Roughly two decades ago – it was in 1999 or 2000, she can't recall precisely – Liz Chisholm received a fateful phone call.

On the other end of the line was Jane Antil, athletic director at what was then known as the University College of the Fraser Valley.

Chisholm knew Antil's husband Tom – they were colleagues at Aldergrove Community Secondary, where Chisholm worked with special-needs students and Tom was an English teacher. Jane Antil was seeking a head coach to help build a brand-new Cascades rowing program from the ground up. Tom knew that Liz was both an active rower, and a coach who helmed the junior program at the Fraser Valley Rowing Club.

So, Liz, would you be interested in coaching the Cascades?

Chisholm's initial answer? No thanks.

She told Antil she wasn't ready yet. She'd spent most of her coaching career working with younger age groups; she thought she'd better make sure her coaching certifications were up to standard for the senior level, and then maybe revisit the idea.

Nine or 10 months later, Chisholm called her back. And the rest is history.

"Working with the age group was new, and it was a challenge, but it didn't take long and I was really enjoying it," she told GoCascades.ca this week, on the occasion of her retirement, both from her 18-year tour of duty as Cascades rowing head coach, and from her day job at UFV. Her last day of work was last Friday, May 31.

She leaves an indelible impression on UFV Athletics.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The concept of a Cascades rowing program began with a conversation between Jane Antil and Paul Sleightholme, a Fort Langley resident who wanted to create a rowing club for the community and saw an opportunity for universities to get involved. The local logging mill was closing down, and Sleightholme convinced the company to donate the land and a shed to store the racing sculls in. A floating platform and dock were added to allow access to the Bedford Channel.

There was a groundswell of interest from the UCFV student body, to the point that tryouts were held to get down to a team of 30 (men and women combined). Chisholm's specific role was formalized when Antil, in one of those early meetings with students, introduced her as the head coach, much to Chisholm's surprise.

"I consider her to be one of my best choices in hiring," said Antil, the longest-serving athletic director (1987-2002) in Cascades history. "She took us from the beginning, where we owned one used scull, and students who were willing to get up in the wee hours of the morning to practice, and she built a wonderful program from this.

"Liz really knew what she was doing. She has a very likeable personality, and the students were very happy to have her as their coach – I never had a single complaint! They also respected her, because they knew that she knew the sport."

In those early days, the Cascades' race-day uniforms were singlets ordered through the cross-country team, and they competed in boats on loan from local rowing clubs. And yet, Chisholm's charges found success in short order. At the annual inter-collegiate regatta at Deep Cove, taking on the likes of UBC, UVic and SFU, the Cascades' men's and women's crews would bring home medals each year.

Cascades rowing became a full member of the Canadian University Rowing Association in 2004, and attended its first national university championships that same year. With success came additional support from the university – rowing was one of five teams, along with men's and women's basketball and men's and women's soccer, designated as varsity sports in 2005.

'A HOME FOR LOST ATHLETES'

On the spectrum of Cascades Athletics, rowing is unique in that it's a true grassroots program. Whereas most teams on campus form their rosters by recruiting the best and brightest from the high school ranks, the vast majority of Chisholm's athletes – she estimates 95 per cent over the years – are recruited from the existing UFV student body and have no prior experience with rowing.

The ideal candidate for the rowing team is someone who participated in sports at a reasonably high level in their youth, and while they weren't able to continue at the post-secondary level, they still crave a competitive outlet.

Former Cascades rower Riley Dueck (2013-17), in a scholarship acceptance speech to a local Rotary Club, said it best: "The rowing team is a home for lost athletes."

"It definitely helps to have rowed in high school, but if you have people who were athletes in different sports, that's a great place to start," Chisholm explained. "They're so excited in what they're doing and learning. For me, having athletes seeing where they actually could go in the sport was very special."

Chisholm has an incredible track record of turning raw athletes into refined rowers. Some of her favourite highlights include:

• In 2005, the first time the Cascades took a large team to the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC's) in Montreal, Kara McFarlane (now Bertram) and twin sister Kyla turned in an outstanding performance in the lightweight women's double. They finished at the top of the B final, posting a better time than several boats in the A final and turning a lot of heads in the process.

• In 2006, Matt Douma and Gareth Newcombe were selected to compete in the prestigious Head of the Charles regatta in Boston. The event drew 7,000 athletes from 600 international rowing clubs, and the Douma-Newcombe crew finished second in the collegiate doubles, trailing only Harvard University.

• In 2010, siblings Courtenay and Spencer Landsiedel excelled in the singles at the CURC's. Courtenay qualified for the women's A final – a rare accomplishment when competing against the national powerhouse programs – and finished sixth, while Spencer won the men's B final. Both were subsequently invited to race for Team B.C. at the national championships.

