Crew is a water sport in which teammates work together to move their boat through the water.
All rowers are facing backwards, which means they cannot see where they are going. Their eyes and ears are called coxswains. This teammate sits in the back of the boat and is responsible for the navigation, and cooperation of all rowers in the boat.
The boat that I raced in was filled with eight other females, and one coxswain. I was part of my high school's varsity rowing team for 4 years, and I was a team captain senior year. Crew season is from March-June of every academic year.
During my career as a rower, I competed in over 25 races.
Now that you have a little background on the sport and my involvement, here are six things that being on the crew team taught me:
1. I learned how to trust others.
Rowing cannot be done alone (well unless you row a single). You have to trust your coaches to teach you the proper techniques. You have to trust your coxswain to steer the boat and let you know when the finish line is approaching during a race. But, most importantly, you have to trust the other rowers in your boat. It takes everything you've got to win a race. But it also takes everything they've got too. You cannot win a race by yourself, so you have to trust that your teammates want to win just as much as you do.
2. I learned how to recover from a loss.
You don't win every race. It's just the reality of the sport. There will be off-days. There will be competition. There will be loses. The most important part of losing a race, is training even harder for the next one. Giving everything you've got into executing an amazing comeback.
3. I learned how to push myself…HARD.
Rowing is one of the most challenging sports in the world. It is both physically and mentally draining. You have to put all of your energy into training for each and every race. During a race, you feel like your legs are giving out. You cannot feel your arms. Your lungs are on fire. Your heart is ready to beat right out of your chest. But, despite it all, you have to keep rowing. There is a team of people depending on you to finish strong. The version of you who trained for weeks for that one race, depends on you to finish strong.
4. I learned what it's like to be a role model.
From the very beginning, other rowers looked up to me on the team. I worked hard and put all of my effort into each practice. Towards the end of my rowing career, I was an experienced rower. Being an experienced rower means that every novice (new) rower looks up to you. They follow in your footsteps at practice and at races. It is one of the most empowering feelings, and it holds you accountable.
5. I built a strong relationship with my little brother (definitely the best part).
The crew season of my senior year, my younger brother Ryan was a freshman in high school. He had watched me row for three years, and decided to follow in my footsteps and tryout for the team. I taught him the basics of rowing before the season started, and by the time the season came along, he was shaping up to be a great rower. We would ride home together everyday and talk about our day. It gave us the space to have quality conversations every day, which is priceless. I watched him go from a scared freshman to a confident, experienced rower, and I can't help but feel like I was a big part of his development.
One of my crew coaches used to always say, "The way you do anything, is the way you do everything".
This might be the most important lesson that I learned from my rowing career. The way you train, is the way you will perform on race day. The way you study, will determine how well you do on an exam. The experiences that we have in life, will shape the way that we do everything moving forward.
I just want to say thank you to my coaches, teammates, and Ryan, for always believing in me, and teaching me the most valuable lessons.
And always remember,
if you give something your all, you cannot lose; because if you fall short of your goal, you will be strong enough to pick yourself back up and try again.
