Assignment 8 - Peck's Theory in OSU Crew

Having just joined Ohio State's rowing team this winter, I have seen the stages of Peck's theory unfold before my eyes. Since the team was disbanded for the 2013-14 season due to a hazing violation, The entire team and administration were essentially reset creating a culture vacuum. This is the first year we can field a full Men's Novice 8 boat since the ban, and as such the idea is that the 8 of us are to set the culture for years to come. There's a lot of pressure with this since we are years in development behind our B1G rivals, and if anyone quits or gets injured we can't race as an 8.

When I was recruited in January, I felt to be in a pseudo-community. I was one of the few people who had rowed before in high school, the rest have never touched an oar, and yet we were all training and conditioning on rowing machines for months together through the winter. I could see the potential with the squad, but I knew a machine isn't the same as a boat, and was worried we weren't focusing on the right goals. Rowing is an incredibly team oriented sport, but so far we were all just a group of individuals seeking to improve our rowing machine times.

After months of sweating together we finally started developing socially into a team, especially after sweeping Miami at our indoor regatta. Results help improve morale for sure, but everything entered into Peck's chaos stage when we went to Spring Training camp down in Lake Lure. It was trial by fire, 3 practices a day a day in a boat where half the team never rowed before. There was lot's of yelling and frustration, and to make it worse we shared the lake with a top Ivy League program. Having rowed for a national caliber club team in high school, I was frustrated too, but when we could finally keep the boat set and translate some of that power we worked for in the winter down to the water, I was excited. We finally felt like a cohesive unit, and while we got demolished by Columbia's NCAA full-scholarshipped 8 in practice dual, We were proud of what we had done after only single week, and were ready to take our speed back to Columbus.

These past few weeks of practice, I've felt real organization as described by Peck start to develop. Despite the freezing cold and rain on Columbus's reservoirs this March and April, our coach has been able to ramp up the intensity of our practices, and the boat's been responding well. The newest rowers are learning good blade and slide control. We raced UC and Miami down in Cincinatti, and got second, but with close margins. We seemed to have reached a consensus where we are goofy and fun off the water, but once we're strapped in it's completely serious. There's is an open conversation with coach after each workout where we all can voice our opinions. I can't wait to see where this season continues to go, and foresee this boat turning into a real community by the end of the year and serving as a real cultural foundation for Ohio State's crew for years to come.