I remember those 8 min quarters 

I remember running my heart out

I remember shooting the ball 

I remember trying to focus on the free throws

I remember ignoring the crowd screaming my name

I remember hearing the buzz that almost always gave me a heart attack

I remember screaming and hugging everyone when we won

I remember leaving with my head down when we lost 

I remember all the team parties 

I remember being strong and competitive

I remember passing the ball to a teammate

I remember being champions

But now those memories are way, way, way in the back of my head

Because now I have to be in a boat rowing until I’m about to die

I have to stay in shape

I have to focus on the person in front of me

I have to make sure to feather my blade and not to catch a crab

I have to keep my eyes in the boat 

I have to trust my coxswain 

I have to make sure I don’t give up

I have to catch and feather with stroke seat

I have to pay attention to the boat gliding on the water

I have to listen to the sound that the oars make the boat is matched

I have to make sure I don’t rush

I have to have the discipline 

Up an inch, pull it out of the racks

Up and overheads, show your sides, down to shoulders

Walk it out, make sure not to hit the riggers

These are all commands you hear 

We get to the start: I see my competitions faces

Everyone sits at the catch

3/4, 1/2, 1/2, 3/4, full, high ten

I have to keep it at a 32 the whole time

I have to give it all I got on the power ten

I can’t give up now 

I know my body is screaming in pain

I can’t think of me, I have to think about the team

I have to listen to the coxswain saying were almost there

I have to give it all I have left at the sprint 

I have to listen to the crowd screaming

Because when I hear the crowd I know I’m almost done

I know the last few strokes have to be my best

When we cross the finish line it feels good

I feel accomplished 

I feel half dead but still wide awake

I hug my pair partner 

I am proud of my teammates in my boat

Up and overheads, walk it in, put it on racks

The team gets in a huddle and talks about the race

We talk about what we did well

We talk about what we could improve on

We talk about the other boats 

After all that pain and sweat we are a bigger family than ever

Because we know what everyone is feeling 

We know what we just went through

We know we couldn’t have done it without everyone working together

We know the pain and sweat that crew causes

We know we wouldn’t know what to do with our lives if we didn’t have practice

We know rowing is part of our lives 

I will remember the memories from basketball 

But I know where I belong and who my family is

Us rowers eat, practice, eat, study, eat, sleep and we repeat