Lehigh University Athletics
Hayes helps form the foundation
5/7/2015 10:18:00 AM | Men's Rowing
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations
At the core of any team is a foundation. That foundation usually consists of goals and ideals of the program. For the Lehigh rowing program (and the men's rowing team in particular), freshman Kyle Hayes is an integral part of that foundation.
A recruited student-athlete from Boxborough, Massachusetts, Hayes brings an intensity to the program which is infectious to those around him.
"Kyle has brought a work ethic to our team that shows he wants to be the best athlete he can possibly be," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "He hustles with everything that he does, including the simple task of getting an oar. Kyle has also brought a desire to be held accountable and wants to be a leader. He is constantly thinking about the big picture and the future of the program."
The future of the Lehigh program is bright because of people like Hayes. Kyle has rowed in both the Freshmen Eight and Varsity Eight this season. He rows in the seven seat as part of the stern pair, which demands a mix of power and especially technical skills.
The Mountain Hawks as a team have enjoyed success this season, due in large part to their drive to be successful.
"The will to move on and push forward has been a theme for this season," said Hayes. "Every weekend, we'll go out and do better than the previous weekend."
For Hayes, that desire to push forward has been in place from the beginning. The sport of rowing clicked for Kyle growing up.
"Rowing was the first sport I was really good at," he said. "With ball sports, I was never really coordinated enough to catch and throw, but with rowing, it's one motion and as long as you can do the same thing over and over and push as hard as possible, you can be successful."
As a standout at Acton-Boxborough High School, Hayes wanted to row in college and was immediately hooked to Lehigh.
"I was looking for a good academic school, so I was looking at a lot of Patriot League schools," he said. "My official visit to Lehigh was the best. It seemed like a really cool team."
Hayes entered a college atmosphere which featured a mix of recruited rowers and walk-ons who had zero rowing experience, creating a unique dynamic.
"You'll have really big guys who played basketball or football in high school and come onto rowing teams and do really well," said Hayes. "You may have some guy who's never touched a boat before come on and be faster than you on the erg in the winter."
This can be challenging for an experienced rower, but Hayes takes everything in stride. Especially for a freshman, he has an impressive sense of the big picture.
"Kyle puts his ego aside and makes sure that he prioritizes constantly," said Conley. "He knows what's important and knows in order to be successful, you can't let distractions get in your way."
After a fall season which included a lot of teaching amongst the Mountain Hawks, Hayes brought his intensity and work ethic into the winter season as he attempted to earn a seat in the top boat.
"I pushed really hard all through the winter to try and get a spot in the Varsity Eight," said Hayes. "There were some guys I was really close to that could have edged me out for a seat, but I ended up beating them out so I was in the eight come the beginning of the spring season when we went out on the water."
That competiveness is why Hayes is such an asset to the program. It pushes everyone around him to be at their best.
"Kyle is not the most talkative person on our team, but he does have a drive we want to see in all of our athletes," said Conley.
Lineups have changed throughout the spring, and Hayes has filled in wherever needed, rowing in both the Varsity and Freshmen Eight. Hayes' actions do the talking, and it influences his teammates.
"Rowing is a sport where you have to push your body to its physical limit every day - there are no easy days - and Kyle is the type of person that will drive himself to hit and go past that limit every day," said freshman Kyle Schipper. "He never avoids a workout, which influences the team to do the same. I sit in the seat behind him in the boat and whenever I get tired, I just think of how hard he's pushing himself and it drives me to work harder. Kyle always has a positive attitude going into any workout which definitely helps everyone else get through."
"Kyle Hayes is very self-aware about his abilities, but doesn't allow that to hold him back from becoming faster the next day," said Conley. "He loves the idea of competition and loves sitting on the line ready for the referee to say go because it's going to be a test of his best ability."
