Kailey McKimm '25 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Kailey McKimm, and I’m a grade 11 student at Denis Morris Catholic High School. I am living in Canada but am both a Canadian and a US citizen.  Ever since the first time I went on the water I fell in love with rowing. I adore the feeling of being on the water, when it’s just you, the boat, and the open water - and of course the crew! My life has also significantly changed due to rowing. I have more drive and will-power, and I have been fortunate to be surrounded by a great team that is like my second family. By learning from my teammates, I have quickly become a leader and would also like to get a coaching certification to take on a leadership role with junior athletes at my local club.  My time in the training room, on the erg, in the classroom is all about being the best I can be and asking the same of my teammates.  We push each other and hold each other accountable.  

Having been a minimum of two-sport competitive athlete since I was four years old, I am coachable and have developed time management skills. I have been attending athletic practices more than 20 hours per week most of my life (starting with Gymnastics & Soccer, and currently Rowing & Volleyball). I am also keeping up my school with a 4.0 GPA and a part time job. I have developed as an athlete and a person by the guidance of all my coaches over the years and have learned to adapt to several coaching styles.

I am also resilient. I have fallen off bars and missed landings at gymnastics, lost tight games in soccer and volleyball, lost races and even flipped my single in winter Canadian waters. Each time, I got back up and kept going with a lesson learned and new motivation to get better. I have also had many successes. In my rookie season as a rower I got a silver at the Canadian Secondary School Championships, and followed that success with a fourth at Head of the Charles Regatta and won Head of the Schuykill Regatta in a youth women’s quad where I was a grade 10 in a boat of three grade 12s. In my sophomore year, I won both Stotesbury Cup and Canadian Secondary School Championships in a double. This past summer I learned to sweep, earning a second place finish at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in both a four and an eight. This fall I placed 9th at Head of the Charles and 2nd at Head of the Schuykrill in a youth women’s quad.  

I am now gearing up for high school season, and have qualified in a double for Stotesbury Cup (our club sends the top high school boats) and have qualified for the SRAA regatta for my first time.  I also look forward to competing back in Canada at the Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Championships. 

I look forward to joining a University rowing program where I can push myself further and surround myself with rowers that have similar priorities and drive, at a school that has a good STEM/Research program so that I can pursue a career in biology/genetics.