Riley Peters
Sophomore at Whitefish Bay High School
When/Why I began rowing:
I began rowing my freshman year. My mom had heard about Learn to Row and signed me up along with one of my good friends Grace. She was in an earlier learn to row so I asked if she enjoyed it. She raved about how fun rowing was which got me excited for my session of Learn to Row. Since then, I have dropped all my other sports and have fell in love with rowing.
Favorite workout:
We do so many different workouts day to day, therefore practice is never boring, but I have two favorite workouts for on the water. As far as a steady state workout, I loved one of Roger's most recent workouts which was the 75% then 100% pressure as the number of strokes increased by ten. It was something that I had never done before and enabled us to give it our all on each stroke. For high rate pieces I really enjoy some type of time pyramid or 6x2min plus 4x1min. It pushes us to get more distance on each piece and is one of my favorite preps for a 2k.
Favorite aspect of rowing:
For me I love completing a workout and having a really good piece. The feeling of accomplishing something that we work everyday towards and the positivity that everyone has after finishing a well rowed piece. These are the best aspects of rowing and why I am passionate about the sport.
Favorite rowing season:
My favorite season is spring season. There is nothing like sitting at the start line and the intensity build up to when the officials drop the flag to start the race. Racing at higher rates shows us how hard we have to practice and work but eventually that hard work pays off. Also, I enjoy the race courses that we go to and getting to race against a bunch of other crews.
What motivates you to work hard:
My coaches really motivate me to work hard as well as my teammates. I am a very competitive person and always want to do my best and both my coaches and team members are always there for me to help me accomplish that. I look to older girls, girls that have more experience then me, and girls who are better then me as people to motivate me and as a way to set goals for myself. Overall, the positivity of the team, especially from the novice girls who show up with smiles on there faces everyday, really motivate me to work hard.
Favorite race:
By far, my favorite race is Midwest Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio. The race course is beautiful but the atmosphere is slightly overwhelming initially. There are so many different crews that race there and it gives the team a great chance of racing multiple times, which I find to be a great experience. The competition is intense and the race itself is what we train for all year. Overall Midwest Championship really teaches us to give it our all in one race and if we do that it is very rewarding.