JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Students between 7th and 12th grades can test their discipline, commitment and time management through one sport in Arlington.
The First Coast Rowing Club is the only public crew team to offer youth rowing in the neighborhood and has been going strong for 35 years.
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Through the waters of the Arlington and St. Johns rivers, athletes who are a part of the First Coast Rowing Club waste no time perfecting their skills.
High school senior Avisa Rezaei joined the team in 8th grade, and her hard work is paying off.
Rezaei is ranked second in the country in the youth single division after competing at nationals this summer.
“I have learned that when I set a goal, I will do anything to get to that goal,” the gold medalist said. “Even if it means being in pain for a little bit.”
The First Coast Rowing Club has been giving young people the chance to compete at a high level since 1990. It even offers training camps to collegiate rowers.
Rowing in college is something Vaughn Bosco has his sights set on after he grabbed a silver medal in the state championship last season in a four-person boat.
“No matter what I think I am doing, I can always give more,” Bosco said. “It is my mind that is stopping me before my body.”
Boscoe said the rowing community is special, particularly its leaders.
“We have great coaches. It teaches me a lot. I’ve learned a lot about myself, and it has disciplined me for every other aspect of my life,” he said.
One of those coaches is assistant Briggs Clarke, who has unique ties to this club.
First Coast Rowing Club’s head coach, Davis Bales, was Clarke’s high school coach in Washington, D.C.
Now, Clarke hopes to pour into the next generation of rowers.
“They are really hard workers,” Clarke said of the dozens of athletes who are members of the club. “They are incredibly hard workers, and this is a skill that is going to carry them way farther in their life than they think.”
About 40 athletes are members of the First Coast Rowing Club, which is broken into two groups: a competition team and a development team.
The competition group practices six days a week. Its only day off is on Sundays.
The development group, which is typically composed of athletes in their first year with the team or who want to do it part-time, practices three days a week.
Rezaei said all that time they spend together builds lasting relationships.
“The closest friends you make are the ones where you stick through something hard together,” Rezaei said. “The girls on my team are my closest friends because we go through the training together and the racing together.”
Several crew members and coaches say this is a sport of repetition, grit and camaraderie.
“People call rowing the ultimate team sport,” Clarke said. “The boat is not going to move as fast as it can if everybody is out of sync, if we are tipping, if we are missing water here or there.”
Those involved in the sport say they cannot imagine not having it in their lives.
To learn more about the club or how to get started in rowing, go to www.firstcoastrowing.com.