You'll quickly discover that I love quotes, especially the cheesy inspirational ones. For this week's notable statement, Brad Alan Lewis, author of WANTED: Rowing Coach wrote, "Rigging is like Zen meditation. You must bend over the boat until your back is breaking, until your brain is filled with numbers and fractions of numbers, until you can accurately measure an oarlock's pitch without bothering to use the pitch meter. Only then will you see the way of eternal rigging happiness."

Reading this, whether you are familiar with the sport of rowing or not, there's something you should know: the members of a crew are obsessed with the sport. I'm talking pure, unconditional love of rowing. Well, some may not agree if you were to ask them this in the middle of a 2k, but anybody who has been given the privilege to strap in understands the attachment. I'm not saying it's easy or fun all the time, but it is all worth it when the bow ball crosses that finish line. After practice three times a week, I share a class with a few fellow teammates. I must say that it can be incredibly difficult to pay attention to complex vocabulary and theories while my mind churns with the happenings of the previous workout, what went well, what needs to be improved upon, my teammates' opinions of how they are doing and what else they want to achieve. Rowing is constantly on my radar, and I gladly sport stinky "Hoosiers Rowing" gear at training tables after a session of weights or a long run. There's something about the way a shell feels when its perfectly set on the recovery, the sight of stroke seat's intense concentration, the feeling of four or eight or two individuals putting aside their differences and moving in unison that gives me goose bumps out on the water (I have honestly been brought to tears a few times by the grace in which a boat moves once a crew figures out how to make it work, but don't tell my girls that). So basically, if you have never had the opportunity to experience what it's like to row, make sure to step outside your comfort zone and go for it someday, it may change your life as it has changed mine.

This week is a mix of recovery and weights as the gals prepare for an erg test. We've had some very beneficial practices. It's nice to be able to take as much time as we want to work on technique with ergs. Coach Steve mentioned in Monday's practice that now is the time to fine tune the changes that we want to see on the water in the spring since we have this up-close and personal time on land. The IU coxswains are focusing on working on specifics with individuals, as well as when we're set up with multiple people on sliders, and the Varsity and Novice squads have been working together wonderfully, bonding through time spent in the weight room and on the erg. A couple very cool recruits were in town last weekend as well, and they were able to have an inside look at practice and even attend the epic IU Vs. Iowa battle at Assembly Hall, as well experience the wonders of Jiffy Treat and Baked (the sources of many gained ponds seen on the weight room scale).

 
We've really got an incredible, strong willed group of athletes; Hoosier Rowing is, to put it bluntly, AWESOME.

- Gayle Lewallen, Freshman, Exploratory Major