At Purdue, rowing was a Club Sport as opposed to a Varsity Sport. Varsity Sports compete in intercollegiate athletics and there are scholarships available for these type competitors. Participants in Club Sports have no scholarships; they are there simply because of the love of the sport. And it goes without saying that Club Sport participants have no visions of a professional sports career. For example, the coach of the Purdue crew received no compensation; he was a former rower, who was currently a graduate student, and he dedicated his time and expertise simply because he loved the sport.

Most of the teams that Purdue Crew competed against were not club teams, but varsity sport teams. We always had our work cut out for us.

There are numerous ways to have rowing competitions, to include a single rower in a boat (a scull), two rowers in a boat (a double scull), four rowers in a boat (a shell), and eight rowers plus a "Cox" in a shell. The Purdue Crew only rowed 8s. At about 130 pounds I was too small to row, but not too small to be a Cox.

In rowing, the coxswain sits in either the bow or the stern of the boat (depending on the type of boat) while verbally and physically controlling the boat's steering, speed, timing and fluidity. The primary duty of a coxswain is to ensure the safety of those in the boat. In a race setting, the coxswain is tasked with motivating the crew as well as steering as straight a course as possible to minimize the distance to the finish line. Coxswains are also responsible for knowing proper rowing technique and running drills to improve technique. A coxswain is the coach in the boat: in addition to following the orders of the team coach, the coxswain is connected to the way the boat feels, what's working, what needs to be changed, and how. A successful coxswain must keep track of the drill, time, pace, words of the coach, feel of the boat, direction of the boat, and safety. During a race, a coxswain is responsible for steering, calling the moves, and responding to the way the other boats are moving. Success depends on the physical and mental strength of the rowers, ability to respond to the environment, and the way in which the coxswain motivates the rowers, not only as individuals but as members of the crew.

The coxswain maintains an ongoing dialogue with the rower in the #8 seat, who is called the Stroke. This is the most important position in the boat, because the Stroke rower sets the stroke rate and rhythm for the rest of the crew to follow. The rower in the Stroke seat has to be a very calm and yet very competitive individual. A good Stroke will lead a team by bringing the best out of every rower in the boat. During a race, the Cox and the Stroke maintain a dialogue with the Cox making necessary suggestions to increase the boat's performance, and - with the agreement of the Stroke - calls for the necessary changes.

A rowing shell gains its best speed when every rower sinks his oar into the water at exactly the same time and every rower pulls his oar out of the water at the same time. This, plus every rower smoothly sliding his seat forward in preparation for the next stroke, is also key to obtaining the best possible speed. Any deviation from the above, like a rower getting his oar out of the water late or a rower rushing his slide forward, causes what is known as a "check" in the boat, which reduces its speed. The Cox is on the alert for any of these missteps and "coaches" rowers who may be creating checks.

The Cox holds two wooden handles with ropes that lead back to the shell's rudder. They can be used for steering, but turning the rudder causes drag that reduces boat speed; better to call for one side of the boat to give some extra effort, a technique which will successfully execute most turns. As an example, if the Cox wants to turn the shell to the right, he will call for his Port rowers to give even a bit more strength, and this action will accomplish the turn with minimal drag.

Purdue University is in West Lafayette, Indiana. West Lafayette and Lafayette are separated by the Wabash River, which is where the Purdue Crew worked out. The crew dock was about 2 miles from the university campus, and the way most crew members got to the site by running there. I got up at 5 AM for the run because we tried to get our practices in before classes started. A few of the seniors who had cars were given permission to drive to the site, and they did their running along the river. More important, they also provided transportation after practice for crew members to get back to the university.

For practice, rowers and the "Cox" get in their shell, and set off along the Wabash, with the coach, in a small motorboat that he steers, following nearby and giving guidance and providing feedback on the individual and collective performance of the rowers.

One of the most memorable trips I had was when we left Indiana and drove down to Tampa, Florida during the Purdue spring break. (Note that Club Teams provide their own transportation.) The University of Tampa was good enough to allow us to store our shells, which had come down from Purdue on a trailer, in their rowing shed.

We loved the Florida warm weather, especially since the Wabash River had been frozen, and we had only been "on the water" two weeks worth of practice before arriving there. We certainly were pretty ragged as we departed from the UT dock for a few days of practice on the Hillsborough River before our race with them.

Well, then came race day and you can imagine the results. Did you think UT won? Wrong! We won!! Actually we had been on the river for six weeks and we were only "ragged" while in sight of the UT dock. Then we - smoothly - had our practices. Do you think that UT might have been a little overconfident?

Being a member of the Purdue Crew was a great experience.