Click Here for the Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Despite the two sports not having much in common with each other, the Eastern Michigan University rowing and baseball teams came together this fall for a day of team building exercises at Ford Lake.
Both teams begin their respective regular seasons this upcoming spring, as the baseball team begins in February with a trip to Lawrence, Kan. to take on the Kansas Jayhawks, while the rowing team begins its season in Bloomington, Ind. for the Harvey Cup, March 28.
The Eagle baseball team made the early morning trek out to Ford Lake to learn the basics of rowing for five days, something the EMU rowing team and Head Coach Brad Holdren do on an every day basis.
"I'm extremely happy the baseball team came out and learned to row," Holdren said. "I would love to eventually teach all of the athletes on campus. It's a good opportunity for them to learn a little bit about our obscure sport and it's an even better chance for them to learn more teamwork."
In most team sports, athletes can be compared to links on a chain and it’s possible for the stronger links to carry the weaker ones. Holdren believes rowing is the exact opposite.
"It's the weakest member of any boat who ultimately decides how fast that boat will go," Holdren explained. "The stronger links cannot make up for the weakest link. Very few sports have this unique quality."
Learning to work together as a team and become acclimated with one another is vital for teams at any level of competition, but in particular for the EMU baseball team, as the Eagles welcome 14 newcomers to the squad this year in Jay Alexander’s second season as head coach.
"I wanted to give my players an opportunity to really understand what teamwork truly is," Alexander said. "Because in rowing if everyone does not work together than there is no chance to accomplish your goals, and that’s something our team learned while working with the rowers."
After a slow start in the early morning while learning the basics of the sport, the baseball team eventually got the hang of what it really means to work as a team in the water and managed to generate enough speed to get the boats moving at a steady pace. By the late afternoon, the Eagles came together enough as a team to actually compete against each other and the rowing team.
"Coach Hodren's athletes are outstanding and they work as hard as we do, but because of their sport they obviously know the true meaning of teamwork," Alexander said. "They have to wake early in the morning and train in the dark while trying to keep everyone on the same page, which is an extremely difficult thing to do. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Holdren and his team and I hope to do it again very soon."