Continuing to Build

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Longtime Kansas State women's rowing coach Patrick Sweeney recently had conversations with five-year assistant coach Kennedy Felice about the future.

Now the future of K-State women's rowing is in Felice's hands.

K-State Athletics on May 18 announced Felice as head coach when Sweeney also announced his retirement after 22-year service to a program that steadily grew under his watch.

The third head coach in program history, Felice, a native of Manhattan, was a four-year member of the K-State rowing team from 2015-19, then she served as graduate assistant from 2020-22 prior to spending five years learning under Sweeney. Felice served as team captain her senior season and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors along with Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar-Athlete honors in 2018.

She was also a part of two Kansas Cup victories in 2018 and 2019.

K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen spoke with K-State women's rowing head coach Kennedy Felice about her new position and her long history with the program that she loves.

D. Scott Fritchen: Take me back to the moment that you learned you had been named as head coach and all that was going through your mind?

Kennedy Felice: Leading up to it, Coach Sweeney and I had a few conversations about the future and what he was thinking. In a lot of ways, even though I was a part of those conversations, it hadn't quite set in until he acknowledged that he had a conversation with (AD) Gene Taylor and (Deputy AD/SWA) Jill Shields. Following the process and I was offered the position, I had to take a moment to let it process. I love the people who are here and having the opportunity to continue building from what has been established here, it's something that in the back of your mind you hope there's a possibility you can have that opportunity, but for it to be in front of me and very real, it was exciting but it felt like a lot all at once. I want to do everything I can to continue building this program and making it something that's special because it's had such a large impact on my life.

Gene and Jill had reached out and we scheduled a meeting for me to come in, and in my mind it was almost like an interview, and I was thinking, 'What is the future of K-State rowing?' Coach Sweeney has been a part of this program for a long time, and he said when he retired it wanted to make sure the program was taken care of. So, I went into the office to have that conversation, and they formally offered me the job. It was a very quick, immediate 'Yes.' There was no hesitation or doubt. I was very grateful, excited and ready to take on this challenge.

Fritchen: What is it like taking over for a legend like Patrick Sweeney and what kind of impact has he had on your life?

Felice: Coach Sweeney has been a part of my life for over a decade now. Gene mentioned in the announcement that when you think of K-State rowing, you think of Patrick Sweeney. He came here and he had vision and wanted to build this program into what it is today. I was very fortunate that his vision gave a kid like me a chance to be a Division I athlete and learn a lot about myself and about life and be a part of an incredible community. Coach Sweeney has been a great coach, a mentor, and someone you can depend on. Following in his footsteps, in some ways I'm excited because he has built something that is so incredible in Manhattan. We're the only Division I program that operates like we do when it comes to recruiting and building up our athletes the way that we do. In some ways as well, it is intimidating just because he has had such a huge impact on this program, but I like to think that opportunities find you when you're ready. He thought I was the person to do that. I appreciate that. It's a lot to think about following in his footsteps but we have a lot of great people and athletes and our families and supporters, so I'm leaning on the fact that I have a lot of great people in my life that also want to see K-State rowing continue to be something great. That passion and persistence is going to take us far.

Fritchen: What's the first thing you did after your hiring? What was the first order of business?

Felice: I had to take a moment to process this was happening. I drove back to my office and gave Coach Sweeney a call. He had been a part of those conversations and planning to set the program up for the future, but I gave him a call to talk about it and acknowledge it had happened and what was next. He was excited. Then I thought about enjoying the moment and enjoying today while realizing we had some planning to do for the future. We still had our conference championship coming up. We had to get back to work to make sure our athletes were ready for the Big 12s that weekend.

Fritchen: Coach Sweeney grew the program over 22 years. What do you see when you think about the future of K-State rowing?

Felice: I want to keep building from what we have here. We have a great program, a great team, and we have athletes who are on the team as well as athletes we recruited coming in. I don't want to reinvent the wheel. We know what works for us at K-State. It's about continuing to reflect on how we can make that better and make sure our athletes have the best experience possible. It's about building great people and that helps them grow while they're at K-State. It's about how to make K-State rowing continue to be what it is today — with a little bit more as we go forward.

Fritchen: What exactly are the duties as head coach and what are some of your philosophies with coaching?

Felice: A big thing for me when it comes to coaching is appreciating that our athletes are people, and valuing who they are inside and outside of this space. One of the biggest draws that pulled me into K-State rowing was, yes, you're here to be a Division I athlete, but the goal was also to make sure you had a true college experience and make the most of your time at K-State. You only get college one time, and this is a fun time in people's lives in learning who they are and who they want to be. As an athlete, that's a big thing that pulled me in here, and as a coach that's something I continue to work to protect. Our whole staff makes sure our athletes enjoy their whole K-State experience and life in general.

Fritchen: From the time you joined the program as a freshman in 2015 to now, does it seem like it's been 10 years, or have the years flown by?

