Rowing is one of the most physically demanding, precise and aggressive sports there is. A very underrated sport that most people do not think of off the top of their heads, rowing is not only physical, but also psychological and spiritual. As shown in the Daniel James Brown book, Boys In the Boat, a single person may be important, but the team’s spirit is the utmost significant aspect of rowing; without it, the task will not be completed and the entire team will fail. With eight rowers in the boat at one time, it is obviously extremely difficult to pull off the feat of perfect synchronicity. For example, while rowing there are “no spoken words; there is only trust that travels from person to person” (Chestnutt). An unreal power flows through the boat; each rower relies on every other rower to pull their own weight (literally) without speaking, despite what somebody’s first instinct would be that rowing is an easy sport, biased from the song Row, Row, Row Your Boat. There is no time for relief while in the midst of rowing. Although it may seem that with eight oarsmen rowing consecutively that one may …show more content…
In the midst of rowing, an oarsman needs to keep the mindset of “determination and stamina until they get to the end” (Chestnutt). Although there are multiple sports that require teamwork to excel, “the rowing aspects of teamwork are exponentially magnified. Technically everyone and everything has to be exact” (Rierson). On the water, the team does not have a lot of time for trial and error. Each oarsman must time every individual stroke perfectly, or a series of unfortunate events will follow; the boat may begin to turn, the boat can rock from each rower slamming his oar into the water at different times, or a rower can catch a crab, which is to hit the water after everyone else and immediately slow the entire boat down. Perfect synchronicity is key to the composure of the