Navigating the Rollercoaster Ride of Youth Rowing
One day you are on the edge of a pea-green dam , wondering what the hell a crab is when it most definitely doesn ’ t have pincers and the next you feel a tinge of sadness as you unhitch a trailer of boats from your car for the last time . - By Sue Welchman
Rowing . It ’ s not for sissies , and that includes us parents , but “ No guts , no glory ,” as the saying goes . If you ’ re new to rowing , know that this is a sport that requires – and builds – a huge amount of grit . You ’ ll wince as your child , barely out of their tweens , starts gleefully comparing their blistered palms with those of their peers . The most battered palms win .
THE PARENT ’ S PERSPECTIVE
They ’ ll start using a new vocabulary , full of words like feather , stroke , erg machine , drive , finish and recovery . So will you , whether you ’ re the type of parent who reads every rowing blog that you can find in a series of ever-more-desperate Google searches , or the one who hopes you ’ ll pick it up along the way . You ’ ll start wondering whether your social life and your bank balance will ever recover .
You ’ ll wonder if the early mornings and the late nights are worth it .
Then , one day you will watch your young one dip their blade into the water , in perfect sync with three or even seven other crew members , the boat slipping across the surface like a hot knife through butter and it ’ ll all make sense .
Each stroke will carry with it a symphony of emotion – yours almost as much as your child ’ s . The seemingly endless hours of training , the fast-emptied fridge and the piles of smelly wet laundry will slip away in your imagination as quickly as the boat skims through the water . You ’ ll be prouder than you can imagine ever being .
Rowing is a crucible that forges deep friendships won through tears and triumph . It offers this to parents too .
Skottels full of eggs and bacon . The sizzle of a summer day . The blisters on the hands and the ripple of new-found physical strength . The grit they develop . It ’ s an education , for all of you .
Whether you go all in as a parent is , of course , up to you , but as with anything truly worthwhile , if you decide to invest in your child ’ s chosen sport you will reap huge personal rewards . The more you show up as a parent , practically and emotionally , the more your child can show up for their team . You ’ ll get many rewards , but the pinnacle will be the ringside seat you have to the buffering of your child ’ s core . By the end it will be steel .
You ’ ll wonder whether it ’ s all worth it . Often . For every few hours of rowing there are other hours of careful boat rigging and checking . There are early mornings doing essential strength training and evenings when boats must be packed away even though the only thing each crew member wants to do is eat and sleep .
School work must also be slotted in . Your child will find a way . They will learn to winkle every ounce of worth out of every day . You ’ ll be puff-chested , and a little awed by their drive . So will they , and what better feeling for a teenager than one of hardwon self-worth ?
You ’ ll invest in energy drinks and energy bars , packets of probiotics ( because South Africa ’ s dams and rivers need tender loving care they are not getting ) and boxes and boxes of tissues . There will be tears of pride and tears of dejection - rowing ’ s lows are very low , it ’ s highs are stratospheric . Each one holds a lesson .
Rowing is the ultimate team sport . It ’ s only when a crew is rowing in perfect synchronicity that their efforts make sense . In one way , no off days are allowed , in another , the whole team must learn that when one member is having an off day the others must band together to carry them over the line .
And then , one day , there you ’ ll be , on the edge of a dam , a fish eagle calling above as the mist swirls off the water and the aroma of coffee filters through the air . You will know it is the last time you will have to shout , “ Row !”. There will be relief , sure , but there will be sadness , because the best experiences are the ones we have to fight for .
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