When Humanities teacher Deborah “Deb” Vo is not grading Popol Vuh essays or taking care of her three kids—Simeon, Teddy, and Phoebe—she's out on the water coaching through a megaphone for the SPS girls crew team. As a seasoned veteran, Vo is entering her 16th season but her life-long passion for crew began much earlier. Vo started rowing in the eighth grade and went on to win two NCAA titles for Brown University, continuing to row with a club team for years after graduating. Being an elite oarswoman herself under excellent coaches, Vo says that “each one has influenced the way I approach coaching today.”
On the girls crew team, Vo is truly an invaluable asset. Apart from transforming a group of inexperienced rowers into a well-oiled machine, Vo turns the team into a family. “Mrs. Vo reminds me every day that I am more than just a PR; she truly cares about each of us—on and off the water,” explains co-captain Maeve O’Connell ‘24. In the middle of laughing, O’Connell also includes some of her personal memories, “Her favorite word is ‘tremendous,’ and, one time, she asked me after I’d taken off my sweatshirt, ‘Do you need a license for those guns?’”
Alongside her sharp sense of humor, Vo’s favorite part about coaching crew is getting to share the sport that she loves with others: “I love getting to see athletes grow in confidence alongside their growth in strength, fitness, and skill. I love getting to see athletes surprise themselves with how fast they can go. I love getting to see the bonds that these athletes build with one another as they go through the season and beyond.” Her heartwarming dedication to and care for every individual on the team sticks with students far beyond their SPS experience. Former Student Council President Natalie Thayer ‘23 looks back on her time with Coach Vo fondly and says, “Coach Vo pushed me, both as a rower and as an individual, to live every day as a strong, powerful woman.”
Vo and the girls crew team swept Tabor Academy last week and are looking forward to their upcoming races against Phillips Andover, Hanover High, Phillips Exeter, and Deerfield Academy. These races will lead up to the NEIRA Regatta on the last weekend of May. Despite the high standards she holds her team to, Vo prioritizes the team’s passion for the sport and quotes “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame, “There is NOTHING— absolutely nothing— half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” While she hopes to lead the SPS girls crew team to glory this spring, she holds this quote close to her heart and looks forward to both an exciting and memorable season on Turkey Pond.
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