Nov. 24, 2006

Throughout the season, members of the UNC rowing team will provide TarHeelBlue.com readers with an inside look at the Carolina program and the experience of being a varsity athlete at UNC. This installment, the ninth of the 2006-07 school year, is by Megan McMullin, a freshman from Burke, Va.

As we all headed off to our Thanksgiving destinations, our friends were not the only thing that we had to say goodbye to. Saying goodbye to University Lake, the place we spent so many of our mornings and afternoons, was not an easy task. Leaving the water, our practices actually turned out to be some of the most humorous times this fall. One of our last practices included coxswains getting a taste of the rowers' world and rowers squeezing into the coxswains' domain. Picking lineups out of a hat and doing some obscure drills really boosted team moral and reminded us how much fun Carolina rowers are. Before de-rigging and putting the boats to rest till spring, our last practice consisted of mixed lineups with our walk-on novice squad. Our first race pieces with the entire women's Carolina rowing team showed how our goal of starting the legacy truly will become a reality.

But as the leaves around the lake start to fade from their vibrant fall colors so must we transition from our fall season into winter training. On Monday we got our first taste of what winter training will be like. Focusing on our after-break 6k goals, we did a series of confidence building pieces that showed us how much faster we are capable of going. The competitive aspect of this practice was a great indicator of how much potential this winter season has to build our speed.

Feeding off the success we had this fall, all of the speed we are sure to gain this winter, there is no doubt that Carolina rowing is sure to blow some people out of the water this spring! Taking a mental break from both school and rowing I am reminded of a famous rowing quote by Jim Dietz that says, "Rowing is a sport for dreamers, as long as you put in the work, you can own the dream." So as we settle in for our after Thanksgiving dinner nap, I have no doubt that we are all dreamers.