That love of competition continues to be on display heading into the final regatta of the season, the "grand finale" of the 2014-15 season… the Dad Vail Regatta which begins on Friday. When those three words were mentioned, Hayes' face immediately lit up
"Dad Vails is huge; I'm really excited," he said. "There are so many other crews at the regatta. I've gone to a lot of huge regattas before. Youth Nationals in California, Head of the Charles is enormous then the Royal Canadian Henley is also huge.
"It's always amazing to see so many rowers, just to see all the trailers filled with boats and all the rowers around," Hayes continued. "I get excited seeing boats that row well, even if I'm competing against them. It's going to be a lot of great competition. This is what we've been building for all year."
With the pinnacle of the season this weekend, Hayes has created a strong foundation in the classroom as well. Only a freshman, he has time to solidify career goals. At this point, he's heavily considering marketing.
"I switched into the Business school recently," said Hayes. "I'm thinking marketing just because advertising is really powerful and that appeals to me."
With Dad Vails during Lehigh's final exams, it's another reminder that Hayes and his teammates are true student-athletes. Most of the elite rowing schools are prestigious academic institutions.
"It's cool to go out and represent my school, especially in a sport like rowing that is so old and is such an important part of the more prestigious schools in America," he said. "All the Ivy League schools have really fast rowing teams, and other top schools like MIT and Stanford have really good rowing programs as well."
Lehigh is already at that level academically and someone like Hayes is helping create that foundation which is leading to sustained success on the water. One day, Lehigh will be mentioned with the likes of Brown, Princeton, Yale and Stanford rowing because of the high standard set by Hayes.
"Kyle represents the strong drive needed by the team through his continuous committed attitude," said Schipper. "Rowing is an unforgiving, exhausting (both mentally and physically) and time-consuming sport. Kyle consistently shows that he will do whatever it takes to lead it to future success."
"I am excited about the kind of athlete Kyle already is and what he's going to bring to our team," said Conley. "He has three more years and has already made a huge impact on our team relating to the five pillars of leadership, namely toughness, competitiveness, self-awareness, team-first and integrity. He embodies each of these and I can't wait to see him challenge himself to rise to the next level and bring his teammates along with him."
At the core of any team is a foundation. That foundation usually consists of goals and ideals of the program. For the Lehigh rowing program (and the men's rowing team in particular), freshman Kyle Hayes is an integral part of that foundation.
A recruited student-athlete from Boxborough, Massachusetts, Hayes brings an intensity to the program which is infectious to those around him.
"Kyle has brought a work ethic to our team that shows he wants to be the best athlete he can possibly be," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "He hustles with everything that he does, including the simple task of getting an oar. Kyle has also brought a desire to be held accountable and wants to be a leader. He is constantly thinking about the big picture and the future of the program."
The future of the Lehigh program is bright because of people like Hayes. Kyle has rowed in both the Freshmen Eight and Varsity Eight this season. He rows in the seven seat as part of the stern pair, which demands a mix of power and especially technical skills.
The Mountain Hawks as a team have enjoyed success this season, due in large part to their drive to be successful.
"The will to move on and push forward has been a theme for this season," said Hayes. "Every weekend, we'll go out and do better than the previous weekend."
For Hayes, that desire to push forward has been in place from the beginning. The sport of rowing clicked for Kyle growing up.
"Rowing was the first sport I was really good at," he said. "With ball sports, I was never really coordinated enough to catch and throw, but with rowing, it's one motion and as long as you can do the same thing over and over and push as hard as possible, you can be successful."
As a standout at Acton-Boxborough High School, Hayes wanted to row in college and was immediately hooked to Lehigh.
"I was looking for a good academic school, so I was looking at a lot of Patriot League schools," he said. "My official visit to Lehigh was the best. It seemed like a really cool team."
Hayes entered a college atmosphere which featured a mix of recruited rowers and walk-ons who had zero rowing experience, creating a unique dynamic.
"You'll have really big guys who played basketball or football in high school and come onto rowing teams and do really well," said Hayes. "You may have some guy who's never touched a boat before come on and be faster than you on the erg in the winter."
