U Magazine, Spring 1988

Searching for the Perfect Stroke By 10h11 Stttl1erla11d

Sean Coughlin

I t's a sport whose athletes' quest for perfecti on might be compared to the quests launched for the Holy Gra il by medieva l knights of the round table. For, ju st as the noble knights devoted sweat-lade n wee ks and month s and years to prepar ing fo r unfruitful exped i– tions dedicated to finding the Grail, so do today's coUegiate rowe rs subject themselves to demanding phys ical and me ntal preparations as they strive for a rare ly attained moment of complete harmony in a row ing she ll: the Perfec t Stroke. T he Perfect Stroke, according to rowers who nearly have grasped that golden mome nt , occurs whe n e ight rowers become one. It's a momen t whe n, with muscles taut and breath in short supply, a she ll slices th ro ugh rippling waves with the same ease with which a robin soars on spring breezes. "Working for that perfection is one of the eleme nts that make crew probab ly th e most chal lengi ng team sport around ," says USO men's crew coach Joe F lohr, a large and affable man who has guided the me n's fo rtunes fo r more

than five years. "After yo u row awhile yo u realize that crew is a very fragil e sport. Everything yo u do impacts th e res t of the boat. It does n't take much fo r the whole thing to crumble," he expl ai ns in a voice wise with the knowledge th at crew's lessons teac h an individual a lot abo ut everyday life as well. In fact, F lohr says, it's this req uire– ment of me rging one's own efforts with those of teammates th at bu ild s the kind of deep frie ndships and understa ndings amo ng rowers th at tra nscend co llege grad uatio n. "You spe nd an average of fo ur hours a day with the people you row with ," add s wome n's coach John C iani , himself a fo rmer pup il of F lohr's on the men's team. "You hang out together, you eat dinner together, you spend a lot of time talking about crew. It really makes a large impact on your life." Ju st what sort of training regimen do these seekers of the Perfect Stroke subject themselves to that binds them together like brother and sister? Workouts begin in the fa ll. T hat's when the fi rst gut check arrives. At 5:45 a. m. - a time whe n most stu-

de nts on campu s are still snoozing conte ntedly in their Alcala Park beds, crew team hopefuls are rubbing their eyes and stretching their lower limbs in preparation to run up and down Torero

Teresa Rosie andherteammates hit thebeack

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