Jan. 18, 2008

Our winter Georgia trip was full of firsts. For some, it was the first time rowing in straight fours or with veteran rowers, for most it was the first time mixing with members of the opposite varsity or novice squad, for all it was the first strokes of our spring season, and for me it was my first point of refocus as a Bucknell novice rower. Going into this trip I thought I was fairly prepared as a rower. With the fall season on the water, a 5k race at the Occoquan and a handful of erg test and testing erg workouts completed, I felt ready to take on this trip and the spring season. However, I didn't realize how little I knew about Bucknell rowers or rowing until after our week in Elberton, Ga.

This trip allowed me to further get to know my team and realize that it is a team whose unity and work ethic is unlike any I've ever been on before. Living in a cabin with both varsity and novice gave us a chance to bond: nickname giving ("bananas"), dinner cooking/undercooking/burning and American Gladiator watching filled the hours off the water. It also gave me a chance to hear countless stories about varsity rowing. Whether it was about hard winter erg workouts or the rewarding and intense spring season, I now have a better idea of what this sport is, what it demands, and the type of athlete one needs to be to take it on.

I also learned an unbelievable amount about rowing technique and the different parts of the stroke (which I was oblivious to prior to this trip). A complex analogy of the "Bodies Exhibit" or the simplest "relax your shoulder" or "purposeful out of the bow" are pieces of coaching I will always try to consciously apply to my stroke now, instead of just trying to wildly push as hard as I can like I was doing before. Our technique work also highlighted how important teamwork and solidarity is in this sport. There is no one person scoring multiple goals like in other sports, there is one goal with multiple people working for it together. There can only be one slide and one drive, and if you aren't pushing your legs down as hard as you can or keeping you handle height as even as possible for the girls behind you or in front of you, you aren't doing your job.

Experienced rowers have told me that rowers find their legs and power multiple times throughout their career. After this Georgia trip I realize the importance of re-finding one's focus as well. The first day started with us waking up at 3:45 a.m. to take a 12-hour coach bus ride to Georgia. At hour three on the bus down I decided that we were completely nuts, but by the bus ride home I had already accepted that being nuts in this sport isn't so bad. After a focused 10 days of steady state eating, sleeping, and rowing it is exciting to feel the team building pressure and getting more intense. The insanity will continue through the last weeks of winter, but I'm okay with that because I know that when we start our drive in the spring we can say, without hesitation, we're on now!

- Katherine Palmer '11