Last week, the Hingham High School boys’ crew team closed out a hardworking and enjoyable spring season. From rowers and coxswains to coaches and parent volunteers, all hands were on deck for an exciting resurgence on the water. After a victorious autumn season, many athletes either dispersed from the team to engage in winter sports, or stuck with the Hingham High School Rowing Association (HHSRA) through the winter training program. Either way, when the snow finally melted, a robust force returned to the water sport ready to take on a new season.
The spring, as always, started out on the rowing machines called ergs. Naturally, after a three-month stretch of not having the full team formally together, coaches Sarah Dewey, Tyler O’Connell, and Jeff Booth wanted to have a week or two to whip everybody into shape. The workouts started off easily enough, but quickly ramped up in difficulty. Vigorous, exhausting erg pieces were planned every three days, with only a few easy workouts per week to allow for recovery. Although tiring and brutal, these first few weeks helped to dust off the cobwebs and pack some fight into all athletes.
Usually by week two or three into the season, the team makes the transition from land into water. However, due to unfortunate weather conditions like rain, hail, and wind prolonged the landlocked state of the crew team. It was only by the end of week three that practices on Hingham Harbor started to rotate into the mix of erging days. Despite the lack of water time early on, the athletes adapted quickly to being on the harbor and found their grooves in muscle memory. Although having a lack of prior experience, even the Freshmen and first year rowers caught on quickly.
Miserable conditions, aching blisters, and early, crack-of-dawn practices couldn’t puncture the team, though. Will “Vandy” Vanderweil, an accomplished Sophomore rower on the second Varsity boat, described his experience with the outstandingly physically uncomfortable environment of practice. “Even though it felt like we were getting up at 5:00 a.m. for practice every other day, I didn’t let my annoyance get the best of me,” Will stated. “Rather, I would punch back twice as hard on the days I felt I could only give half as much.” Will Vanderweil’s perseverance throughout the season reflected on all of the rowers in the top boats, but the lower-level boats also bared their teeth during the season.
On days when strength was tested in the form of 2000 or 1500 meter erg pieces, underclassmen were always trying to outperform their last scores. Resilience and passion for the sport was demonstrated by every athlete on the team, with magnificent coaches guiding them every step of the way.
A group that certainly does not deserve to go without recognition are the parent volunteers. At every race, or as sophisticated water sport enthusiasts like to call them, “regattas,” the parents of the athletes were driving the massive boat trailer to and from the lakes and rivers, donating food and other resources to the hospitality tent, which provides each rower with a meal, and setting up and dismantling the tarps and tents used for lounging around in between races. Without these dedicated parents, the team would never get off the ground. A huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped launch another season of Hingham Crew.
Although this season was undoubtedly a gigantic leap in strength, the team did not win the final championship, the MPSRA. With that being said, it was definitely not for a lack of effort. HHSRA races against private schools with funding and resources exceeding its own, and the fact that the whole team has the courage to race and even beat some of these schools is a testament to the enthusiasm every asset of this team possesses. The races were not all terrible; the boys’ 3rd and 2nd Varsity boats were invited to NEIRA, a prestigious regatta dominated by private schools that requires a certain amount of victories over the season to get into. Moreover, during MPSRA, the boys 4th Varsity emerged victorious over Wayland-Weston, earning a well-deserved gold medal.
Throughout this season, the boys on the team bonded with one another and enjoyed unserious moments, while also locking in for the head to head combat that is the hallmark of the spring season. Eugene Purtell, a Junior on the team, remarked, “The balance of having fun with my friends on the team and focusing on my erg times and races is what makes this sport so enjoyable for me.” With the aura of hard work around the whole team, the upcoming fall season may be ushered forth and taken head on.
