Men's Heavyweight Crew Teaches Rowing at Richmond Middle School
12/2/2011 12:58:00 PM | Athletics
September, 2011 - Men's Heavyweight Crew Teaches Rowing at Richmond Middle School
By Matt Oatway, Jaeger Civic Intern
The Men's Heavyweight Crew Squad took some time off from their hectic spring schedule to share their knowledge of rowing with local middle schoolers at Richmond Middle School in Hanover. For one week, the team was guests at gym classes for 8th graders, where they taught the youngsters how to use the ergometer. During each gym class, the team would send six or seven members to team up with the kids and do and rowing themed gym class. Each class started with a session of stretching and a talk about the lives of college athletes. The kids were excited to hear about morning practices, traveling to races, and potential Olympic dreams. After a little bit of practice, the group broke up into teams for an erg relay. Captain Alex Pujol '12 and volunteer Assistant Coach Josh Patch '10 Thayer '12 organized the project.
The project was a great way for the team to positively interact with the middle school aged kids. Coxswain Julia Herringer '14 says, “The project was really fun and successful. We're happy that we were able to introduce the kids to rowing because most schools don't start rowing until High School”. Some of the kids liked the experience so much that they expressed interest in joining the crew team once they got into high school. Says Herringer, “We always see the Hanover crews out on the river, but we never really get a chance to coach them or teach them, this project was a great way to share some of our knowledge about the sport”.
After the project, the team was excited to hear about just how much of an impact they project had on the 8th graders. One Richmond Middle School student wrote to the team, “You may remember, but in the practice, on the rowing machine, I got 1:32, which I am very proud of this. Due to this little success, I am debating doing crew my freshman year at Hanover High next year.”
