Cassandra Cunningham, founder of P3 Physical Education, and coach with Endeavor Racing Alliance, has lived by the philosophy of "prior proper planning." So she knew it had to be the driving force behind her coaching, too. From walk-on at Sacramento State University, to National Team rower, to coach of all levels, Cassandra believes in the power of curiosity to drive success. Our wide ranging conversation for rowers and coaches, touches on the power of sport, positive mindset, being present, trusting the process, and blending with your teammates.

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QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Intro 02:43 - The Huddle 03:32 - The Hot Seat Q&A 06:19 - Rowing origin story: To keep her life from unravelling, Cassandra walked on at Sacramento State 09:23 - Navigating her way to success in college came by way of being curious 12:14 - Finding and needing sport 17:00 - Cassandra was inspired to become a coach by her dad who was a coach, and her mom who installed her with common sense 19:04 - Strengths and struggle buses of new coaches, and setting the tone for the team 23:14 - Coaching, connecting with, and being present for the whole athlete 26:49 - Founding P3PE to bring her philosophy of prior proper planning through communication, organization, and professionalism 29:33 - The perfect stroke doesn’t exist 30:54 - Trusting the process: consistency, growth, awareness 33:22 - Cultivating a positive mindset starts with self-care, showing up, and reading the room 37:34 - Endeavor Racing Alliance: creating good humans and less chaos, thinking outside the box to “race up” 41:11 - From camp to club and back: sharing ideas, curiosity, and blending 46:18 - Evolution of positive planning mindset 49:04 - Steady State Network news and notes

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To see photos of Cassandra, and get links to the people, clubs, events, mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

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Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

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Holding an old canister in his hands, rower and documentary film producer Lenny O’Donnell’s heart skipped a beat when he read the hand-written note “Berlin 1936” on an old piece of athletic tape stuck to its lid. After years in storage, unseen for several decades, Lenny was entrusted to restore and digitize it, along with boxes full of other historic photos, film, and ephemera documenting the University of Washington crew in the early 20th century. To share it all, he created RowingArchives.org and wonders who the next generation of historians will be to carry on the work.

QUICK LOOK 00:00 - Intro 02:40 - The Huddle 03:20 - Rowing Week on a scale of 1-10: 7 because of time spent with the Ancient Mariners 05:25 - Tara and Lenny crossed paths in Seattle years ago at Pocock Foundation 07:21 - The Hot Seat Q&A 09:50 - Rowing origin story: Title IX encroached on wrestling, so he walked on to the UW crew 11:45 - After 25 years off the water: carbon fiber oars! 13:05 - Erging + walking the dog = keeping healthy 13:50 - A life in teaching made for an easy transition to coaching 18:35 - Rowing Archives began with research into the 1958 UW crew - the first American athletes to compete in the Soviet Union 24:13 - Working towards a future national rowing museum 26:57 - Holy Grail of archival rowing footage 28:31 - Lucy Pocock competed in coxed singles 29:34 - T & R post-interview banter worth keeping. 30:45 - Steady State Network news and notes

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To see photos of Lenny, and get links to the people, clubs, events, and organizations mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

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This episode was made possible in part by Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

.

Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

.

SHOP SSN GEAR: www.steadystatenetwork.com/shop

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MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY DONATING TO ALLIES WITH OARS: www.steadystatenetwork.com/allieswithoars

Check out more Steady State Network here:

FB - /SteadyStateNetwork IG - @SteadyStateNetwork

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BLUESKY - steadystatenetwork.bsky.social

Connect on FB and IG with Rachel at @RowSource, and Tara at @CmonBarber.

When Kate Lindgren and award-winning coach Peter Forrest met at Peterborough City Rowing Club, it came with more than a few firsts for these two Brits. While they were both self-proclaimed “late onset rowers" – learning to row later in life – neither could have expected the partnership and bond they’ve forged.

Inspired by Kate, whose blindness doesn’t even come close to impeding her rowing in a single, together they are the brains and brawn behind Row the Rhythm, a ground-breaking initiative designed specifically for visually impaired rowers across England.

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Intro 01:55 - The Huddle 04:35 - Rowing Week: 1-10 05:45 - A brief history of PCRC’s purpose-built rowing lake 07:45 - The Hot Seat Q&A 09:16 - Rowing origin stories: Pete needed a knee-friendly sport; walking and cycling no longer “cut the mustard” for Kate 13:15 - Kate’s retinitis pigmentosa and learning to feel the stroke 17:00 - Mind mapping your stroke 22:35 - Developing the logistics, trust, and respect for a successful blind rower/coach partnership 27:17 - Pete’s philosophy: coach the rower in front of you 30:43 - Row the Rhythm, with support from Love Rowing, is bringing rowing to visually impaired athletes across England 39:41 - Pete:  British Rowing Inclusive Coach of the Year 2024 40:48 - Advice to clubs on integrating visually impaired athletes 43:36 - Describing the perfect stroke 44:24 - Steady State Network news and notes

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To see photos of Kate and Pete, and get links to the people, clubs, and organizations mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

.

This episode was made possible in part by Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

.

Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

.

SHOP SSN GEAR: www.steadystatenetwork.com/shop

SIGN UP FOR THE SSN NEWSLETTER: www.steadystatenetwork.com/newsletter

MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY DONATING TO ALLIES WITH OARS: www.steadystatenetwork.com/allieswithoars

Check out more Steady State Network here:

FB - /SteadyStateNetwork IG - @SteadyStateNetwork

FB - /AllieswithOars IG - @AllieswithOars

Connect on FB and IG with Tara at @CmonBarber, and Rachel at @RowSource