Video Of The Week: Fall Training with the Gauchos



This week's video comes to us from the University of California, Santa Barbara men's rowing team, and pairs a punchy soundtrack with some intense training on and off the water—as well as a healthy dose of faffing about on land. UCSB Crew is a club program for both men and women, and, like all other clubs, it depends upon alumni donations and athletes' dues to 'stay afloat,' if you'll forgive the pun. Many of us got our start at club programs, and it's important to recognize the hard work and dedication of club rowing athletes all across the country, as the standard continues to rise at the ACRA national championships. For club athletes, there is a true purity of purpose—there is no other incentive to join, and do the work, outside of love for the sport and commitment to team.

And, it can certainly lead to great things—in fact, UCLA women's head coach Amy Fuller Kearney got her start in rowing at UCSB, and went on to compete in no less than three Olympic Games (1992, 1996, and 2000), taking home a silver medal in the straight four in Barcelona. While at UCSB, Fuller Kearney and teammate Aimee Baker (who would go on to coach the Stanford Cardinal for more than a decade, twice earning Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors and winning Stanford's first-ever Pac-10 title in the varsity eight) won a national title in the varsity four.

Thanks to Max for submitting the video!

Want to suggest the next 'Video Of The Week?' Shoot us an email at rowingrelated [at] gmail [dot] com, send us your suggestion via Twitter (twitter.com/rowingrelated), or get in touch via our Facebook or Google+ pages.

-RR

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