Journey's End

To my faithful readers,

First, sorry for the large gap in between this, my final post, and the last post. Between traveling to New York City and spectating at Club Nationals in Camden, I haven't had much time to sit down and write an entry. Anyway, I regret to inform all that my summer rowing experience has come to an end. The team was named last Friday, and I did not make the final cut. This in no way has put a damper on my experience, as everything I've learned will without a doubt be invaluable. I've decided to go home and relax for the rest of the summer instead of participating in the Penn AC program in Philadelphia. I truly appreciate all the support given to me along the way from my friends and family, and thanks to everyone who read my scribblings. Best of the luck to the guys who are going to Beijing and to the rest of my friends still competing this summer. Thus, my project (for this summer, at least) is concluded. I'm off to the beach. Time to get tan...

Home Stretch

I'll cut right to the chase on this one: I made the cut. I've got one more week to try to show the coaches that I can take one of our boats to worlds. Practice is still going well, as we've been putting out two eights almost everyday (as opposed to fours or, more recently, a mix of the two). Both of the boats, regardless of lineups, have been matching up together really well, sometimes with the order of finish changing each piece. It seems like the guys are really making it difficult for the coaches to narrow down who belongs in the boats going to Beijing. Furthermore, the competition is about to be raised even further.

Some of the kids, specifically four, invited to camp preformed very well with their crew this season and were privileged to train for and compete overseas at the Henley Royal Regatta. This regatta is almost as old as the sport itself and is among the most prestigious rowing races in the world. Schools and clubs from all around the world come to compete with the best of the best at this elite event. The four kids at Henley will be returning early this coming week and will be competing for the same spots on the team.

It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out, and I'm very excited to know that I will be here to see it happen. I'm still having a great time and a lot of fun, but at the same time my focus is still set on making it to China. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress through this week: the home stretch. Wish me luck!

Results

It's now the Monday after the Independence Day Regatta and I am presently enjoying some time off. We're back on the water later this evening, but today was a designated day to relax and sleep in after a hard weekend of racing. Unfortunately, my four didn't end up making it out of the heat. Our heat was a tough one and we were bested by one of our boats and a Penn AC four. A rough start put our bow at the stern deck of both boats after all the stagger had been corrected (yes, there is actually staggered start on the 2k course in Philly because there's a substantial turn in the middle of the race). Both boats refused to let us gain any ground and we ended up finishing about 3 seconds off of the lead Penn AC crew and 2.5 off of our own Quantum. Our other three fours ended up in the final and finished 1st, 2nd, and 5th, with other selection camp four from our heat taking gold. We may not have done as well as all of has had hoped, but, comparing heat times, all of our boats finished within 4 seconds of each other and we still went 6:29.26, which is fairly fast.

My four, composed of Mike Gennaro (s) Chris Lutz, TJ Laher, and Loren Mead (b), tying in and warming up before our heat.

Between heats and finals on both Saturday and Sunday, Colin's sister was kind enough to have us at her house, where we ate some delicious food and proceeded to rest for afternoon racing. After the final on Saturday, one of the regatta officials who has built a strong relationship with the junior men's program over the years hosted us at a country club outside of Philadelphia. Colin cooked some burgers and dogs as we took full advantage of the club's swimming pool. After a fun-filled Saturday, all 16 of our rowers and 2 of our coxswains qualified for the final in the Intermediate Eight on Sunday, each winning their respective heat. I took my day off to explore the site and meet up with some friends who were up there racing independent of Selection Camp. Our coaches were pleased when the final came down the course, as both boats established their lead, finished first and second, and put up some fierce times. The WinTech crossed the line in 5:41.38 and the V1 in 5:44.41.

AMERICA! US Juniors (background) step on the competition in the final.

All in all, it was a great weekend. As we move forward in this week, Colin has informed us that one coxswain will be let go, so I'm still far from the line of fire. Things are really starting to move fast it seems; the four guys from Henley should be arriving next week and the team will be announced, uhoh, Friday the 13th. Exciting, no?

Judgement Day

These last few days practice has been going fairly smooth, with limited mistakes made by any of the coxswains. We've been doing pieces in 4's a lot lately, and they've all been really competitive and, most importantly, fast. Between pieces we make a lot of switches between either individual rowers or pairings of rowers. The idea behind the latter is to find combinations that move fast, regardless of what boat they are put in. I think I've been more relaxed on the water, but, if I'm not mistaken, Judgement Day is nigh. Whether it's today or tomorrow, one coxswain is soon to be out of a job. The Independence Day Regatta is just around the corner, so the pressure is on.

