The men's crew team is pumped up and ready for the upcoming spring season. With a young team consisting of only four seniors, the team may have to overcome some obstacles inherent to a young crew, but still has hope for a successful season on the water.
Last year's squad had a strong fall season and performed well at the New England Championships, where the second varsity eight finished third and the third varsity eight finished first. At the biggest race from last fall, the Head of the Charles regatta, the team finished in the middle of the pack, placing 24th of 53 teams.
Varsity coach Jay Britt was brought in for the fall season and faced the challenge of getting acquainted with the team, along with putting together the boats as individually cohesive units. The fall season, which is often seen as a preparatory time for spring, offered an opportunity for the Jumbos to gain a better understanding of their new coach and to create a general idea of what they hope to accomplish in the future.
Sophomore Mike Abare explained how success will result from a group effort and strong guidance by the coach and team captain.
"With solid leadership from our captain [junior] Ben Harburg, and having an entire team that rowed both in the fall and all of last year, we certainly have an experienced crew," Abare said. "That's the beauty of this sport, it's all about the team and how we can work together to accomplish our goals. Our coach has been hammering a solid work ethic and emphasizing how we should give it all we have, especially when we're on the water."
During the fall season, the Jumbos had mixed results, but overall, racing was successful. The fall season is used as a building block for the spring, and the team has spent the winter in the weight room trying to improve its performance.
The crew hopes to avoid a replay of last spring, when it struggled in the beginning of the season after shifting members around in an attempt to find a rhythm. This resulted in a few disappointing losses and the presentation of new challenges as the season continued. Even though many of the boats put up good times at the races, the Jumbos could not seem to place as well as they would have liked.
Coach Britt expressed his faith in the team, emphasizing that high morale will be important to a strong season.
"I think the guys will surprise themselves, as well as the other people in our league, when it comes time to race," Britt said. "And we're going to focus on each individual race as a separate challenge."
The team has individually strong rowers, and the challenge that it now faces is to bring together its assets and form a cohesive unit.
"We need to continue to find our identity, to find out who we are as a crew and as a team," Britt added. "And as we face each day, hopefully we'll come together for this season."
The rowers has been practicing in the early morning hours, starting at 5:45 a.m., allowing themselves the longest possible time on the water. The rigorous practices may seem daunting, but they are the only way for the team to improve its chances of reaching Nationals later in the spring.
"Throughout our grueling winter training, a lot of guys made improvements in their strength and endurance on the erg machines [rowing simulation machines]," Abare said. "And that means we'll be going faster than before and we'll be ready for action this spring."
This upcoming weekend, as spring break begins, the men will head off for double-sessions, spending much of their time focusing on improving their rhythm. The first scheduled competition is on Saturday, April 2, which will pit the men against teams from Boston College, Trinity and the Coast Guard Academy.
