SWING. Do you know what that is? It’s competitive rowing’s equivalent to a hole-in-one, a walk-off home run, or a fullcourt shot. The book The Boys in the Boat, written by Daniel James Brown, is the story of the University of Washington men’s rowing team about working boys who were unlikely gold medalists at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Their story references a thing that sometimes happens in rowing that is hard to achieve and hard to define: “It only happens when all eight oarsmen are rowing in such perfect unison that no single action by any one is out of sync with those of all the others.” The ninth crew member, the coxswain, does not row. He is the only one facing forward as the eyes of the boat. Only he can see the course, judge the wind and the current, make tactical changes and coach the rowers into swing. The coxswain is the strategist responsible for coordinating the power and rhythm and is the motivating heart of the rowers. As Brown describes: “The single, whole, unified and beautiful symphony that a crew in motion becomes is all that matters. Not the individual, not the self …Rowing then becomes a kind of perfect language … It’s not hard work when the rhythm comes …” Kyle Treadway possesses this kind of team-creating rhythm. I see him as the symbolic coxswain of the Kenmore company. This leadership skill is just part of him, it seems effortless, and he seems unflappable. It comes from a life of discipline, generosity, integrity and a fierce loyalty to family. This rhythm is what brings him into each day prepared for whatever it may hold. In this era of COVID-enhanced industry issues, internal and external, a rhythm, a flow, a sort of zen is a powerful tool. Mind you, his rhythm is his alone. It is never imposed or thrust upon anyone else. It is his own high bar of personal expectation, his own “swing.” But it seems to inspire others to row as a team. Kyle Treadway Hall of Fame Inductee Introduction By Shawn Treadway Morgan 12
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