• In 2013, the men's 4+ (coxswain Ben Schreiner, Stephen Wall, Adam Postmus, Mat Morrison and Andreas Tan) placed third in a field of 13 American universities at the Challenge Cup in Seattle, being beaten only by two University of Washington crews. The performance led to the establishment of the Cascade Cup, an annual head-to-head race series vs. Western Washington University.

• Four former Cascades – Postmus, Morrison, Lisa Roman and Alex Janzen – have had stints with Canada's national development team. Janzen went on to participate in the U23 World Championships in 2013, and won a silver medal at the World University Championships in 2014.

AN OLYMPIAN FROM UFV

Lisa Roman's accomplishments stand alone amongst Cascades rowing alumni, and are a crowning achievement in Chisholm's coaching career.

Roman, who hails from Langley, B.C., fit the template of a Cascades rowing recruit when she arrived on campus in the fall of 2007. She'd never participated in rowing, but she had a high-performance sport background – 14 years of figure skating, along with eight years of dance. Within a year, she was the Cascades' top female rower, and after two seasons with the Cascades, she landed a scholarship from Washington State University.

Roman has gone on to a long and much-decorated career with Canada's national team, highlighted by five medals in the women's eight from the World Rowing Championships (silver in 2014, 2017 and 2018, bronze in 2013 and 2015). In 2016, she became the first Cascades alum – across all sports – to compete in the Olympics. She was part of Canada's entry in the women's eight at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

While Roman's boat finished off the podium in fifth place in Rio, Chisholm couldn't help but marvel at the persistence she'd shown just to get there. She recalled Roman's tryout for B.C.'s Canada Summer Games team in 2009 – she'd shown up at the tryouts at Shawnigan Lake with an older boat with archaic rigging, made of wood as opposed to carbon fibre. The provincial team coach offered her a more modern vessel, but she said she'd be fine . . . got on the water . . . and beat everybody in the women's single. She went on to win three medals (gold in women's pairs and fours, silver in the eight) at the Canada Games in Charlottetown, PEI, earning national acclaim for the first time and starting her on the road to the national team.

"She's such a strong woman," Chisholm said of Roman, who is still part of the national program and is aiming to be selected for the 2020 Olympics in Toyko. "That kind of commitment (to make it to the Olympics) is incredible. She's definitely driven, and doesn't back down from much."

'A WONDERFUL TIME IN MY LIFE'

Chisholm used to rise at 4:20 a.m. most mornings to drive from her home in Chilliwack to Fort Langley and lead Cascades rowing practice. Those shockingly early alarm-clock buzzes are now a thing of the past, but she'll stay busy in retirement.

In the coming months, Chisholm will move into a new house currently under construction in Deep Bay, B.C., an hour's drive north of Nanaimo. Her daughter and three grandchildren live nearby; other children and grandkids are located in Prince George, B.C. and Toronto, so she'll be making frequent journeys eastward.

"I've got seven grandkids between the ages of five and 11, and they're my priority as far how as I spend my time," she said. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Chisholm plans to stay connected to the B.C. rowing scene, "but in a more laid-back, volunteer role." Primarily, she'll be on the water for personal enjoyment. Long Lake, near Nanaimo, is a great spot for rowing. And her new house is only 200 metres from the water – easy access for rowing trips up and down the shoreline with the grandkids.

"I think being outside puts everything in perspective," she said, reflecting on why rowing has captured her passion. "It's very relaxing, and the rowing stroke itself is very rhythmic. It doesn't feel like you're interfering on the water, because there's no noise from a motor. There's otters and seals and beavers and fish and birds and herons – all sorts of wildlife all around you.

"Several times, I've seen massive sturgeon come up and do a leap. I think it's the light in the summer, and the shape of the rowing shell above them. They come up out of the water and roll, right beside the boat."

Over the past year and a half, Chisholm has transitioned the Cascades rowing program into the capable hands of Drew Edwards, who serves as head coach of the Delta Deas rowing club and also works for Rowing B.C.

Steve Tuckwood, UFV's director of athletics and campus recreation, lauded Chisholm's contributions over nearly two decades.

"Liz has put her heart and soul into the rowing program," Tuckwood said. "The level of dedication required to take on early mornings on a chilly river in all types of weather is what differentiates rowing coaches from many others, and Liz is a testament to what it takes to be successful in the sport."

Chisholm termed her Cascades tenure "a wonderful time in my life."

"The students were what it was all about for me," she said. "Just watching the joy on their faces when their skill level is high enough that they can give everything they have on the water is so rewarding.

"I enjoyed the relationship of teaching. Ultimately, you coach so that in the end, the person can actually coach themselves. You've set them on the road, but you've given them the freedom to question things and continue to grow.

"I've seen so many athletes hang in there, overcome their doubts, and learn things about themselves. What I hear the most often from graduating athletes is that they've experienced a huge growth in confidence. That's challenged me to learn more about myself, too."