Dreams of the HOCR Youth

The Connecticut Boat Club women’s four is all smiles after their race Sunday morning.

For Most, It’s First Time in the Big Time…and They Want More

Whether tracing the path of those who came before them or forging their own, the youth athletes of the HOCR have dreams, ambitious goals and a love of their sport that, while it may be new, is already fully formed.

“The competitive edge that rowing has and being able to like race and be all competitive was something that completely hooked me,” said Callaghan Nickerson of the Connecticut Boat Club, whose boat finished fourth in the Women’s Youth Four Sunday morning. “I mean, I’m 1,000 percent like, addicted to it now, you know, being able to have, the feeling of one boat—even if you’re with four girls or six girls—just doing it together is something that just builds community and competitive edge.”

“We just got off the water, and it was probably one of the most fun races I have ever had,” said Nickerson’s boat mate Caroline Krantz. “I mean, we just had that competitive drive and I bet we were all smiling throughout the whole race as well.

For some, rowing was in their genes before it was in their hearts. “My dad rowed in college and I grew up with this picture of him and his crew, taken from the bridge above, on the wall of his bedroom,” said Eliana Sperantsas of Phillips Exeter, whose boat finished fifth in the Youth Four. “One day when I was 10-years-old, I asked him, and he told me all about it. And I was like, oh my gosh, that sounds like so much fun! I just fell in love with the sport. I fell in love with the people that did it. And I just had such a great time.”

It’s not every high school athlete that gets to share the same stage as the most accomplished athletes in their sport. But in the Head of the Charles, high-schoolers trailer and launch next to Olympians and world champions, a privilege not lost on these young rowers.

“I think it’s just crazy,” Gracie Keyt of Phillips Exeter said of sharing the river with the sport’s elite. “I think we all felt the pressure of this [being] the biggest race in the world. Just coming through Elliot, you’ve got hundreds of people cheering you on. I think it just puts into perspective how big this event is. So many people here united around love for crew, it’s crazy.”

Whatever their success level in this week’s regatta, the high-schoolers are united in their ambition to come back to the Charles, and more particularly, committed to continuing to row for a long time to come.

“One of the beauties of rowing is that it’s just a sport you can do for a lifetime,” said Edie Fisher of Phillips Exeter.” And it’s a sport that you can do for a lifetime with the people you care about being in a boat with.”

Sophie Bell of Connecticut echoes the thought. “I really found the sport that I love,” she said, “so I really want to stay rowing for the rest of my life because I do know a bunch of people who are masters and still rowing. They actually love it and they’re really old, but they’re still able to do what they love. So that’s probably my goal.”