LaRiviere travels a unique path to coaching dominance

Rowing+coach+Jane+LaRiviere+talks+to+her+team+before+launch+on+the+Snake+River%2C+Tuesday%2C+Oct.+29.

Rowing coach Jane LaRiviere talks to her team before launch on the Snake River, Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Daniel Rodriguez Evergreen Rowing reporter

Washington State rowing coach Jane LaRiviere fought against the odds to earn her leadership role.

“My mother was a pro figure skating coach, my sister was a pro figure skater, my dad was a pro hockey player and I…hated the ice,” she said. “I wanted to be outside, but I had to skate for a long time.”

She eventually fell into the waters of rowing, which has brought her success. After attaining her bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Calgary and her master’s degree at the University of Oregon, she went on to get her doctorate and accidently encountered coaching.

“I didn’t mean to be a coach, I kind of fell into it and it just worked out,” she said. “I was going to school at Oregon State, and in conjunction with school I got hired as assistant school at O state,” she said. “I then came here not intending to like it, but I did, so here I am.”

In her twelfth season at WSU, LaRiviere has taken Cougar rowing to the top, leading them to seven NCAA Championship appearances as of 2011. As a result she has created one of the leading rowing programs in the nation.

Throughout her coaching tenure, she’s enjoyed the results the challenging sport offers. One of the greatest team accomplishments was placing fourth at the NCAA championships, she said.

“I was so happy for the team, they worked so hard, and they got rewarded by it,” LaRiviere said. “Part of the reason I love my job is because there are little mini rewards every week, every day sometimes.”

Outside of coaching, LaRiviere also raises her daughter. This can be stressful, but she manages to do both and even volunteer when she’s not racking up rowing victories.

“Well I’m a mother of a ten year old, I don’t know if I’d call that a hobby, we like to be outside, skiing, and trying to do some gardening, reading, and all that kind of stuff,” she said. “I also try to volunteer at the school a little bit.”

Rowing is a challenging sport, which takes mental toughness to be successful, she said. When the results are not there and difficult situations occur, she has learned to embrace it, while still continuing to pursue success.

“It is just life, life happens, and now that I’ve been coaching for my entire adult life, it’s a lot easier to have a perspective,” she said. “Our ultimate goal is to place all of our boats at the NCAA championships, in order to make a run in winning the thing you have to be in the finals.”