By Brian Raabe
Recently appearing here at GFP was a run down of the success Greenwich Crew enjoyed at Youth Nationals in Sarasota Florida.
What cannot be captured in numbers and medals is what Greenwich Crew has meant for my kids and their development as people.
Contributed photo
There is common concern that growing up here, enjoying a variety of advantages, will spoil kids. And it does.
Where can one turn in our children’s earliest years to instill teamwork, an opportunity to experience adversity, deep discomfort? And the skill to overcome all those things.
My oldest boy “enjoyed” a winter Covid season outdoors. Ergs positioned barely out of the sleet under the small overhang surrounding the building.
Logging untold meters. Practice went on.
For all our boys, Covid or not, up well before dawn. A freezing spring season. Hands worn literally bloody raw.
Summer season, Greenwich, Sarasota stupefying heat.
Fall, Boston and Head of the Charles. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold rain. Sometimes in the same day.
Success through it all defined by cooperation. Dedication.
There’s a saying, “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” As true in crew as in life.
Adversity is certain. Your process for dealing with it is on you.
That may not sound like a great rallying cry for one to check out Greenwich Crew this summer, or in the fall.
But it is.
There is no greater endorsement if you want to prepare your children for the world beyond the benefits Greenwich provides.
Yes, Greenwich Crew excels, yes there are other sports in town. My kids have played them.
But there’s something about crew that makes never having rowed competitively a life regret.
This documentary based on the Boy’s in the Boat is worth watching. It’s fantastic. And it speaks to the side of crew that defies words.
https://www.pbs.org/video/
If you want to be a part of what the Greenwich Water Club and Greenwich Crew are doing, call them.