I hope all have had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday and wish you the best of Merry Holidays to come. As many of you may know, spring registration is in full swing. If you haven't done so yet, please mail or hand deliver your registration packets to Mrs. King by this Saturday, December 19th. Any packets received after this date will be charged a late fee and no registration will be accepted after the first day of practice on January 9th. If there are any prohibitive issues outside an athletes desire to row such as cost, please contact Mrs. King as soon as possible.I am very excited to get started again this spring. As I have mentioned countless times on the water, I am sure we are on the cusp of something very special in our program. I have been incredibly proud of how hard the team, the board, and the parents have worked this year and I am positive we are poised to have a fantastic spring season and beyond with continued hard work.
If you can tell from the "weekly quote" portion of this website that hasn't changed in months, one of my favorite quotes of all time is "If you want to make your dreams come true, wake up" but truly, achieving your goals takes so much more than simply waking up. Understanding your ambition and having the will to attack that goal with a daily commitment is a powerful lesson and hopefully we are teaching our athletes to take that lesson and apply it to every avenue of life. Ultimately, above all else, that is the truest merit of our challenging sport.
Of course, there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything and oftentimes doing things the right way requires so much more patience, determination, and commitment. I am proud that, to date, this program has done things the right way; in fundraising, organized governance and in training. Dollar by dollar, minute by tiring minute I'm sure with continued energy we will continue to build a program we can all be proud of. One of my favorite rowing authors, Brad Lewis said it best when talking about building a roof: "This is your first roof, and I want you to remember two things. Do it right, and finish it. Very simple-do it right, and finish it. If it takes you a month, then take a month. You can't quit, and you can't do it wrong. Get a payday out of this roof or it'll haunt you...The payday I had earned was spent long ago. More important, I had done it right, and I had finished it. The same is true for my life as a sculler."
We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the greatest thing about working hard and staying committed is that the more you practice it the better you are at weathering the storms and maintaining focus when things get tough. We may only be beginning our new journey as a club and have a long road ahead, but I am so happy to take a minute now to offer some congratulations.
I'm looking forward to getting scores from the Captain's practice this week and can't wait to get into our new erg room this winter! I hope all of you are resting and recharging for an exciting spring season!
