Lanie Nitsch knew this day was going to come; she had envisioned it and worked for it.
Sitting in the McAllen Memorial gymnasium, her coaches, friends and family all around, she was about sign a letter of intent continuing her athletic career at a higher education institution.
The question that remained was whether it would be volleyball or track, and it ended up being neither.
Visions don’t always come to fruition, after all, but dreams do have a funny way of becoming reality.
This is what Nitsch learned Thursday in that same gym with a larger and louder crowd gathered, as she signed her National Letter of Intent to be on the University of Texas nationally ranked rowing team.
If it wasn’t for track and volleyball, this day may have even had another twist to it. But for the 5-foot-11 Mustang, recent knee surgery put an end to the track/volleyball collegiate path. Her dad, an athlete in his own right, brought to her the idea of rowing, something doctors agreed wouldn’t have the pounding an those already damaged knees.
Looking at her physically, she fits right in with every one of those Longhorn port and starboard athletes, most coming in between 5-feet-9 and 6-feet tall.
“They said she had the right levers,” said her mom, Karen Nitsch. “She wanted to be a heptahlete which is seven events but the doctors didn’t know if her kneed would hold up for her. But because of her power and strength and work ethic that she would be a good fit. A week and a half after the camp they (UT recruiters) were at our home asking her to commit.”
What may be the most impressive note in all this is that Nitsch hadn’t rowed until she participated in a camp at UT and they had to teach her during the camp.
“I absolutely fell in love with it,” she said. “I’ve never been on the water like that. When the boat gets going, it’s crazy. I think I gained my endurance from track and power from both volleyball and track.”
Nitsch went to other camps during the summer, including perennial power Duke. The experience there, however, didn’t come close to what she experienced at UT, making her choice much simpler.
“There are amazing athletes and rowers there,” she said. “It was so hard mentally. For the first time in my life I had to ask for help with the sport. I’m so used to being the one helping – but that was real neat too.”
When she returned from that UT camp, her passion was ignited and she started working out rowing machines at nearby gyms.
“There’s nowhere to row here,” she said. “The closest place I think is San Antonio.”
Nitsch will be aided with a book scholarship and can earn more financial scholarships based on how far up she moves through the team and boats.