I have the privilege of coaching rowing to a vivacious bunch of 30 High School rowers. We are Utah Crew. In addition to coaching high school kids, I also coach a group of cancer survivors from the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We are the Huntsman Cancer Institute Crew Team. Go TEAM! I enjoy both opportunities equally but what I've learned from both of them are quite different but complimentary.
Please join me while I reflect--
1. The Body is a gift and we must make it a priority to honor and nurture it.
My high school kiddies are typical high school kids with the exception of the incredible lessons they are learning through rowing. Discipline and how to nourish their bodies is going to a process for them. Here's the situation-- one of my rowers showed up at practice one day eating gummy worms. I asked her what she was eating and what else she had eaten that day. She said she missed breakfast but had a taquito for lunch and that the gummy worms were her after school snack. Yikes. I didn't exactly give her a tongue lashing for poisoning her body before demanding maximum power/focus from it but she definitely got the idea. My Huntsman rowers have a new lease on life. All of them have shared with me that through their experience with cancer, they have woken up. They have a new found respect for the gift of rejuvenation their bodies' have granted them. Many of them are deeply in tune with their bodies and dishonoring their body through poor nurtrition is not an option for them unless they want to go out of remission. I share this perspective with my High School team and I think it's having a positive effect on them. I sure hope so, anyway!
2. Connecting to Community is invaluable!
My experience with team sports was always about winning and being the best. I wanted to kick everybody's ass- even my own teammates. My collegiate rowing experience was definitely about EGO. I love how 12 step programs define EGO-- Edging God Out. My collegiate rowing experience was definitely about EGO so the lessons that I learn coaching from a recreational perspective is putting me in my place and I LOVE it! Because neither program (High School or Huntsman) are winning/butt kicking programs, we get to embrace the beauty of the sport of rowing. It is all about community! Crew is the ultimate team sport. It really is. It cannot be done alone. We all carry the 60 foot shell down to the water. Everyone has a task and everyone is important. Rowing truly embraces the concept of community. It's a totally warm 'n fuzzy experience!
3. Nature Heals!!!
I hold one particular image in my mind that effected everyone involved deeply (at least, I hope it did!). This past Fall, my high school team practiced at 5:00 AM-- yes, in the morning. It was always pitch black unless the moon was full or better yet, it was a Harvest moon! The water was perfectly still and I told my coxswains (little people who steer and motivate their rowers) to point their boats into the path of the dancing moon light. After a silent steady state piece, we stopped and I made everyone lay on the legs of the person behind them without talking. We soaked in the lunar rays and contemplated our existence. I still get the goose bumps when I think about how beautiful that morning was. I've had similar experiences with my Huntsman group. I swear Mother Nature creates perfect conditions to bless us with the healing effects of nature, community. My rowers glowed with a feeling of health and vigor in their bones! It was super special. Go Mother Earth!
4. Let Go and Let God
Yes, I do believe in God. God is love. I love God. When my coaching responsibilities are done I occasionally sneak out for a row by myself in a single scull. I am reminded of the powerlessness we really have in our external circumstances. If the water is rolly or the wind starts kicking up, I don't have control. However, what I do have control over is how I control my shell. This metaphor is just like life. We can go with the flow and maintain control over what we can and know when to let go. I could get frustrated by the waves and wind and sometimes I surely do but that doesn't get me back to our marina any faster; in fact, it's safe to say that it exacerbates the annoyingness of the conditions. Ahhhh, just let go and let God and I'm in good hands!
Rowing is a total body/mind connection. Balance, focus, proprioception and self-awareness is harnessed and developed through this sport. I LOVE teaching beginners because I need to make sure they know that everything about the sport is just a microcosm of the lovely lessons we learn in life!
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the shore. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life can be such a whore!" -- Just kidding, I couldn't remember the last verse.
4 comments on Rowing Enlightens Crew Coach
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I remeber that harvest moon on that chilly morning like it was yesterday, I even remember who I was sitting with while I enjoyed pondering about all of the positive things I had to think about at that point in my life, I appreciate all you do for me and utah crew as a coach and better yet as a friend! I can't wait to have more awesome experiences like that in the days and months to come :D
Katie-- Yes, that was a super magical morning! Thanks for writing a comment on my blog. Did you read Lessons from Laszlo yet? I'm grateful for the opportunity to support you on your path. Crew is such a great way to learn awesome lessons to live a happy, healthy life! Bless--Nicole
"Yikes. I didn't exactly give her a tongue lashing for poisoning her body before demanding maximum power/focus from it but she definitely got the idea. " Nicole honey how can you even talk about rowers poisoning their bodies, when you starve yours. Our bodies are so important and they need nutrition, now I'm not saying that gummy worms are what should be eaten but our stomachs need something to chew on. I should have expressed my feelings sooner to your face, but it's never to late. Please never share your fasting diets with the rowers. Some of them reallly look up to you and may take it the wrong way, or the right way either way is scary especially for developing bodies. Basically think carfully about what you preach.
Wow, whoever wrote this must come forward! It would be incredibly cowardly if you don't take an opportunity to talk about this with me. Fasting is an incredible spiritual connection as well as a way to clean the toxins that our environment fills us with. I wish I knew about fasting for spiritual and cleansing purposes when I was in high school! Maybe you should try it sometime. Ahimsa, please.