Women's Crew Diary - Amanda Gallina
2/7/2005 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Feb. 7, 2005
A year ago, if someone told me that I would be participating in a Division I sport as a college freshman, I would have called them delusional. While I played varsity soccer in high school, I was resigned to retiring my shin guards and spikes; I prepared to focus on adjusting to life as a college student and devoting myself to academia. However, there was something compelling about the idea of learning a new sport. The many emails about crew, with smiling faces, were too persuasive to resist.
Now and then I reflect on my decision, and sometimes wonder what I was thinking - 5:30 a.m. wake-ups, freezing cold mornings on the waters, and even worse - the dreaded erg room filled with fresh memories of pain and sweat. But when such thoughts fill my head, they are quickly suppressed by the sense of team and unity, the sounds of oars clicking in unison, and the sight of eight athletes gracefully rowing in harmony.
I cannot imagine a crew-less life now. Everything about it adds something new and interesting to my life. Within the first month of school, I had a group of more than 40 friends from different backgrounds and states - all with something special and unique to offer. Together we have grown as individuals, rowers and a team. Crew has provided routine and structure to an otherwise hectic college experience. Knowing that I have practice forces me to get work done, to go to bed earlier and to stay healthy. Most excitingly, it has provided me opportunities I could have never anticipated. Miami Beach's training trip was an excellent chance to get much-needed strokes on the water, practice with varsity members, learn more about the women on the team and have an awesome two weeks on a sunny beach during Pennsylvania's cold January.
I look forward to the spring season more than anything. The novice women were able to compete in the Head of the Occoquan, our first, and only, race of the fall. All my life, I played a field sport where the ball bounces back and forth for 80 minutes and in all that time, you only touch it for a total of 5 min, so the notion of a timed race was a new concept. From the start to the finish of the Head of the Occoquan, I enjoyed an adrenaline rush that was beyond imagination. The intensity of the bodies moving forward and backward, the grunts of rowers and yells of the coxswain combined to create an indelible memory that leaves me hungry for more. I cannot wait to have more races in the spring. The novice team has so much potential and everyone is improving greatly during the winter training.
Now I behold my blistered hands proudly, feel my best after an early morning work out, train my mind to push itself when my body feels it can do no more, and anticipate once again getting out on the water we call home.
-Amanda Gallina `08