I have been rowing under the wrath of my crew coach for 6 seasons now and I can not tell you why I continue to return. Sure, I go back because I love my teammates, the sport itself and how I feel during the race. I wonder though, is there more that draws me into the intense sport of crew? I suppose I have to look back at my other athletic experiences in order to understand why I continue to torture myself.

At the age of 5, I started dance classes at Patty’s All American Gymnastics. My mother thought it would be adorable to have my sisters and I participate in the same activities. She was wrong. During the classes my sisters and I would find ways to entertain ourselves that were frowned upon by the instructors. There was a foam pit that really had no purpose except to be jumped into. My sisters and I would run out of the dance studio during the middle of the class and play in the pit while the other girls learned how to actually dance. Because my sister Stephanie and I learned nothing, we were paired up during the recital. To this day, I enjoy watching Stephanie and I completely mess up the dance moves that other girls worked hard to perfect. After that performance, my mother took us out of dance classes.

When I turned 8, I became enthralled by swim team. I lived to swim. We had morning and after school practices. My best stroke was freestyle. Most of my friends did swim team with me which kept me excited about the sport. By the age of 11, I only had one friend left on the team with me. I only swam for one more season after everyone else had quit the team. Although I loved swimming, my race times weren’t that great and I valued my friendships more than the team.

In sixth grade, I joined the cross country team. Once again, I only joined this sport to be with my friends. After the first week I learned that I should not just join a sport because my friends were doing it. I wanted to quit cross country so badly. I was the slowest runner and I did not enjoy running in any sense of the word enjoy. I told my dad how much I hated cross country and he replied that I could not quit because I was and Ivanovich. At the time, his reasons to back up this fact made sense. Now, I’m pretty sure that Ivanovich’s don’t have some superhuman power that does not allow for them to quit sports.

My past leads me to believe that the reason I return to crew is because I am ignorant. I obviously do not learn from my mistakes and continue to make them over and over. Interestingly enough, I did join crew to be with my friends, and I stayed because I didn’t want to be “that kid” who quits after one season. So, I stay because I’m an Ivanovich, I love my team, and I LOVE CREW!