Welcome to 2012, a year that we here @friendshcrowing hope leads to great success for the current oarsmen training on Lake Quinsig and in the Hart Center.
We have a couple of things to touch upon in this post, including:
- A brief update on what the Friends Team is up to these days;
- Adam Furlong's recap of his afternoon spent watching the team during their training trip in Cocoa Beach, FL;
- A really big exciting secret that we want to tell you but we can't tell you what it is; and
- A letter from woman's alumna Mary Kate Cullen '11.
Well, lets get on with it!
The Friends Team
- Al Monte is enjoying his first season as head coach at Bucknell University, having recently returned from a very successful winter training trip in Orlando, FL. Bucknell has a strong group of guys that will be competing to make a fast 1V. Al tells us that Bucknell's spring schedule will likely include another race against Holy Cross. As soon as HC's schedule is official, we will post about it.
- After completing his first Half-Ironman in the fall, Adam Furlong is gearing up for a full year of triathlons. In 2012, he's already raced at the HITS Sprint Triathlon in Naples, FL, as well as a Warrior Dash, where he finished 22nd out of 2711 participants. Later this year, Adam will be racing in three Half-Ironmen: Florida in May, New Hampshire in August, and then either Miami or Austin in October. Adam will also race both the Sprint and Olympic distance races in the Philly Triathlon in June.
- Rick Freniere has been busy with a new addition to his family, RJ, who was born in August. Between his second child and a new role at Wellington Management, he is been pretty busy, but has continued to contribute to the organization of this group.
- Brian Mulligan is joining the team to coordinate Friends of HC Rowing's social media presence. He moved from Boston to White Plains, NY at the end of last summer to start a job with IBM. Now that he is all settled in, Brian hopes to start rowing again.
- Elle Carolan is officially continuing as our online editor, while juggling her positions at Glenmede and Philadelphia City Rowing. Sidelined the past 2.5 months with a navicular stress fracture, she is starting to slowly start running again and is looking forward to beating Adam Furlong in any running contest he enters.
Adam Furlong's Recap from Cocoa Beach
On January 21, I was lucky enough to be able to head to Cocoa Beach to catch the team practice. It was a beautiful day out, and Cocoa Beach is exactly the way it was when I went down there as part of the first winter training trip in 2007. I met the team on Kiwanis Island, where the boats are stored and where the team launches from. The first thing that I noticed was the size of the team. When I first went down in 2007, we took two eights, two spares, three coxswains, and were accompanied by Sull and Floyd. In 2012, the team in Florida made up four eights, with a few spare rowers on land and Coaches Sullivan, Pearson, and Zinter.
The next thing that I noticed was the atmosphere and camaraderie that was abound. I never experienced a poor team environment in my time at HC, but this year seems special. The guys all support each other and push each other to be better. Even with a team this big, everyone seems to get along well. With guys that have raced in the 1V now finding themselves in the 3V and vice versa, it would be expected that some guys would be pissed off and unhappy with their current situation. Rather, they focus on working harder and contributing to a fast boat, regardless of which boat it is.
After morning class races that were won by the class of 2013, the team did 5' pieces in the afternoon. I rode along with Coach Zinter, who took out 3V/1F combo boats, while Sull and Coach Pearson took out 1V/2V combo boats. I was impressed with the quality of rowing in the boats that I saw, and the intensity of the pieces:
On the way in, we met up with Sull and Coach Pearson, and the boats did some 20 stroke pieces. In the video below, the 1V/2V combo boats are on the outside with the closest boat being stroked by TJ Zaleski '12:
After practice, I had dinner with the coaches and discussed the state of the team. As confident and optimistic as coaches tend to be, "this year's boat is faster than last year's boat," etc., etc., I am willing and happy to admit that this team has the potential to be fast enough to make it into the Varsity 8 Petite Final at Eastern Sprints, and with that, hopefully earn a IRA National Championship invitation.
For more pictures and thoughts from the trip, check out @friendshcrowing and @hcmrowing.
A Really Big Secret that We Can't Share With You (Yet)...
So yea, there is some very exciting news that has not been officially announced, but it is great news for the team and the program as a whole, and we are eagerly anticipating the announcement. Keep an eye on the HC Athletics website, and don't forget to add us on twitter - @friendshcrowing, and we will make the announcement as soon as we are given the okay.
Bonus points for anyone who leaves entertaining guesses in the comments section of the website.
Letter from Mary Kate Cullen '11
I am writing to all of you to ask for your help and support. I was recently asked to run for the Boston Marathon 2012 G-Row Team. While I am looking forward to this opportunity, I cannot do it alone. I am looking to you my family, friends, teammates, and fellow rowers to assist me in raising at least $4,000.00 for G-Row.
For those who are unfamiliar with this great charity, G-Row is a program that has been around since 1998, for girls ages 12-18 who attend public schools in Boston. The program teaches these girls to row competitively, in addition to providing them with academic tutoring and valuable life skills. The combination of these opportunities open new doors for the girls to achieve more in life; in fact a large percentage of these young women who complete the program have gone on to four-year colleges.
I learned how to row my freshman year of college with Charles Putnam on the College of the Holy Cross’ Novice Crew Team, and I then progressed to the Varsity Team with Lindsay Piotti and Patrick Diggins. The four years I spent rowing in college were some of the best of my life. I became part of a team again; a team which became my second family at Holy Cross. For those of you who had the privilege of rowing for Holy Cross you know what it was like to be part of a team. You know the support you were able to find in your teammates, both in the boats and in the classrooms.
I am reaching out to you to help these girls who deserve to know what it is like to be part of a team and all the benefits they will gain growing up. I hope you can think of the opportunities that you had to be part of a team and would be willing to help me give the same opportunity to these young women. Any and all donations to this cause would be extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you and God Bless!
To donate you can send cash or checks made out to Community Rowing, Inc. or G-Row Boston to me Mary Kate Cullen, 191 Summer Street Apartment 2, Somerville, MA 02143, or you can donate online through my Razoo account http://www.razoo.com/story/Boston-Marathon-2012-Mk-S-G-Row-Team?referral_code=share
Very truly yours,
Mary Kate Cullen
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