Ready To Move Water

While the Boston College rowing team's chances to the dip the oars into some water is limited much of the first part of spring semester, there is no denying that they are preparing in earnest for the rigors of the upcoming season, balancing the monotony of indoor training by keeping things fresh.

"It can be the same thing, over and over," explained senior captain Claire Orzel.

Erg on the rowing machines. Run the stairs at Conte. Repeat.

Being able to be in the water on a daily basis, due to weather conditions, is just a small inconvenience for these student-athletes, who enjoy switching things up when it comes to their workouts with things such as theme weeks or intense triathlons to stimulate their competitive natures.

"We train for these triathlons that we do through BC rowing, which is a long erg session, then running and stairs," senior captain Laura Mazziotta said. "It takes over an hour to complete. It's hardcore. It's awesome."

"This is the dead of winter, in rowing terms," head coach Steve Fiske said in February. "There's definitely a point where, they've been working really hard and it's challenging. We try to mix up the workouts. We do quite a bit of cross training and a lot of time on the erg. We get on the water when we can."

The team is able to train on water once per week during these times, but the weather of late has been a hindrance to that at times.

However, they were able to break up the winter with a January trip to Florida which provided the team a bonding opportunity in a non-competitive environment.

"It's nice to break up the winter. The winter is long," Fiske wisely declared. "Going to Florida, coming together as a team mid-way through a tough stretch of training is really helpful. We also can get down there and bring the freshmen into the group in a significant way. They really get to know each other. It's a bonding trip, but it's also a key training point in the season. You're in the middle of winter. Getting back on the water is a key thing for us. It's a great trip and a necessary one to have a really good spring season."

"It's more internally focused while we're down there, racing our own boats, trying to make ourselves faster," said Mazziotta. "We're just getting ready for our first race."

And once that first race comes - versus St. Joseph's and Temple in Philadelphia on March 24 – they don't stop coming.

The very next day they race in the Cooper Invitational in Collingswood, N.J., and then see every subsequent weekend booked, and they'd have it no other way.

"It's what they really love," said Fiske. "Lining up each weekend, you're trying to perform at a high level…It's the most fun for them because each week you reset and have new competition in front of you. You want to start fast and continue to build form there. It's a little bit tricky to manage that from a motivational standpoint, but it's also really fun for them to line up and race each weekend. They've been training hard for that."

"For us, as seniors, it's really exciting to be able to race so often because it will be our last season," said Orzel. "Racing every weekend is really fun. It goes by fast."

Players Mentioned

Laura Mazziotta

Claire Orzel

Related Videos