Twin Cities teens learn teamwork on 'National Learn to Row Day'

EDEN PRARIE (KMSP) - Going gently down a stream really does not describe rowing a boat. Dozens of newcomers learned that on Bryant Lake Saturday morning for “National Learn to Row Day” hosted by Twin Cities Youth Rowing.

“You can kind of see by their facial expressions , it’s a lot to take in,” TCYR head coach Rebecca Newman said. “It is a beautiful sport.”

Picking up an oar was much more of an ordeal that expected for some of the teens trying rowing for the first time, but it is worth it to get on the water for something new.

“I want a sport that is not too complicated but is not really dumbed down and is also a team sport,” first-time rower Zac Holmes said.

It is a team sport that does not often cross your mind.

Some rowers at TCYR play hockey or ski, but unlike those frozen outings, getting out on a liquid lake is where many have learned the value of teamwork.

“It is just raw teamwork without communicating with each other,” rower Carter Heikkila said. “You have to understand how the person in front of you works. Rowing transfers into every other part of your life.”

For more information, go online to tcyrc.org.