300 to Go

Inspirational words from Coach Alyssa:

Hey ladies,

I realized that I may not have told most of you that I'm going to be out of town for the next two weeks starting after tomorrow's practice. I'd imagine like most of your kids, I suffer from an inability to look at calendars and didn't realize that my trip was the two weeks before Diamonds. 

As my parting message (which I am sending now because I won't have a chance after tomorrow's practice), I want to call attention to the critical point in the season that we've reached. We've had a long good summer of rowing and our team break is seemingly just around the corner. We're at the point where it's a little bit harder to wake up in the morning, people roll into practice a little bit later, and one end of the boat inevitably stops hearing the coxswain's calls to split to shoulders or get out of the boat.

I like to think of this point (in the spirit of masters rowing) as the last 300 meters of our 1000 meter season. We're at the point where it hurts but something much better is just around the corner--as long as you're willing to commit to eachother, keep your head forward and enjoy the hurt.

I expect that over the next few weeks, we will bring back the focus we started with, that you will make the changes we've been asking for and you will realize that the boat moves better with sensitivity than frustration.

Like Diamonds and Nationals, I expect that this is the point at which you get on the water with such a calm, serious focus that the other crews are embarrassed before you even start the piece. So brace yourself for the last 300--this is where we crush the competition. 

Get excited for practice.