Ohio University Women's Crew

"In rowing as in life, there are competitors and there are racers. The competitor works hard and rows to his limit. The racer does not think of limits, only the race."

"Pull thy oar, all hands, pull thy oar, till thou be stiff and red and sore..."

"Rowing is a sport for dreamers. As long as you put in the work, you can own the dream. When the work stops, the dream disappears."

"Marathon runners talk about hitting 'the wall' at the twenty-third mile of the race. What rowers confront isn't a wall; it's a hole - an abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not like the windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five-hundred-meter mark, with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable...Therefore, you are going to die. Welcome to this life."

Not everybody wins, and certainly not everybody wins all the time.But once you get into your boat and push off, tie into your shoes and bootstretchers, then 'lean on the oars,' you have indeed won far more than those who have never tried."

"I think that's why I coach.. I used to get up early every morning with a clear goal in mind of how fast I was going to be. When I stopped rowing, there was a void in my daily routine. Now I go to bed at night and get up morning with a clear goal in mind of how fast you are going to be."

"Think of aerobics plus weight lifting minus the music or camaraderie. Combine unalloyed endurance with straightforward strength and demand poise, timing, and practiced form as well. Think of pure pain: that's the ergometer."

"I can teach 90% of the rowing stroke in ten minutes. The other 10% will require you a lifetime of effort to learn."

"One of the unique aspects of rowing is that novices strive to perfect the same motions as Olympic contenders. Few other sports can make this claim. In figure skating, for instance, the novice practices only simple moves. After years of training, the skater then proceeds to the jumps and spins that make up an elite skater's program. But the novice rower, from day one, strives to duplicate a motion that he'll still be doing on the day of the Olympic finals."

"Rowing is such a fine sport. Everyone goes backward, and the leader can see his opponents as they struggle in vain."

"During their college years the oarsmen put in terribly long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for pre-class practices. Both physically and psychologically, they were separated from their classmates. Events that seemed earth-shattering to them-- for example, who was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity -- went almost unnoticed by the rest of the students. In many ways they were like combat veterans coming back from a small, bitter and distant war, able to talk only to other veterans."

"You have to force yourself to stay with rowing. If you put the first of your contact lenses in your eye, that is almost a sure guarantee that you won't go back to sleep. If you can get up and past the bed, then you will reach the kitchen. If you can reach the kitchen you can reach the front door. If you reach the front door, you will reach the car, and if you reach the car, you can reach the boathouse. Each step leads to the next one. You keep pushing yourself so that you will no quit."

"For two months after Christmas vacation we limped around campus with muscles too tight and sore to walk properly, yet we had no good idea of our goal. Without knowing what a real race was like, I couldn't judge whether it was worth all the preparation, but having put in so much time already, how could we back out? Quite a few Freshman did manage to back out. After Christmas several, when freed from daily practice, decided that they liked not feeling tired all the time. Most of them vanished without a word."

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Rowing Quotes




Navigation Home History Roster Schedule Frequently Asked Questions Executive Board Picture Gallery Alumnae Connection Alumnae Directory Donations Boathouse Plans Equipment Rowing Terms Links Fun Stuff Ohio University Front Door Rowing Quotes "In rowing as in life, there are competitors and there are racers. The competitor works hard and rows to his limit. The racer does not think of limits, only the race." -Jim Dietz, Rowing Coach, USCGA "Pull thy oar, all hands, pull thy oar, till thou be stiff and red and sore..." - Dr. Sydney Dangell "Rowing is a sport for dreamers. As long as you put in the work, you can own the dream. When the work stops, the dream disappears." -Jim Dietz, Rowing Coach, USCGA "Marathon runners talk about hitting 'the wall' at the twenty-third mile of the race. What rowers confront isn't a wall; it's a hole - an abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not like the windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five-hundred-meter mark, with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable...Therefore, you are going to die. Welcome to this life." - Ashleigh Teitel Not everybody wins, and certainly not everybody wins all the time.But once you get into your boat and push off, tie into your shoes and bootstretchers, then 'lean on the oars,' you have indeed won far more than those who have never tried." (Unknown) "I think that's why I coach.. I used to get up early every morning with a clear goal in mind of how fast I was going to be. When I stopped rowing, there was a void in my daily routine. Now I go to bed at night and get up morning with a clear goal in mind of how fast you are going to be." - Chris Allsopp, freshman coach, United States Military Academy "Think of aerobics plus weight lifting minus the music or camaraderie. Combine unalloyed endurance with straightforward strength and demand poise, timing, and practiced form as well. Think of pure pain: that's the ergometer." - Barry Strauss from Rowing Against the Current "I can teach 90% of the rowing stroke in ten minutes. The other 10% will require you a lifetime of effort to learn." - Coach Robert Valerian "One of the unique aspects of rowing is that novices strive to perfect the same motions as Olympic contenders. Few other sports can make this claim. In figure skating, for instance, the novice practices only simple moves. After years of training, the skater then proceeds to the jumps and spins that make up an elite skater's program. But the novice rower, from day one, strives to duplicate a motion that he'll still be doing on the day of the Olympic finals." - Brad Alan Lewis from WANTED: Rowing Coach "Rowing is such a fine sport. Everyone goes backward, and the leader can see his opponents as they struggle in vain." - Brad Alan Lewis from Assault on Lake Casitas "During their college years the oarsmen put in terribly long hours, often showing up at the boathouse at 6:00am for pre-class practices. Both physically and psychologically, they were separated from their classmates. Events that seemed earth-shattering to them-- for example, who was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity -- went almost unnoticed by the rest of the students. In many ways they were like combat veterans coming back from a small, bitter and distant war, able to talk only to other veterans." - David Halberstam from The Amateurs "You have to force yourself to stay with rowing. If you put the first of your contact lenses in your eye, that is almost a sure guarantee that you won't go back to sleep. If you can get up and past the bed, then you will reach the kitchen. If you can reach the kitchen you can reach the front door. If you reach the front door, you will reach the car, and if you reach the car, you can reach the boathouse. Each step leads to the next one. You keep pushing yourself so that you will no quit." - Tiff Wood from The Amateurs "For two months after Christmas vacation we limped around campus with muscles too tight and sore to walk properly, yet we had no good idea of our goal. Without knowing what a real race was like, I couldn't judge whether it was worth all the preparation, but having put in so much time already, how could we back out? Quite a few Freshman did manage to back out. After Christmas several, when freed from daily practice, decided that they liked not feeling tired all the time. Most of them vanished without a word." - Stephen Kiesling from The Shell Game