Meghan Galloway likes being different. That’s one of the reasons she took up a sport that most people only see on TV once
every four years during the Olympics. She likes to throw around names like coxswain, sculling and slide, because most people don’t have a clue what they mean. It’s sort of a conversation starter, she said.
Meghan, a junior at Kempner High School, followed her mom, Paula, into the sport
of rowing when she was just 12. After tagging along with her for awhile and
seeing college kids go really fast, Meghan thought it looked fun so she gave it
a try. The first time she competed she was part of a mixed quad as a coxswain,
the person who steers the shell, the on-the-water coach and the crew motivator.
Meghan and Paula are members of the Greater Houston Rowing Club. Paula’s even the club’s vice president. Together, this mother and daughter team make a double and recently received a gold medal in the women’s open division of 2008 Marathon Rowing Championships in Natchitoches, La. The
annual marathon, a 26.2 mile event, was divided into several divisions
representing nearly 40 rowing clubs, from 14 states.
“It took us about four hours to finish. At mile 13, the wind changed direction
and that was hard,” said Meghan. “Towards the end, I kept looking at the mile markers.”
For five years Paula was devoted to karate and earned a second degree black
belt. About eight years ago, at a time when an injury sidelined her from
martial arts, she needed a low impact sport instead. She saw a local newspaper
article about the sport of rowing and it piqued her interest even though she
didn’t know how to swim. She calls the sport her mid-life crisis.
“I never thought I’d find a sport I love as much as this,” said Paula. “There’s this 74-year-old guy from Dallas who rows. He’s fit like Jack La Lane. A guy like that inspires you.”
Rowing is great for relationship building, including mothers and daughters.
Rowers must communicate as they strive for perfect synchronization in the boat.
“The less people in the boat, the harder it is,” said Paula. “In a double, you have to know each other pretty well.”
Meghan and Paula row at Oyster Creek for practice. Paula rows in the morning
before going to work, about four times a week. Meghan, because of school and
commitments to several other activities, practices once or twice a week before
a race.
The crew that makes rowing look easy is most likely the one doing the best job.
Yet, few sports are as physically demanding to the entire body as rowing. It is
said that cross-country skiers and long distance speed skaters are comparable
in terms of the physical demands the sport places on the athletes. To be a good
rower, athletes must possess the leg power of a speed skater, the back strength
of a weight lifter, the endurance of a marathon runner, the reflexes of a
sprinter and the balance of a skate boarder.
“I like doing sprints (instead of marathons). I like to see how long I can last
and how fast I can go. I would like to do more races,” said Meghan. “I finally think I’m good at it. I’m more confident and feel more comfortable.”
Meghan has tried other sports—gymnastics, cheerleading, ballet, ice skating and basketball—but rowing is one she said she’d like to stick with in the future. While the competition season is over for the
fall, Meghan, along with other high school rowers, will compete as a quad in a U.S. Rowing sanctioned event in Austin this spring.
“I like rowing because it’s not the norm. I never was a kid who does what everyone else does. But, my
soccer friends are now saying they want to come out and row with us.”
Yet, younger brother, Ian, a sophomore at Kempner said rowing is definitely not
his thing. He spends most of his time on the soccer field, as a member of the
school team and a club team with his dad, John, as his coach.
Meghan plays club soccer too and referees for a church soccer league. She’s pretty busy as a member of several clubs, such as her school’s SWAT (Students with a Testimony) Organization. She’s also an officer in the American Red Cross club and a member of the Psychology
club. She somehow also manages time to work on her Girl Scout Gold Award, which
she hopes to receive this spring.
So, where does she get the energy for a sport like rowing?
“Soccer helps. I have lots of stamina. We run a lot for training,” she said. “I never flipped the boat. I think that’s because of my ballet training. Although, I have been told I’m gracefully clumsy.”l
