The Ott Attack

 Every morning I would have a daily routine. At 5 a.m. I would reach over for my alarm, put on my penguin onesie, sweatpants, sweatshirt, windbreaker, sneakers, hat, gloves and storm out the door. Sometimes I would even run down the stairs with my eyes closed. I am not sure how I managed to do it, but I did.

When I walked outside I would enter the College campus in pitch black and there was no one to be seen except a van full of athletes waiting at the bottom of the hill across from the Plourde. Where would I go every day? No place better than the beautiful waters of Quinsigamond Lake in Shrewsbury, Mass.  

I have been rowing ever since I was a freshman in high school and since then I was certain I would row once I got to college. I love bodies of water. Oceans and lakes can be full of fun activities or can be just for relaxing. But not many people know about the sport of rowing.

I first heard of it from my friend Stephanie. She wanted me to join a crew team in Norwalk because my hometown, Stamford Conn., never had a rowing team.  It took a little getting used to. It did not help that Steph and I fooled around all the time and made our coach furious. But eventually, I got more serious and coach referred to join the Greenwich Water Clubs team.  

Unfortunately crew can be very costly and Steph could no longer participate. But I was determined to continue and begged my mom for the opportunity. I attended my first day of practice; it was totally different than what I was used to. There were huge girls lifting large weights and getting yelled at every minute to switch to the next station. When I talked to some of the crewmembers, they told me that they had been rowing together since they were six. I felt intimidated. 

I was nervous because I was only a beginner. But after a while it became more than a routine. Crew became my life. I would see myself progress and going up in weights. Eventually, I saw myself grow as a person. It was not until my senior year that I realized that I loved coxing. A coxswain is the person in the front of the boat that gives out orders or commands to direct where the boat is going and also critiques crewmembers to make improvements.

After my first time trying it, I was hooked. I did not want to go back to being in a lightweight boat and throwing up after every urge piece.  I felt like I was in power every time I was handed a microphone. I found my match. At the Head of the Fish Regatta, during my last year of High School, I ended up coming in first place and getting a Fish Medal.  

It was a good way to end my time with the Greenwich Water Club. I was upset to leave my friends behind. I found out before the season had ended that one of my fellow crewmates got accepted to the Olympic British Rowing Team. Maybe I did not come anywhere close to that accomplishment, but I was happy to be a part of the Assumption College Rowing Team.  

Anytime I go to Quinsigamond, it gives me that feeling of home again. I am on the lake, coxing. The only difference is, it was different people and it was so early. It was a struggle, but eventually I got used to waking up at the crack of dawn. And of course I met some pretty cool people along the way.  

Anytime we rowed up to a race, I would sing and four of my crewmates sang back. Assumption has four boats. One is meant for eight rowers, and the rest are fours.  I mostly raced in the fours because directing eight people can be quite difficult. Some accidents would occur, like our bow light falling in the water, our coach getting stuck because the motor went out, or a boat colliding with us, but we were very fortunate no one ever got seriously injured.