Avery Thorpe

TRAINING DAY: Qureshi trains on the rowing machine. She said rowing really helped her learn who she was. She said “I’m able to push myself in a way I didn’t know how to before, and I feel like it’s made me stronger”.

Why did you start rowing?

I started rowing the summer before freshman year. I kind of just stumbled upon it; I had done various sports all my life. I found rowing, and it was so interesting, and (I’ve) liked it ever since.

What is an enjoyable part of rowing?

I think the most enjoyable part is knowing how much of a mental challenge it is. Yes, of course, it’s a physical challenge, but I’ve never had an activity where you find yourself mentally pushing through challenges, and you find out who you are.

What is the hardest part about rowing?

I think the hardest part is definitely the mental factor of it because, during a race or even during practice, of course, it physically hurts but that goes for a lot of sports. With rowing, there’s no break. You don’t just stop once you score a goal or stop for a time-out. No one can tell you, “Oh it’s almost over.” You have to be confident in yourself and push through the pain. Mentally, it’s really hard, but once you do it, it feels good.

What do you hope to do with rowing in the future?

Rowing’s getting really popular in college now, so I hope that (with) my experience from high school, I can further my rowing career in college. I feel like a lot of the people who do it in college are walk-ons, so I feel like it would be good to have the experience because I’ll already be familiar with everything, and hopefully that will make me further ahead in college.

What’s the relationship like with your teammates?

We’re all super close because we’re together all the time. It’s really a team sport, but also an individual sport. It’s individual (because) you’re working out and pushing yourself, but the boat won’t work unless everyone works together. One thing our coach always says is, “Push for the people ahead and behind you, not yourself.” Do it for them. I think that really just sums up the dynamic between the kids and the coaches.