This can be challenging for an experienced rower, but Hayes takes everything in stride. Especially for a freshman, he has an impressive sense of the big picture.
"Kyle puts his ego aside and makes sure that he prioritizes constantly," said Conley. "He knows what's important and knows in order to be successful, you can't let distractions get in your way."
After a fall season which included a lot of teaching amongst the Mountain Hawks, Hayes brought his intensity and work ethic into the winter season as he attempted to earn a seat in the top boat.
"I pushed really hard all through the winter to try and get a spot in the Varsity Eight," said Hayes. "There were some guys I was really close to that could have edged me out for a seat, but I ended up beating them out so I was in the eight come the beginning of the spring season when we went out on the water."
That competiveness is why Hayes is such an asset to the program. It pushes everyone around him to be at their best.
"Kyle is not the most talkative person on our team, but he does have a drive we want to see in all of our athletes," said Conley.
Lineups have changed throughout the spring, and Hayes has filled in wherever needed, rowing in both the Varsity and Freshmen Eight. Hayes' actions do the talking, and it influences his teammates.
"Rowing is a sport where you have to push your body to its physical limit every day - there are no easy days - and Kyle is the type of person that will drive himself to hit and go past that limit every day," said freshman Kyle Schipper. "He never avoids a workout, which influences the team to do the same. I sit in the seat behind him in the boat and whenever I get tired, I just think of how hard he's pushing himself and it drives me to work harder. Kyle always has a positive attitude going into any workout which definitely helps everyone else get through."
"Kyle Hayes is very self-aware about his abilities, but doesn't allow that to hold him back from becoming faster the next day," said Conley. "He loves the idea of competition and loves sitting on the line ready for the referee to say go because it's going to be a test of his best ability."
That love of competition continues to be on display heading into the final regatta of the season, the "grand finale" of the 2014-15 season… the Dad Vail Regatta which begins on Friday. When those three words were mentioned, Hayes' face immediately lit up
"Dad Vails is huge; I'm really excited," he said. "There are so many other crews at the regatta. I've gone to a lot of huge regattas before. Youth Nationals in California, Head of the Charles is enormous then the Royal Canadian Henley is also huge.
"It's always amazing to see so many rowers, just to see all the trailers filled with boats and all the rowers around," Hayes continued. "I get excited seeing boats that row well, even if I'm competing against them. It's going to be a lot of great competition. This is what we've been building for all year."
With the pinnacle of the season this weekend, Hayes has created a strong foundation in the classroom as well. Only a freshman, he has time to solidify career goals. At this point, he's heavily considering marketing.
"I switched into the Business school recently," said Hayes. "I'm thinking marketing just because advertising is really powerful and that appeals to me."
With Dad Vails during Lehigh's final exams, it's another reminder that Hayes and his teammates are true student-athletes. Most of the elite rowing schools are prestigious academic institutions.
"It's cool to go out and represent my school, especially in a sport like rowing that is so old and is such an important part of the more prestigious schools in America," he said. "All the Ivy League schools have really fast rowing teams, and other top schools like MIT and Stanford have really good rowing programs as well."
Lehigh is already at that level academically and someone like Hayes is helping create that foundation which is leading to sustained success on the water. One day, Lehigh will be mentioned with the likes of Brown, Princeton, Yale and Stanford rowing because of the high standard set by Hayes.
"Kyle represents the strong drive needed by the team through his continuous committed attitude," said Schipper. "Rowing is an unforgiving, exhausting (both mentally and physically) and time-consuming sport. Kyle consistently shows that he will do whatever it takes to lead it to future success."
"I am excited about the kind of athlete Kyle already is and what he's going to bring to our team," said Conley. "He has three more years and has already made a huge impact on our team relating to the five pillars of leadership, namely toughness, competitiveness, self-awareness, team-first and integrity. He embodies each of these and I can't wait to see him challenge himself to rise to the next level and bring his teammates along with him."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing
/ Men's Rowing
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