Women's Rowing Journal - Mary Wilson
4/16/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Rowing
April 16, 2007
If someone had told me a year ago that at college I would wake up every morning at 5:15 a.m., skip spring break to go on a training trip, and spend all of my weekends from the end of March until May so that I could be a coxswain for the Bucknell women's rowing team, I would have laughed in their face. Crew has been an unexpected experience that has made my college life so much different and so much better than I ever could have anticipated. We are now more than halfway through the spring racing season, and I cannot believe that my novice career is coming to an end.
After having our only fall race cancelled, the novice girls and I entered winter training having no idea what exactly we were working for. The coaches assured us that the spring season would make all of the training worthwhile, but I know that many of us had trouble believing that. It is true that only the strong survive, because the novice rowers who remain are some of the most athletic, determined, and positive people I have ever met. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of this team.
My first regatta experience occurred in Philadelphia at the Murphy Cup. That day my novice boat and I won the gold metal in our category, and we finally felt that our hard work had paid off. We left that day more excited than ever for our upcoming races. Each week, I watch as the rowers train hard and improve their skills making the boat faster and faster. It is amazing to watch a group of girls progress so quickly. I have also had the opportunity to be the coxswain for the second varsity four. It was definitely a difficult transition to go from a boat of girls who have no idea what to expect at races, to a group of rowers who expect a lot from their coxswains and each other. The varsity girls I have worked with have helped me learn so much whether it be by telling me phrases they like to hear their coxswains say during races or explaining how to get onto a stake boat.
Everyone on the team has helped me to become comfortable in a position that I initially felt extremely awkward in. I am definitely excited for our upcoming races, in which I know all of the rowers will continue to grow and succeed.
- Mary Wilson '10