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Jacki Meinhardt

Life Lessons from the Water


I started rowing at Villanova University. Little did I know how much I would love the sport or how much crew would teach me. Twenty-five years later, I find myself coaching my kid's high school novice crew team.


The beauty of crew is that everything you learn transcends the water and the erg. As the ultimate team sport, rowing teaches you about character and integrity, things you can and should apply to your everyday life. As I contemplate forming a Junior Olympic Crew Team, I reflect on the lessons learned through this journey.


My passion is to help my athletes grow through competition, learning and sharing to influence and prepare them to become ambassadors of not just a sport but of a healthy lifestyle. Here are the most important lessons I took away from my time in the boat.

Motivation

It takes internal motivation to keep going when you are 1000 meters into a race, can feel the pain in your hands, and can barely breathe. It is at this point you remember why you love this sport. It may be subconscious because everything goes numb. The same goes for life; when you feel overwhelmed, remember that there is always an end to the race. Stay driven, stay committed, stay motivated.

Toughness

5:00 a.m. wake-ups? Practice nine times a week? Pushing yourself until you throw up or pass out? All acceptable and expected in rowing. In the off-season, it is all about numbers: how much you can lift and how fast you can row 500 meters. On the water, it is all about state-of-mind: not letting your eyes wander from the boat (even a split second) and staying perfectly in time with the person in front of you. It takes a special kind of person to be proud of the callouses on their hands. After doing this for a sport, you realize there's virtually nothing in life you can't accomplish with enough grit.


Time Management

Nine practices a week amount to a twenty hour time commitment. When you're a full-time student and involved with other extracurriculars, you have limited time for anything else. Meals happen after practice with your team, and even sleep is scheduled down to the minute. Any spare time is for homework. You become a pro at prioritizing and time management, two of the most valuable skills to apply to live outside of a sport.


Selflessness

In a boat, you drive your legs and pull on the oar for more than yourself. You pull for the other people in your boat. You work hard in the off-season because you're not just affecting your performance, but the performance of eight other people during the race season. It sometimes feels like only your numbers on an erg matter, but ergs don't float. You have to row in perfect time with everyone else in the boat. You realize that crew is a sport so much bigger than any one person. The same goes for the real world. If you live your life centered around yourself, you will eventually end up being miserable. Live for yourself but do it in a way that benefits others.


Leadership

Whether you're a captain, a novice, or an Olympic athlete, you learn to become a leader when you learn to row. Calling people out when they're not doing something to the best of their ability isn't supposed to humiliate them. If done correctly, it can be the best thing you do. Being a leader isn't about telling people what to do all the time; it's about learning how to communicate, delegate and when to step back and let someone else lead. Act the same way in life, and you will find most of your group endeavors to be successful.

Humility

You're not always going to win, be the fastest, or hit your goal time. But you will want to. How you handle defeat speaks volumes to the kind of person you are. You can choose to be angry, demoralized, and act defeated. Or you ask for feedback, seek encouragement, and make a plan on how to improve. Focus and self-motivate to work harder and smarter. This will help you succeed.

Discipline

You will push your body to its absolute limit in the boat and on an erg. Every time you come out a little bit stronger and seeing yourself improve. This advancement makes it all worth it. You will learn how to keep a boat balanced while driving as hard as you can and recovering slowly, in exact time with the person in front of you. There's no other sport that requires such extreme exactness of not only mental but physical action. Apply the same discipline in life, deadlines, assignments, and work ethic, and you will continue to succeed.

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