RILEY KERBER

Regatta Social Media

LOUISVILLE ROWING CLUB, Louisville, KY

In rowing you get to fail all the time. You get one bad stroke and two seconds later you get a new stroke to try to be better.

How did you get started with rowing and the Hooch?

I started rowing when I was 11. I started racing in 2013 at St Andrews and continued rowing at U of Louisville. I’ve probably raced every type of boat at the Hooch: double, single, pair, quad, four, eight. I’ve experienced the Hooch in all of its forms.

In 2021 was a Volunteer at the Hooch. I coached last year and will be there again this year with the Louisville Rowing Club.

What does the Head of the Hooch Social Media do?

During the Hooch, all immediate information about the line ups and races go on Twitter/X. Day-of there will be some other people helping with Hooch coverage on social media.

We want more interaction with Instagram, so we are doing a 10-day countdown with that. Also, trying to get more people to follow with that, want people to tag whenever possible. We’d love for everyone to be able to see themselves on our Instagram!

Favorite part of the Hooch?

The atmosphere, the number of people, tent city – all of it. Tent city at Hooch is special. Also watching from the finish line.

If you are racing – I’ve always really enjoyed when you come around this curve right before you get to the startup line and see 80 other singles lined up and waiting to go. It’s an incredible sight and feeling!

I’ve got lots of fond memories of the Hooch.

Any pre or post Hooch rituals?

Hooch has always been associated with the peak of Fall for me. It’s right there with Halloween and the start of November and the end cap of all the great Fall Regattas. It’s really a great transition point in my head; Fall training is done, now onto winter training. It’s also how I remember the Fall time change, it’s always that weekend. 

What has rowing meant to you in your life?

I’ve been rowing since I was 11, I haven’t left it for more than two weeks since then, so wow that’s a hard question. All of my big life associations are around rowing. It’s been the steady in the chaos of everything else.

I started a Juniors program in Fall of 2021 which has been very special. I’ve already seen people grow so much. Also, to see my love of rowing passed on to the new generations is exciting, I’m teaching kids born in 2010 (which is crazy, people born after I started rowing are now on my team).

Also, I’m now coaching this Masters Learn to Row, I get to see adults learning something new and odd. These are people who haven’t had to learn something new in a long time. Whereas with kids, who are used to learning all the time, they will keep at something until they figure it out. Adults want to know exactly how to do it, right off the bat. Seeing them grasp it, that’s very fun.  

Rowing has been a very big beneficial factor in my life, for life in general, relationships and learning. In rowing you get to fail all the time. You get one bad stroke and two seconds later you get a new stroke to try to be better. That syncs with a lot of things in life, that you can mess up and still do it over again, try again. To keep trying, even when it’s hard.

The best people I have ever met, have all been because of rowing. Rowing is the best!

Big changes of the last few years or upcoming changes to look forward to?

We are doing more with social media!

We want to connect with more people – not just rowers. You don’t have to be a rower to enjoy the event! We want to connect with the parents of rowers, this is very much an event for them. Head of the Hooch is the favorite event among rower parents I’ve talked too. We want to connect with people in the community who are interested in volunteering and know nothing about rowing.

In general, we’d love to introduce a bunch of new people to the Hooch and let them know you don’t need to row to enjoy the event!