Bucknell University Athletics
Get to Know Assistant Coach Page Kannor
3/4/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
March 4, 2011
Page Kannor is a 2009 Bucknell graduate and member of Bucknell women's rowing's first-ever recruited class. Back for the 2011 spring season as an assistant coach, she has reunited with the team -- now in a very different role.
What have you been doing since graduation?
I have been spending time all over the country! My first summer after graduation I was in Hawaii, volunteering with the National Park Service and working with a sea turtle restoration project and a water monitoring project. I spent the next summer in California, working as a field research assistant to some PhD candidates for the University of Chicago. I also worked in South Lake Tahoe in the Desolation Wilderness as an intern, and my duties there varied from ranger to campsite restorer to trails builder. At the end of the summer I road-tripped back across the country and found myself back east.
What made you decide to return to Bucknell as a coach?
I had been looking for coaching jobs in places like Florida and Philadelphia, but I chose Bucknell because of my familiarity with the area, team and rest of the coaching staff. I'm new to coaching, and I figured coming here would be a good way to get my foot in the door of the coaching world and see how I liked it.
How has your role with the team changed?
Obviously I'm not rowing anymore, so that's a big part of it. I'm also a lot more involved with the behind-the-scenes work now, which includes things like media, outreach, maintenance, and plenty of "little things" that need to be done to keep everything up to speed. The transition from rower to coach has felt pretty smooth for me, and I have a good support system in the rest of the staff and even the other members of the department. I definitely feel like my input is valued to the other coaches, and I'm learning a lot about what it takes to run a successful team.
What were some of the changes and successes you saw in the years you were on the team?
The women's rowing team at Bucknell has been growing and morphing since its birth. All of the work previous classes and coaches put in, combined with young talent and upperclassman experience, led to a series of unprecedented racing successes for the team during my freshman year. We won Patriot League Championships for the first time ever, which was a huge milestone and one of my clearest memories. Since then the team has continued to grow stronger and deeper, and our successes have come to include regattas such as the Murphy Cup, ECACs, Head of the Charles, and even the Amateur Reading Regatta in England. Bucknell has definitely worked its way up in the rowing ranks in the past few years, and I believe it will continue to do so as the team strengthens even further.
What's the most exciting thing about being back?
To me the best part about being here again is witnessing the team's continued evolution. I was part of it for four years, but now I am able to see how things have changed and progressed since I left, and also how things are continuing to change and progress even more now. This year's team has an awesome amount of experience, drive, leadership and flat-out horsepower, and I think those are some of the most important factors in any successful team. I can't wait to be with these women on the water; they've been training hard throughout the year, and they're ready to go out and rip it up!
