For most anyone fortunate enough to participate in an Olympic games, taking home a gold medal would easily be a top memory. 野狼社区 University rowing coach Bryan Volpenhein knows the feeling.
Volpenhein, regarded as an all-time great in U.S. rowing, led the men鈥檚 eight team to the gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004. But asked to recount his top Olympic memory, he takes a different track. His favorite moment happened four years earlier, in absence of any medal, at the Sydney games as he marched with his country in the opening ceremonies.
鈥淭hat was an amazing experience,鈥� Volpenhein said. 鈥淭he whole place is filled, all the athletes aside from the host country are already in there and it's just loud 鈥� so loud that if you touch the walls of the stadium, you can feel the whole place shake.鈥�
As Volpenhein entered the stadium, he noticed he was walking next to a member of the U.S. men鈥檚 basketball team: NBA all-star Kevin Garnett.
鈥淭o see somebody at that level of his career and his sport, just as excited and captivated by all of it, the same way I was, was really interesting and really fun,鈥� Volpenhein said. 鈥淚 mean, he's tall and he's got his video camera and he's holding it up above the crowd and I'm walking in next to him. You really feel like you're at the pinnacle. And so those kinds of experiences just stick with you.鈥�
Those types of experiences 鈥� three Olympic games, including the gold in 2004 and a bronze at the Beijing games in 2008 鈥� are the type of credentials Volpenhein now brings as the new leader of OCU鈥檚 rowing team.
Volpenhein took over OCU鈥檚 rowing program in June, following stints as rowing coach at the University of Pennsylvania, San Diego University, and the U.S. National Team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He also served from 2010-13 as the coach of the 野狼社区 National High Performance Center, based out of the city鈥檚 Boathouse District.
Although he鈥檚 highly familiar with 野狼社区鈥檚 rowing scene 鈥� he even attended the groundbreaking for the first boathouse building following the Athens games in 2004 鈥� Volpenhein arrived back in 野狼社区 in 2022 without plans to become OCU鈥檚 coach.
It was his wife鈥檚 appointment that year as the rowing coach at the University of Oklahoma that landed him back in the Sooner state from Pennsylvania.
鈥淢y wife got the offer at OU for the women's rowing team, and really wanted to take it,鈥� Volpenhein said. 鈥淪o we decided to move back.
鈥淚 was a stay-at-home dad for two years and I got to see my kids a lot more. I wasn't looking for a job. This (OCU job) came up and when it opened up, it was right at the time when I was starting to get the itch to do something again in the sport.鈥�
Mike Knopp, founding OCU rowing coach and now director of river operations at the Boathouse District, lauded Volpenhein鈥檚 decision to get back into coaching.
鈥淚 could not be more thrilled to have American rowing legend Bryan Volpenhein serve as our next head coach,鈥� Knopp said following Volpenhein鈥檚 hiring announcement. 鈥淎s the winningest male Olympic rower in the history of the sport of rowing and former U.S. National Team head coach, Bryan knows the meaning of grit, teamwork, and sportsmanship like none other.鈥�
The grit Knopp referenced was on full display in the final of the men鈥檚 eight at the 2004 Olympics.
The U.S. team that year was viewed as a strong medal contender after setting a world record in its qualifying heat, a development that Volpenhein said left him particularly nervous leading up to the gold medal race.
鈥淭hat was the most nervous I've ever been,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it was because we knew how fast we were.鈥�
The nerves didn鈥檛 hurt. In fact, the team surprised itself by bolting out to a three-second lead halfway through the 2,000-meter race. The lead was wide enough that Volpenhein began to wonder if they had expended too much energy and would fade near the end of the course.
Sure enough, with 500 meters to go, team Netherlands made a charge, cutting the U.S. lead down to about 1 second.
鈥淭hat last 500 meters, the Dutch really started to come,鈥� Volpenhein said. 鈥淲e were able to see them and defend, and sort of counter their move. We took another little burst and held them off. We just protected it. We got across the line first. Amazing.鈥�
Volpenhein is now passing that type of experience along to OCU鈥檚 rowers, a group he said has been working hard since the summer, but also a group that is young and eager to grow.
鈥淲e have a young team 鈥� I don't have any seniors,鈥� the coach said. 鈥淎nd so they're just eager to race and compete. My goal is for them to go out there and try to win, but if they do their best and they come off the water and they feel like, 鈥楬ey, I left it all in the water,鈥� that's a good starting place for us for the season.鈥�
Looking forward, Volpenhein said he has plans to grow rowing at OCU and to field national championship contenders.
鈥淚 definitely have a vision of where I want the team to be,鈥� he said, adding that in the short term he would like to add more athletes so OCU can field entries in multiple rowing disciplines.
Part of the challenge of accomplishing that goal at an NAIA institution is recruiting. Volpenhein said his credentials certainly help. For example, recruits are more inclined to pick up the phone when an Olympic champion is calling. However, finding the right type of athlete is important.
鈥淲e're looking for those athletes who really, truly love the sport and want to work hard and are good teammates,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then also, I'm looking to develop a more robust walk-on program where we can get people from campus at OCU who want to come try out and be able to join the team and learn how to row.鈥�
The walk-on approach is one that Volpenhein is familiar with, because that鈥檚 how he got into rowing.
鈥淚 walked on and learned how to row in college,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom that to the Olympic champion. What's cool about rowing is it's one of the few sports that you can still do that. In our boat that won (Olympic gold), five of us learned to row in college. And so it's still very much a part of the culture in our sport.鈥�
It鈥檚 a culture that Volpenhein would like to instill at OCU, with the boathouse providing an ideal launch pad.
鈥淚t's an amazing facility 鈥� I'd say one of the best in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he boathouse and the facilities are a great place to train and try to perfect your craft. You have everything you need there.鈥�
Long-term, Volpenhein said he hopes to parlay the boathouse infrastructure into a nationally competitive program where students can experience some of the success that he enjoyed as an athlete, including bringing home some new neckwear.
鈥淟ong-term vision is we want to compete at the national championships,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we want to win medals there.鈥�
