Seniors Lucas Austin and Alexis Yang, along with freshman Jared Hammett, have found a love for the remarkable sport of crew. Crew, otherwise known as rowing, may not be very popular in Laguna Beach, but it is huge in other places across the nation, as well as in countries like the Netherlands and England.

“The main objective of rowing is staying in sync with everyone else in the boat and getting to the finish line first,” said freshman Jared Hammett.

Various types of races occur during different times of the year. In the fall season, the majority of rowers spend their time on rowing machines and rowing steadily up and down the Newport Harbor. Springtime workouts consist of sprints, which are way more enjoyable than the fall workouts. It is also when the big competitions are held.

“The sport is unique because of its extension of the teamwork aspect. In traditional sports, you have teammates you rely on but not to the extent that it is in rowing. In rowing, you have to put aside your differences. If you don’t like someone in the boat, you have to learn to like them because if you don’t, it will mess up the entire rhythm of the boat,” said senior Lucas Austin.

In rowing, there are multiple positions within the boat. Senior Alexis Yang’s position on the team is coxswain. A coxswain is typically a smaller individual in the back of the boat stern who instructs the rowers with all of the necessary information. The coxwain knows every rower’s fitness limits and is able to strategize in order to win. In fact, the coxswain is the only person who can see where the boat is headed.

“The coxswain has to feed them all of the information they want to know, so that they don’t have to look out of the boat,” said Yang.

The other positions in the boat are the rowers, whose main job is to concentrate on moving the boat as fast as possible and leave all of the communicating to the coxswain. They must keep their heads facing into the boat and remain in tight sync with their teammates.  Out on the water, while focusing upon precision and endurance, a successful rower will find a perfect partnership with his or her teammates.

“It takes a lot of trust. Trust is like a really important part of rowing. Trust is the foundation,” said Yang.