Why do rowers make some of the most driven, resilient, and efficient people in their professional and personal circles? What makes a rowing club such an epicentre for learning and growth for junior, student, and senior athletes alike? These are two of the questions that crossed my mind when reflecting on the impact that rowing can have in our lives beyond the boat.
Having hung up my oar back in 2016, it would be understandable to assume that I have much less of a personal attachment to the sport in its most organic form; that is, the weeks of strenuous miles followed by the euphoric wins, heartbreaking losses, and lifelong memories that come with each season. While the days of competitive rowing are behind me, I continue to thank my junior rowing years for the insurmountable lessons and life skills that I learned along the way. With that, I have collated the top three lessons learned from my junior rowing career, which I believe that we cannot and should not overlook in our everyday lives.
Why do rowers make some of the most driven, resilient, and efficient people in their professional and personal circles?
First and foremost, teamwork really does make the dream work. While this is by no means a revolutionary point, no matter the situation and even after the glory days of rowing come to an end, the people around us remain the supportive glue reinforcing our enjoyment of our hobbies, academics and, later on, our working lives. I would go so far as saying that rowers are among the sportspeople most acutely aware of the importance of team cohesion. From the daily training sessions in all weathers, to the weekends and sometimes weeks at a time spent competing, season after season the team continues to drive itself forward to the next milestone. Beyond the crew itself, the hours of preparation executed by coaches, supporting staff, and of course the athletes’ families strengthen the team further still. This foundational appreciation for teamwork in every sense of the word speaks volumes in all other avenues of a rower or former rower’s life and, to me, should remain at the forefront of our minds beyond the boat.
Up next, the age-old connection between sportspeople and resilience. This is well documented and scientifically proven, but it is nonetheless worth emphasising here, particularly for rowing. As is well known, rowing is widely considered by those within international sports as the most physically demanding in the Olympic program. Not only does it require extreme endurance and strength, but also considerable mental fortitude and the ability to push yourself well beyond your limits. This foundation of physical discipline has an unmatched effect on both the cognitive abilities of the brain, and the emotional awareness to forge strong bonds of understanding to those around us. Even at the everyday level, the sort of ‘structured fun’ that comes with training, competing, and achieving your next goal undoubtedly instils a level of personal and professional strength that leads to an increased likelihood of committing to something in the long term. Whether that means revising for an exam, preparing a major presentation in the workplace, or even finishing a book that you cannot wait to put down, the robust mindset constructed in the rowing club helps to remove some of the initial mental barriers to a task that our peers may face. Going for a promotion at work? Want the top marks in class? The rower’s resilience might not get you there on its own, but it will certainly come in handy to push through the challenges and strive for greater success.
Last but certainly not least is leadership. Having temporarily stepped into a coaching role for the 2020-2021 season alongside completing a Master’s degree, I could see first-hand the correlation between leadership at the rowing club and my improved ability to lead a presentation, volunteer for a Student Ambassador role, and take control of seminar discussions throughout my studies. Coaching is a much clearer illustration of the leadership developments in rowing, but even as a rower, the ability to be coached can indirectly create confidence and a more natural ability to lead others. By learning from coaches on a daily basis and observing leadership in action, it becomes much easier to apply some of the principles used by our coaches into our own ability to take the lead.
The ability to be coached can indirectly create confidence and a more natural ability to lead others
Being in the boat is merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of the experiences and self-development that come with our sport. There is certainly no ‘one size fits all’ approach, I hope to have shed light on three of the most universally applicable life lessons that we can apply from rowing into our everyday lives. It is always important to look beyond the boat.
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