The Jewish Link and The Humble Toast would like to recognize Megan Kaplan as this week’s Sportstar of the Week. The ninth grader at Jewish Leadership Academy is a member of the Miami Beach Rowing Club. his past June, she and her crew mates won the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in the Women’s U15 coxed quad.
Megan congrats on the championship and on being recognized as this week’s Sportstar of the Week! Who is your role model and why?
My teammates at Miami Beach Rowing Club, because they are always pushing me to do my best
What is your favorite sport?
Rowing, because I am able to push myself without getting injured. I used to do gymnastics and when the new skills were too hard, I felt like giving up and I kept getting injured. But in rowing, I am mentally and physically more confident in my abilities. Mostly, I love that it’s a team sport; it’s not just me alone on the water. You have to rely on your crew mates and we have all become close friends.
What is your pregame routine?
My long list of must dos before and on race day goes like this: My friends and I will meet up the night before a race and play card games to take our minds off the race and the stress. In the car heading to the race course I’ll blast some of my favorite songs (Beyoncé or Taylor Swift). Before bringing our boat down to the water we’ll do hands in and say our team cheer. Lastly when we’re in the boat we all pass down a handshake.
What is your greatest sports accomplishment?
Winning the U15 Girls Coxed Quad at the U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals June 2023, in stroke seat.
Who is your favorite athlete and why?
Kate Knifton, she joined rowing thinking she wasn’t going to enjoy the sport and has now rowed throughout college and won the NCAA and rowed on the U.S. National team multiple times. She has pushed through injuries and inspired so many girls.
What is your earliest sports memory?
When I was younger around 6 years old I would do gymnastics summer camp. I literally would spend my whole summer doing gymnastics. I remember learning new skills and being so excited to show my mom when she would come to pick me up.
What is your funniest sports memory?
Before I started rowing I did competitive gymnastics, and at one competition I was on the uneven bars and all of the sudden I flew off the high bar and crashed into the lower bar behind me. In the moment I was very scared but thankfully I wasn’t injured. Now I laugh about it.
What is your favorite sports memory?
My favorite sports memory is from this past rowing season, when we had finished time trials at states and we were waiting for our time results. We were all 13 years old racing in a freshman category, and we didn’t know if we would advance to the next race. We were sitting down at dinner and we all opened the results at the same time to see that we did way better than expected.
The Humble Toast Star of the week will receive a $25 gift card to The Humble Toast. Please send nominees for an upcoming The Humble Toast Jewish Link Stars of the Week to [email protected]
