yesterday there was a rowing regatta on the Occoquan...
Grant is in his Senior year at Wilson High School in Washington DC
years ago Grant's older brother rowed at Wilson HS
in Dean's years as a rower the team had a different dynamic
as a middle schooler Dean and a group of his friends all took the Alice Deal Intro to Rowing Program
they were tall and athletic
the Wilson team that surrounded my older son Dean had successes from their Freshman year on through their senior year
as Freshman several of these racers would be put in the Varsity boat
as a Senior Dean would be the Stroke on the Wilson 8 that wind the SRAA Nationals
Grant's trajectory has been different...
the success have not been as consistent
strong... but not as dominant
yet... Grant as an individual is driven
Grant's individual effort is displayed in his Erg 2K Achievements
pushing his limits
training hard in practice
working out after practice
focused and determined to get faster
and to display that effort with the 2K
Grant's PR for the 2K is sub six-twenty
AMAZING!
I botched my approach to the morning race
long story short... I arrived shortly after the Wilson Varsity 8 Finished
Grant was a tad frustrated with the results
they landed in second
it was Grant's contention that they had an inefficient turn around
this course on the Occoquan would have an out and back
the Start Line would also be the Finish Line
as Grant described it to me...
the Wilson 8 tried to take a long sweeping turn around to maintain speed
but they went a little too far and a little too wide
which caused them to slip into second
then finish 2nd for the day win the Varsity 8
so... I stuck around to see the afternoon races
where Wilson would be fielding a 4
Grant and several of the guys in the 8 would be racing in a 4 at 1:45
so... I waited
spent the time just soaking the culture
watching racers on the course
watching racers mill about the race venue
the event was a "head race"
rower's version of a time trial
so it is difficult to measure how a boat is doing
but the Wilson 4 looked fast and smooth
it did not appear as if there was a boat that would pass them
they cut through the water one direction
passing on the far side of the river
a telephoto lens would have helped
then on the return the boat came close to my perch on the rocks
not as close as to the bandstand
but close enough for the dog and myself
I cheered and whistled
the Wilson 4 got first in their category
Excellent!
Great Day on the Water!
Many of the Wilson boats had strong finishes
GO TIGERS!