Felice: It doesn't feel like it's been 10 years. In a lot of ways that's a good thing. Coach Sweeney, a big thing when it comes to coaching, he says if you're not pushing the program forward or having fun, it's probably time to reflect on if this is where you want to be. That spoke a lot to me as an athlete, and as a coach as well. I genuinely love this job, and I know our athletes and staff are all a part of that. They make this a great place to be. It's been 10 years of learning, growing and appreciating all that Manhattan has to offer. As I think about the future, I think that time is going to fly by very quickly as well. I was talking to an athlete the other day and she said, 'You could be doing this for a while.' I said, 'You're right.' It's about appreciating the little things. Ten years has flown by very quickly, and I'm excited to see what we accomplish in another 10 years.

Fritchen: What are your one-year, five-year and 10-year goals?

Felice: I just had a conversation with some of my family members. They said, 'Do you think five years ago you could've pictured where you are at today?' It's one of those things that I think you can always have goals, but those goals can change as you go forward. When I think about our program, my goal is to continue to be competitive along with building good people and athletes and put as many as you can into medal contention by the time we get to our conference championship every year. I want to stay committed to that. College athletes, and rowing specifically, is in a time of transition, where the next five or 10 years will be interesting overall. So, my biggest goal is to continue making this a great experience for our athletes and help them continue to build into great people who are excited for their next chapter after K-State and just try to have fun while we're being competitive in the process.

Fritchen: You're from Manhattan, was going to K-State a no-brainer?

Felice: I'll be honest. I was pretty adamant that I wasn't going to go to K-State. I moved here right before high school. Both my parents had been in the military growing up, so we moved around a few times. We were living in Colorado and they both retired and said, 'We're moving to Manhattan.' I said, 'Manhattan, New York? That's so exciting.' They said, 'No, no, no, Manhattan, Kansas.' I said, 'Ohhhhh.' When we first moved here, it was the smallest place I'd lived, and it was just different to me not living on a military base. Being around here, a lot of people in Manhattan do go to K-State, so when I was in high school, I was committed to looking at every other school you could think of. A lot of my family lives on the East Coast and I thought that's where I wanted to end up. I wasn't feeling right. Mom said, 'Let's visit K-State.' Something just kept pulling me back here. It's a good place with good people, and when I went on a visit, I got in the car with my mom and said, 'I'm going to go here.' After I decided to go to K-State, rowing came into the picture. I was adamant I wouldn't row. I was intimidated about being a Division I athlete in a sport I didn't know. Mom pushed me to consider it. Opportunities find you when they need to. I love Manhattan and I love this place. Finding my way to K-State definitely took a little bit of time.

Fritchen: How did you join the rowing team?

Felice: I came to K-State for orientation and enrollment. One of the rowing coaches at the time saw me. I'd never talked to her before, but she marched right up to me and said, 'You're tall.' She told me she had a rowing opportunity and asked me if I wanted to consider it. I said no. Then I stepped away for a minute and my mom found the coach and gave her my name and phone number. I had a conversation with the coaches, and they talked about the program and recruiting and what they were building. I came out on a visit. I really liked what I was hearing. They invited me to walk-on to the team, and I said no again. Seventeen-year-old me was scared and intimidated. There were a lot of strong, motivated women in this space, and didn't think I fit that. Coaches are persistent, though, right? The summer I thought I was going to be another college student, and then I was moving into my dorm room, and my mom told me that I had to try rowing. I did. That was the big thing. The coaches were all very supportive and kind people. A majority of our staff have been through our program. They invested in me and saw a lot of potential that I didn't. In a year, I became a scholarship athlete.

Fritchen: You were a four-year member of the K-State rowing team, served as team captain, then served as graduate assistant, and then served as assistant coach for five years. At what point did you feel like rowing was in your blood?

Felice: In a lot of ways, even when I was on the team, you believe that rowing becomes a part of you. This team, this opportunity, you bond with your teammates and the people here in a way that — you don't have that same connection with other people in your life. We had a lot of great experiences, and we had some hard times that we navigated as a team as well and in a lot of ways I just realized early on that these were my people. I loved how rowing helped me to figure out who I was and that these people were going to impact my life for a long time. When it came to making a career out of this, I didn't necessarily see that off the bat coming out of college. I wanted to work with people, and I had a few other opportunities on campus as well as in Manhattan and some surrounding areas, but I knew that I wanted to work with people and give back. When the opportunity to coach and work with our program came up, it was an easy yes. I love that I can pay it forward.

Fritchen: What are you looking forward to the most as head coach?

Felice: The big thing for me is I love this program and these people. I've had that conversation with coaches and some alumni, and they ask, 'Is it just because you love K-State rowing, or is it because you love rowing in general?' I just think we've built something really special here, and I'm excited that I get to be a part of that. I'm just really grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of that.

Fritchen: What have you learned most about yourself during your journey?

Felice: I've just learned how to appreciate people, the process, and I know sometimes that's cliché when it comes to sports, but in all this time, winning is fun and competing and fun, but getting to appreciate who you're doing that with, and appreciating the people who are working with you, and have that same vision, and want to accomplish something we can be proud of, I've learned to appreciate people. I'm someone who can tend to be pretty independent, and I like to be a problem solver. Rowing has taught me so much in how to trust other people and appreciate other people and that you're a part of something bigger than yourself, and that's a privilege you should be proud of.

Kansas State University Athletics

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