BRONCHO ROWING, SPRING TRAINING EDITION
By Michaela Stam, stroke seat of Varsity 8+
We departed Edmond mid-Friday afternoon for Orlando, Fla., with big smiles (finally done with mid-terms) and even bigger duffle bags packed with snacks. We were excited to finally get the chance to practice without the distractions of class and really get to focus on getting better. The 24+ hour bus ride was survivable with Pitch Perfect and benadryl.
We finally got to the University of Central Florida's practice facility Saturday afternoon, ready to be off the bus for a longer period than 45 minutes with a short row on the water. The UCF boathouse sits on a beautiful lake surrounded by tall, mossy trees and orange orchards (it literally smells like jasmine), with the 2k course right through the middle.
We got a great start to the week with Monday morning's scrimmage against UCF. It was good to get the opportunity to be competitive with a team we don't have to worry about racing in regular season and get a gauge of where we stand with another Division I school. The two-a-days are broken up by our lunch breaks to the UCF cafeteria where we get to carb-load like it's our full time job. Moms, we are alive and eating… a lot.
Over the next few days we'll continue to get better in the bright Florida sunshine before heading down to Fellsmere for a pair of duels against Barry and Nova Southeastern, two other Division II teams. Until then, it's back to the lake for more pieces, more drills, and more sunscreen.
