in many aspects for three years. She was a two-year captain and was voted Most Inspirational her novice year and selected All-Region as a senior in 2008. Her stalwart presence has been instrumental in the advent seasons of the Varsity 8 era, leading to the first SPU appearance at the NCAA national women’s rowing championship in 2007 and in winning the WIRA Championship banner in 2008. Katie is about to enter the intensive two-year Cortiva Massage School and is currently employed by Rejuvenation Massage of Ballard.

Assistant Coach, men -