The evening class was however met with some hard rain. Of course the rain didn't appear until just as class was starting, but the evening Skills Development class did get an 8+ down from the racks and into slings, so that coaches Will, Paige, Victoria and I could show the Learn-To-Row class the equipment. While huddling under the tent for the safety video and other information, Will actually enjoys playing in the rain, so we all nominated him to point out the parts of the boat while we watched from the protection of the tent. The rain was strong but it was the lightening that had us send the Skills Development class home and we'll schedule a make up day for them. Rowers are tough and will go out in the rain, but the aluminum riggers on the boat tend to attract those pesky lightening bolts.
Yesterday, we were also met with rain for the Youth classes. Of course, the rain only starts when we're about to! The Learn-To-Row class had a few extra people show up, including Shane Brumley from the Skills Development class, who was a little confused on the class time. But it was great to have him in the boat to help out. Victoria was there and she coxed the boat. While just a small class, the kids did fantastic!! They were rowing on the feather on the first day and seemed to be having fun despite the rain.
Next up came the Skills class, and the rain started to wane a bit. Thinking we'd be in good shape for a dry class, we sent out a boat with 2 of the kids actually asking to cox!! Nora Scaduto and Dylan Maciel were both interested in trying it out, and both did really well figuring out how to steer the boat without having to be told. As usual though, our wonderful Dylan (A.K.A. princess) had more equipment issues so we had to stop a few times while he sorted things out. Oh, and don't you know that as soon as we launched from the dock, the rain kicked back up. The kids persevered through the rough weather and we even had Rex Carr from the Learn-To-Row class stick around for the Skills class (since Paige and Victoria, my fantastic helpers, are his sisters and thus how he gets home). Rex was a rockstar on his first day doing the stand-up drill, and trying to keep up with kids that have rowed weeks longer than he has.
Victoria wasn't quite prepared for the rain, and only had shorts on so the poor girl was freezing, but even though I had rain gear from head to toe, I discovered that my "waterproof" clothing was no such thing. At the end of class, a lot of the kids were asking about details for the racing team in the fall rather than complaining about being soaked - that's a great sign!
This morning the rain couldn't quite decide if it wanted to pick on us, so it just sort of drizzled off and on. We had both the Adult Learn-To-Row class as well as the Adult Skills Development class, but just one coach (me). The only option was to combine the two classes and work on basics. The Skills class had just 7 people, so it was good to have the Learn-To-Rowers, but it meant a lot of sitting out by everyone. Bonnie Lippencott graciously offered to cox, which was a huge help. We had 6 'newbies' and just traded out 4 people at a time in the middle of the boat. The Skills folks were very patient and Gary Schyuler (seated between 2 newbies) even helped to explain a few things throughout the class. Although it wasn't ideal not getting to row the whole time, riding in the launch proved to be fruitful as the rowers, new and returning alike, could see the various habits and body positions of those rowing. Lots of good questions were asked and when the time came to switch, I think they had a good idea of what to do and what to try to avoid.
Tonight I'll have Victoria for the early group, and Paige will be there for the later group. We also have Briana Blood, a coach up at CRI in Boston, trying to make it as she'll hopefully be coaching with us soon. Funny how work gets in the way of rowing, though. Cross your fingers that Briana can get off work in time, and that the rain holds off!
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