I've still been having plenty of fun, however, especially with the addition of the common room. At Peddie, there's actually a centralized room where a lot of the guys hang out during off time. Between four indo boards, a GameCube, and plenty of DVD's (yes, DVD player and television included) boredom around the dorm has become hard to find.

That's it for now. At this point, I'm just crossing my fingers.

*UPDATE 6/29*
The cut is now after IDR. I will be racing under the Men's Intermediate Four category on Saturday morning.

Just Relax

Well, I've officially made the (kind of) first cut. The cut dates haven't exactly been exact at this point. Instead of a mass execution of 10 rowers and 2 coxswains in one day, the coaches have issued the cuts on a more personal basis. On Friday, there were a few guys actually told they would no longer be with the team, a few were told they had the weekend to show them they deserved to stay at camp, and 16 guys were guaranteed past the first cut. Coxswains were told to wait until Saturday to hear anything.

So come Saturday, Colin tells all of the coxswains and all of the rowers on the bubble that he would meet with each of them one by one in a specific dorm room. The coxswains preceded the rowers and were brought into the room one at a time. I was in the less than ideal position of going last, so my nerves were completely shot waiting for each coxswain's 10 - 15 minute meeting. 3 go in, and all of them come out with good news (for them, anyway). The fourth coxswain, JP, came out with a disappointed but not sore expression; he was cut. Andrew has his meeting and comes out with a grin on his face. Uhoh.

I go in, expecting the worst. To my delight, Colin and Nick inform me that I'm sticking around. For whatever reason, only one coxswain was cut as opposed to the originally planned 2. Their main advice to me was just to stay relaxed on the water. The more tense I become, the more I hesitate and falter, the more flustered or confused the rowers become, and the slower the boat goes. This is perfectly understandable, considering I'm moderately to very terrified every time we launch due to pressure to perform. During this possibly final week of judgment, my main focus will definitely be on remaining composed. If I fail, I'm without a doubt out of here (as of this afternoon here is now the Peddie School). So the pressure is still on, as every coxswain is on the chopping block at this point. Phew, I think I'm going to go relax a little...

Nervous

Well almost two weeks of practice have gone by now, and first cuts are just around the corner. At this point, I think the coaches more or less already know who is going to move to Peddie to continue training and who needs to make travel plans out of Princeton. That being said, there's at least three more practices where I can influence their decision before final judgement. Colin told the coxswains that he would try to tell us who's moving on tomorrow midday, but he didn't guarantee it. I'm trying not to get too nervous, but it's kind of scary (the real scary this time) to think that I might be writing my next post in Philly...

On the fun side, the camp experience has still been nothing but great. On our rare afternoons off, some of the guys go into NYC or back home if they're local, but a lot of the action goes on at the dorms. Whether its Guitar Hero or full scale water balloon / super soaker battles, there's always something going on here. On Sunday, a group of guys and I chose to see the hilarious "Knocked Up" at a movie theater located in the mall nearby. At the mall, I purchased "Fast Food Nation" and I'm already about a third of the way through it. I feel a little weird actually doing my summer reading, but this book is actually moderately enjoyable. Anyway, all of the guys are getting along for the most part; it doesn't seem like anyone's competitive nature is inhibiting them from making friends.

That's all I got now, so wish me luck in the final practices before the first round of cuts.

Taking It All In

As the week has gone on, things have really started to heat up. I'm talking literally and figuratively here; just as the temperature has been climbing, the workouts and general intensity have skyrocketed. It's been fun practicing with some of the best high school athletes in the nation, but when you put these rowers in their element and line them up down a race course, things start to get down right scary. Now don't get me wrong, this is a good kind of scary. This is the type of scary that worries a coxswain because his 7 seat is pulling so hard at a rate 20 that he doesn't know if the oar's integrity can hold without shattering when the cadence is brought up into the mid 30's. This is the type of scary that makes a coxswain uneasy because he may have underestimated how fast these guys can actually go. This is the type of scary that terrifies a coxswain because he now knows that there are roughly 26 rowers here (not just 8 certain lightweights from Georgia) who are willing to destroy their bodies everyday, every practice, every stroke, to win. I've only been out on the water 7 or 8 times now, but the experience I've gained has been tremendous. The first round of cuts are next Sunday, and if I slip up I'm out of here and onto Philly, but I can actually say I wouldn't even be too upset. Sure I'd be bummed, and I want to make it all the way to Beijing, but I know that what I've already learned in these few days will be truly invaluble. Right now, I'm just taking it all in.