Teaching and Rowing

Tonight was the first night of Learn To Row classes for the club. Erika and I were teaching together because we consolidated the M/W class with the T/Th class. It was actually really nice to see her go through all the first day info and be there to help. Later on she won't be able to be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays (which is why she wanted to do the M/W class in the first place) so I will be taking the lead. I had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the rest of the sessions. After the class I got the same energized feeling I get after a math tutoring session. I really enjoy teaching others about something I really love.

Rowing this morning was quite cold. We had enough guys for two 8+s though, which will probably be a rare occurrence. Pretty much every guy we have right now was there. I got to row starboard, which I really want to get more experience at doing. We did a 2k race, and it took all the concentration I had to try to keep my blade work clean. I have rowed port pretty much my whole time rowing. I only rowed starboard a couple of times at the most at St. John's. I did get to row starboard once this winter, so if I keep on bugging Peter about it, I may get some more experience.

It's kind of amazing that just switching the role of my hands takes so much getting used to. Feathering with my left hand is actually kind of tough for me. My right hand is naturally more dexterous, and now my muscle memory is locked into feathering with my right hand, so I have to fight not to feather with my right when I'm rowing starboard. There is also a change in the way my body pulls on the oar that is switched when rowing the starboard side. My right shoulder and my right hand are higher than my left and my right arm is the dominant pulling arm. I really think rowers should learn on both sides so as not to become lopsided. I hope I can become more balanced as my rowing continues.