After visiting a crew practice as a college student, it's pretty easy to get nostalgic.
So here is my 2017 Captain's speech from the end of the year dinner:
When I tried out for crew freshman year I honestly didn't know what to expect. I remember Jacoby teaching me how to erg out in the hallway and I had no idea what I was doing, I had never heard of an erg before that day. And a few weeks later, I got in a boat at practice for the first time and I was TERRIFIED, mostly because I was afraid of falling in the water. There wasn’t really a novice team my freshman year since there were only about 8 freshman total, so we were with the older kids a lot. I remember at HVRL that year, one of the seniors was crying and we all thought it was because she was sad about her last race, but she said it was because she regretted never pushing her boat hard enough. That stuck with me because I knew when I left senior year, I wanted to be proud of my boat and I definitely am.
When sophomore season began, we had four really great captains- one of them being Coach Jon. They knew everything and they taught it too, I learned everything from tying down boats to rigging boats that year. Learning from them was another thing that stuck with me because I realized how important it is to teach the younger kids and it made me really happy that this year they were eager to learn. It wasn’t just seniors directing boats or grabbing rigger bags or tying down boats, it was sophomores, juniors, and freshman too. You never really stop learning on this team, especially when you have to learn a whole new rigging style the first day on the water.
It’s been a goal of the senior girls since our junior year to make a name for the girls team and especially the girls eight. Of the four years I’ve been on this team, I’ve never seen such dedication from the girls as I did this year. From preseason all the way to the last morning practice, there was a constant drive and desire to do better from pushing ourselves and each other. The best feeling was seeing not just the girls team, but everyone’s hard work pay off at HVRL when we had all 6 boats medal in their races. I couldn’t have asked for a better season or a better group of kids to have by my side.
It’s a really common saying that the crew team is a family, but we really are. I met my best friends through this sport and I get the chance to become friends with other seniors and underclassmen that I wouldn’t get to meet otherwise. Not only that, but crew kids are EVERYWHERE. Besides crew you’ll find them in the musical, on the yearbook staff, in the top 10%, working jobs after practice, or being in the art show. It’s such a diverse group of people and I love seeing everyone come together as a team each year.
As much dedication as it takes to be a rower, it also takes a certain amount of dedication to be a crew parent. Whether it’s driving us to the high school for a 4am bus, hosting a pasta party for 95 kids, or in my mom's case, driving 8 hours to Ohio for nationals, they’re always there for support. This team definitely would not be what it is without the food at the tents or the cowbells cheering us on, so thank you.
I also want to thank our coaches. If you want a true example of dedication to their sports, definitely look to them. Coach Rahman began coaching my freshman year and has grown to love the sport with us as he pushed every single kid to do their best no matter what workout we’re doing. He woke up twice a week at 5:30am to have morning practice with us so that we’d get a lift in even if we were on the water. Coach Jon drives to the reservoir every day as a college student and takes time out of his days to work with us and give advice based off of his experience rowing. Coach Mcnamara drives over from the middle school every day to host workouts at the high school for the kids not on the water. Coach Jacoby even missed his daughter’s senior prom just to be able to be at nationals with the boys four. And last but certainly not least, one of my favorite memories was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend when I pulled into the reservoir to go kayaking and Coach Hock was in the boat pen fixing the hole in the girls eight boat so that we’d be able to practice in it that week. He’s always willing to offer a helping hand and is constantly showing his dedication to the sport, so thank you guys.
And if it wasn’t obvious already, last year I co-owned with Francesca, but this year I was the Suffern Crew Twitter. It’s been a pleasure to be part of such an amazing team and I can’t wait to come back and see the great things all you underclassman will accomplish. I’ll miss this sport and I’ll definitely miss being a part of this team. Thank you.