Parker also eschews the traditional pre-race pep talk for much briefer words of wisdom.

“Nothing is more powerful than when a coach comes up to you before your final race and says ‘All you have to do is keep doing what you’ve always been doing,’” Malcolm Howard ‘05 reminisced.

Parker was even more succinct with Cashin. Also a Crimson squash player, Cashin rowed in the “Rude and Smooth” crews of 1974 and 1975. The crews which went undefeated against collegiate competition to win the “unofficial national championship” and defeated the U.S. National team en route to finishing second to the British National team at the Henley Royal Regatta.

Cashin and classmate Al Shealy also won the World Championships in 1974 and competed in the 1976 Olympics.

“In ’74, we were in Seattle to race a Washington crew full of national team members, and we were tired at the end of a tough trip where we had to go to the limit to beat Wisconsin twice the week before—we hadn’t lost in two years, and only once in four years,” Cashin wrote. “The night before, we’re falling asleep … Harry walks in and stands by the window looking out for a couple minutes at the Lake Washington in the distance.Rick, Al and I look at each other. Harry turns to walk out and as he’s leaving, he says ‘Race day.’ We just lay there saying ‘Race day? Is that it? Is that the pep talk? Is that all there is?’”

It was enough.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

They say it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Not everyone in the athletic world believes that, but Parker does.

A smaller heavyweight himself, Parker was nonetheless able to be highly successful in the single, which he trained for while he was serving in the Navy. He won gold at the 1959 Pan-American games and took fifth in the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

Perhaps because of his own success, Parker has always been willing to give smaller rowers a chance to succeed.

“I’m relatively small,” Kip McDaniel '04 explained. “I’m 6’1”; I raced at 185 pounds. I thank my stars [for Parker’s coaching]. Under other coaches I wouldn’t have the same opportunities. I think he saw in me similar qualities [to him]. I had a great opportunity that I don’t think I would have had at other programs.”

Parker’s faith in McDaniel paid off. The small heavyweight stroked the first varsity eight to back-to-back undefeated seasons and national championships in his junior and senior years.

Parker also doesn’t stress uniformity in the same way other coaches do.

“Harry is good at using what you have,” Cashin wrote. “He doesn’t change people to row a standard way-He just works the blade work and gets you using what you can do a little better.”

Parker’s egalitarian nature is not limited to talented rowers of different sizes and stroke styles. He is also eager to work with rowers of different ability levels.