Women's Rowing Journal - Jenna Kotyk
5/23/2005 8:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
May 23, 2005
"...Reflect on your experiences and accomplishments. Remember the dedication, the pain, the jubilation, the camaraderie -- your family. Remember the feel of the oar in your hand, the swing, the perfect catch, the pull, the drive and the run of the boat beneath you. But most importantly, never forget that the glory is not in you or any individual. Instead, remember that the glory is always in the team." -- Joe Blasko, Novice Coach, Saint Ignatius HS (Cleveland) 1996-97
"Tap down Jenna."
Ok relax. Tap down. Tap down. I think I'm rushing my slide. Am I rushing? Sit up straight. Am I sitting up straight? I think I'm sitting up straight. Look at Danni, she's got it. Get your arms away. Am I still tapping down?
"Jenna don't let the handle fly around."
Oh jeez. Think horizontal. Hands in, tap down, out, body over, slow slide, keep your hands horizontal! Don't let the blade fly up at the end. Sit up straight - straighter. Slow knees, hands horizontal. It feels like it's better, is it getting better?
"Make sure you're releasing the blade, Jenna."
I'm not releasing? I thought I was releasing. Ok hands in and TAP DOWN. Try to make it smoother. How does Danni do it? You're rushing again, don't speed up the slide. Don't rush up to the catch. Is my blade catching soon enough? Swing together, sit up straighter, swing together. I just rushed my slide. And I didn't accelerate enough. This is going to be a long three weeks.
When I was first moved into the Varsity 8, I'll admit it: I was terrified -not of the coxswain (my roommate!) or the other 7 rowers, but of the possibility that my abilities would weaken the power and potential of the boat. I felt responsible for every glitch, every off-balance. There I was, a first-year rower, plucked from the comfort of 3-seat in the novice boat and transplanted into 7-seat of the Varsity 8. The transition was so bittersweet; I was thrilled to be invited into the V8, but at the same time felt disappointed to surrender my time with the other novice women - it was so difficult to watch them race without me. Talk about readjustment. But despite my nerves and apprehensions, I felt a lot of excitement to row with this new group, and wanted to prove that the coaches made a good decision; I looked forward to 5 a.m. practices, I willingly embraced pieces on the water, heck, I probably would've gladly indulged in a 7x4' erg workout! Well, let's not get too crazy...
So anyway, here I was, trying to improve and find my place in this new environment more and more each day - with each day bringing us closer to the Dad Vail Regatta, which the team had been mentioning since August. Somehow, amidst final examinations, practices, saying goodbye to friends and wrapping up my freshman year, it was finally time to head to Philadelphia. Before I knew it, we had slept, eaten breakfast, rigged the boat and were launching into our warm-up sequence for our first race: "We're going down the ladder, 5 strokes at each, ½ slide is the bottom. This is full..." Gradually we all fell into a unified zone: of the oars, of Coral's voice, and of our own resolve to give our seniors a championship to remember. We were focused and ready. We wanted the glory that our hard-work deserved. Every year in the past, the Women's V8 has been eliminated in the semi-finals. But one look at KK and Ewald and how the rest of us looked up to them, and anyone could see that our boat refused to accept that fate - we wanted the culminating feelings of this season to endure beyond the semifinal. Sure enough, we triumphantly placed fourth to advance to the Petit Finals - the best showing the V8 had ever made at Dad Vails!
I'm not sure exactly what made us come together with such distinction from one race to the next, and so markedly over the course of the entire weekend. Maybe it was the roar of the grandstands, or the aggressive competition. Maybe it was knowing that every race could easily be our season's and seniors' last, or that we were gaining the widely sought-after and deeply envied uni-tan... but whatever it was, for those 7 minutes and 31 seconds, we weren't freshman, sophomores, juniors, or seniors. We weren't novice or varsity. We weren't starboards or ports, bow four or stern four. We weren't anything but one intensely focused and driven boat of nine women, determined to show Philadelphia, our parents and friends, our coaches, ourselves, and more importantly, each other, exactly what we knew we were capable of achieving.
I think a quote by Henry Ford adequately sums up our progress and growth during those last three weeks, from my initial arrival into the boat to our second-place finish in the Petit Finals: "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." Undoubtedly, we did all three.
Maybe we're not as big as the other girls.
Maybe we don't look as... tough.
Maybe we're not as well known.
But let me tell you, three short weeks in the Varsity 8 was enough to show me that our boat has the biggest heart of them all, and certainly the most commitment to each another. After my amazing experience with such a memorable team, I'd argue that the heart has more guts, more resilience and more strength than any other muscle we could've worked on in the weight-room, and it comes naturally from pure love of this sport - whether we'll admit that we love it or not. But I'll admit it now: I'm hooked. Crab bruises, blisters, slide-bites, 5 a.m. practices, *gulp* ergging... the whole shebang. And as my body recovers and summer opens its doors, I find myself remembering the race, the people, and the experience more often and with an increasing satisfaction.
I did it. We did it. We made history.
-Jenna Kotyk '08