Amelia Verrecchio (’16) joined the South Jersey rowing team at the beginning of the school year. The team practices on the Cooper River.

Verrecchio said that she normally sits in the stern when the team is in an eight.

Verrecchio decided that she wanted to join the team last year, but because of schedule conflicts, she was unable to until this year.

”When I first started out, I wasn’t as fast as all of the other kids,” Verrecchio said. “Now I’ve gotten a lot better and I have brought my times down.”

It was not easy for Verrecchio to get to the same level as her teammates.

“[Rowing] really works out the entire body and it takes up a lot of time too,” said Verrecchio.

Verrecchio said that the best rowing advice that she received was from her coaches.

“[They told me] to not give up because there were so many days when I wanted to sit down and cry and stop in the middle of the water but you can’t,” said Verrecchio.

Not only do Verrecchio’s coaches give her advice, but they are also very influential to her.

“[My coaches] obviously [rowed] when they were my age,” said Verrecchio. “They experienced [what I am going through].”

A moment that Verrecchio said that she felt courageous during her time so far in rowing was when she sat in a seat that she was not comfortable in. She says that she normally rows to the right, but her coaches made her row to the left. Verrecchio said that even though she disliked rowing to the left, she still endured through it.

Although Verrecchio does love rowing so far, she does not see it as a career that she wants to pursue.

“I do love [rowing], but I wouldn’t say that it is something that I would want to do for the rest of my life,” said Verrecchio.