Club filling void in area
Whether serious or novice, athletes can benefit from training in nonprofit
As a freshman at George Mason, Virginia Beach native Melissa Kuch’s life was changed when she began rowing crew. Now, she wants to pay it forward.
Earlier this year, Kuch, who went on to compete for Team USA internationally, joined forces with several other rowing enthusiasts in Virginia Beach to launch Coastal Virginia Community Rowing, a local nonprofit organization that seeks to foster the rowing community in their area.
“For years, there’s been a lot of interest in trying to build a community rowing program in Virginia Beach,” Kuch said. “… At the very beginning of the pandemic, one of my goals has always been community rowing, bigger than the individual high schools that are practicing out of people’s backyards. … The goal is to bring the athletes together so they can have a variety of coaching instead of being so siloed and allow them to train together and have more of those athletes that can go on and compete at the higher level, and also have more coaches available for people who are just starting off.”
In some respects, the limitations of the pandemic helped Kuch and the club get the ball rolling.
“I think this has been rolling around as an idea and finally this gave the coaches in the area some time to come together and have the time it takes to have weekly meetings … to figure out what this could potentially look like,” she said.
The club held its first camp over the summer, and has completed three programs to date. The programs, which serve all experience levels, including complete beginners, last several weeks and include cross-fit training and lessons. Though they’ve yet to get out on the water for training due to COVID-19 restrictions, the hope is that they’ll be able to continue to grow the club in every respect.
So far, the team consists of
seven coaches, including Jonathan Macy, who is the head coach for the Princess Anne Crew Club. Macy also serves as the club’s president and is tasked with “(articulating) some organizational direction: What are we about, what do we want to accomplish, where are we going, why are we doing this?”
The club’s short-term goal is to provide local athletes who otherwise are struggling to get on the water, due to COVID-19 restrictions and club-season cancellations, with a tool to stay motivated and active.
On a longer-term basis, both Macy and Kuch wish to see CVCR continue to grow and become a staple in the community and give local athletes more options to continue their rowing journey. With dedicated and talented rowers from the local high school programs teaming up at CVCR, the club is “becoming more competitive and also giving those rowers a chance to not only be competitive but to get a better résumé if they choose to go on and row in college.”
Among the athletes who worked with CVCR during its initial programs is Taylor Kopaskey, a senior at Cox High who committed to Oregon State for rowing. With her high school team unable to compete or train, Kopaskey was able to train with CVCR to help demonstrate her potential.
Around 45 athletes took part in the club’s first program, including 15 beginners.
“We didn’t advertise. We purposefully didn’t do that, because we couldn’t handle a huge number. We were really looking at it in terms of working together as coaches for the first time and as a board for the first time, just to see what that looked like,” said Kuch, who added that the club is focused on providing summer and fall programs.
For both Kuch and Macy, the top priority when they look toward the future of the club is the athletes they hope to continue to foster in the sport.
“I really love using this sport to tell the opportunity that it provides people,” Kuch said. “… For me, it opened so many doors, so I have a tendency to want to share that side of it. “Like, ‘Look what this can do for you if you put the time and effort in,’ and really showing (athletes) that hard work pays off.”