Women's Rowing Journal - Meghan Murphy
11/9/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
Nov. 9, 2006
As I arrived at Bucknell, I presumed I was saying goodbye to my athletic career forever. I had always been a three-season athlete, but didn't think I was really good enough at any of them to compete on the varsity level at a Division I University. I didn't want to be completely inactive as a freshman, so I tried a few different clubs. The A Cappella groups definitely didn't work out, but rowing was one activity that I was actually interested in and wanted to continue. It felt natural for me to be physically active and I loved the idea of being on a team again.
Rowing is truly unlike anything I've ever done before. Every sport I had played was on a field or court and rowing was not even offered at my high school. Despite this, within a short period of time, I was in the best shape of my life and was becoming proficient at the proper rowing techniques we learned on the erg machines. Once we started rowing on the water, I felt my college experience would have been incomplete without rowing. Gliding across the water in the boat with the wind in my hair was such an amazing experience; it felt therapeutic. Hearing the drop of the oars in the water and eight seats sliding at once made it feel like we were rowing as one person. I could not believe how quickly the hours of practice flew by. On the days when we didn't row outside, I felt seriously deprived.
Racing on the river was an incredible experience. When we sat ready to row I could already sense the adrenaline pumping. When we heard our coach shout, "Row!" and took our first strokes, we could feel the boat begin to push through the water as we muscled our oars through the motions. We quickly gained speed and could hear our coxswain shouting plenty of encouragement as well as commands to help us perform our best. We saw the other boats out of the corners of our eyes and visualized passing them. Each stroke was harder and stronger until those boats were behind us. With our backs to the finish line, we couldn't see where the race would end, but we powered through each stroke as if it were the last. When we reached the end, we began to paddle more slowly then realized how hard we were breathing and how tired our legs were, but it was all worth it. The team in the boat felt a profound sense of accomplishment and pride after each race knowing that they each gave it their best effort and had no regrets in the end.
I can't imagine my life at Bucknell without being friends with the people I have met through rowing. I feel that I have a solid bond with many of the girls on the team. I am now able to spot teammates all over campus and I feel like I belong to something unique. It helps to feel united with your teammates in Crew since each person must depend so heavily on everyone else when rowing in the boat. Although I always played team sports, none of them required synchronization or the concept that everyone must be working at 100% all the time in order to succeed. It's a new concept to me that nothing in Crew can be achieved alone (unless you are in a single). No one individually scores goals or makes great plays. Eight people cross the finish line and share the final outcome. This makes me feel even more motivated to connect with people on the team- the success of the team depends on everyone performing at their personal best. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be on the novice crew team at Bucknell this fall and am looking forward to the spring season.
- Meghan Murphy '10