S6E7 - Rowing's Cultural Connection for Pacific Islander Youth

At Peninsula Community Rowing Club, Tongan American coach Anthony Heimuli is making an impact in his San Francisco-area rowing community, providing young athletes a deeper understanding of community and self. And with his eyes set firmly on the 2026 Youth Olympics and 2028 Olympic Games, Anthony is working to establish the Pacific Islander Rowing Association to develop high-performance athletes for international competition. 

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Episode Intro
2:16 - Rowing week: On a scale of 1-10, Anthony's was a 9 while prepping two youth for New Zealand Coastal Championships
02:54 - The Huddle: A quick get to know Anthony
03:40 - The Hot Seat Q&A
05:22 - Rowing origin story: A very short-lived football career led to a rowing team tryout

07:55 - Being recruited to – and divorced by – the University of Washington

12:48 - After a 10 year rowing hiatus, coaching middle schoolers was “insane”

17:57 - The Pacific Islander community in San Francisco

20:54 - Working with community partners to introduce Pacific Islander youth to rowing

28:22 - Coaching philosophy: "It's just rowing. Let's have fun!"

31:26 - Working to make the Peninsula Community Rowing Club a recognized member of the Tonga Rowing Association

37:47 - Steady State Network news and notes

.

To see photos of Anthony, and get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website.

.

This episode was made possible in part by Breakwater Realty, RowSource, and our Patrons.

.

Steady State Podcast is written, produced, hosted, and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor and donor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

.

SHOP SSN GEAR: www.steadystatenetwork.com/shop

SIGN UP FOR THE SSN NEWSLETTER: www.steadystatenetwork.com/newsletter

MAKE A DIFFERENCE: www.steadystatenetwork.com/support 

Check out more Steady State Network here: 

FB - /SteadyStateNetwork
IG - @SteadyStateNetwork

FB - /AllieswithOars
IG - @AllieswithOars

BLUESKY - steadystatenetwork.bsky.social

Connect on FB and IG with the hosts:
Rachel Freedman - @RowSource
Tara Morgan - @CmonBarber