Every sport takes discipline, dedication, will, and strength, but there is something about rowing that unless you are truly determined, you won’t get anywhere. You’ll be dead in the water. Please don’t take that literally. I know a young man, who we will call Bud, was kind of pudgy, mean and just an outright bully. I’m not at all sure when he made the decision to become a rower, but he did. This meant he was going to have to lose a considerable amount of weight so that he would have the energy to do what would be expected of him and any potential teammate. Each mate would have to do their part in carrying their team to a victorious ride each time their boat hit the water, whether they are “sweeping” or “sculling” timing is everything. You have to have stamina to push through such a grueling ride. Bud did everything he needed to do. He was almost unrecognizable to me, but the one thing he couldn’t change was his face. I know his face anywhere. He shed all the necessary weight, he even sported a smile, and in place of the mean old bully, you found a young man full of focus, determination and desire. He now has the desire to win and for the second time he will be racing in today’s “Heat of the Charles Regatta”. I will him and all the other rowers a safe and successful ride.
Enjoy the Boston Globe’s pictures of earlier Head of the Charles Regatta experiences here:
Head of the Charles Regatta
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