Inside The Shell: Breanna Hayton

Nov. 21, 2011

Breanna Hayton | Rowing | Sophomore | Victoria, British Columbia

The transition to Miami… was a big one, especially culture wise. They told me to expect something completely different down here. I wasn’t expecting it and when I did come it was a bit of a reality shock but it’s been fun nonetheless.

The U…is a symbol of opportunity. Having the chance to be here both academically and athletically opens the doors for the future. The diversity on campus, and the spirit and the real sense of community support is great.

I chose Miami because…it was a combination of academics and athletics. They have a wonderful engineering program here, which is what I wanted to do, and they offered my specialty in aerospace, which was a big draw, and the rowing just was a compliment to all of that.

Rowing has given me…the opportunity to meet the most amazing people. Most of my best friends have come from rowing down here. It’s such a unique community of people and regardless of where you go or what organization you work with there’s incredible bonds that you form with these people.

I row because…I’m addicted to it. It’s terrible really if you think about the concept. But once you get into it you just fall in love with it. When you turnaround and you’re not doing it you feel guilty for it. There’s just this powerful sensation when you’re in a boat and everything is working and often you can hear this sound under the boat that we call the bubbles and its just heaven I don’t even know how to describe it.

My hometown…is Victoria, British Columbia. I think it defines who I am a little bit. It’s pretty laid back; it’s on an island so everyone runs on island time. It’s that sense of community everyone is really close. It’s just a fun vibe to be in, it certainly defined who I am as a more laidback person.

I secretly wish… that I could go back to the space race time.

I want to work with… NASA or a Space Agency. My ultimate goal is to be an astronaut. I love looking at things that have gone wrong and analyzing the situation and finding a solution for it.

I’m afraid of… jellyfish. Not a jellyfish fan.

Coach Carter is… very technical, which I really enjoy. He explains things in terms of physics and mechanics, which I can relate to. Some people like it some people don’t but I think it works.

The morning bus ride to practice is…normally pretty quiet. It’s a good sleep time.

The University of Miami is… beautiful. I mean we can walk down the middle of campus in the palm trees and the sunshine. I do some bragging with the people at home.

I admire… as an athlete I look to a hometown athlete, his name is David Calder. He is a rower as well. He rowed for the Canadian team at the Olympics. What was interesting was he had a bad run in a pair where he crossed lanes and they ended up getting disqualified. It was just the way he came back from it and really just took control and they went back to medal the next time and he’s still going strong.

Giving back is… great. If you look at how much we get and how much people give to us we often don’t even realize it. And we get to turnaround and give back. Even things as simple as holding open the door for someone. It’s just little ways and when we get to do charity work it’s really neat because you just realize how lucky you are its mind-blowing.

My guilty pleasure is… that I like food and going fast. It doesn’t really matter how, whether it’s sprinting or anything just going fast and getting that adrenaline pumping.

My mom and dad… have been a huge support system. Having me down here has been a huge opportunity to see what they put forward and what they went through to get me here.

My favorite song is… I don’t really have a favorite song I just sing what comes to mind. I have to listen to a mix of things it can t be the same.

My favorite movie is… Apollo 13.

My favorite childhood cartoon… we never had cable when I was a kid (laughs) maybe the Bernstein Bears.

Best Advice I ever received… shiny side down. The bottom of our boat is technically shiny and someone once told me it’s a good day if it’s shiny side down.

Every year I look forward to… Spring. Not necessarily here. But back at home. We have seasons they’re gorgeous. We get the Japanese plum trees and they have this huge pink blossom and there’s this point where they all blossom and everything kind of falls down so there’s this swirling of gorgeous flowers. It’s really pretty.

If I weren’t rowing I’d be… asleep (laughs). Outside probably.

When I was younger… I was convinced I was going to be a veterinarian.

I aspire to… make each day better than the last one. Whether it is getting faster or just working harder or getting smarter. Anything.

There’s no better feeling than… that perfect harmony in the boat and it feels fast.

My new coaches are… great. They have great sense of humor. They’re both coxes so they bring that real aggressive edge which is nice and they compliment coach Carter’s coaching style.

When I’m on the water… I tend to slip into this zone and I kind of don’t pay attention to everything that’s happening around. Which can be good or a little annoying at times.

The biggest risk I ever took… probably coming here.

In my spare time… I like to read, watch a movie, do something outdoors, or maybe go for a bike ride.

At the last regatta… I was in the double with Kata Horvath and the 8+ at the Hooch

It’s so exciting… everyday we go out to practice there’s just big improvements. What’s neat from an athlete’s perspective is we can tell these improvements are happening. Its not just something happening by numbers it feels better. We can see each other getting faster and the team is so positive and that really came through in the Hooch. We had a lot of good aggression on the water in both cases. It was neat to see the whole team come together. The upperclassmen, novices, recruits, just everyone bonded together and really supported each other.

This season… I’m excited about San Diego. I heard it’s a fantastic regatta to go to. And ACC Championships are always fun. Especially because there are a couple of our schools that are really close and we’re looking to pass a couple of them and close the gap.

If I could row anywhere in the world… I would say somewhere in Europe. There are some really fast teams over there. Maybe Britain or maybe the Australians. They’re really fast too.