HOOKSETT - Mike Shields, vice president and program director of the Amoskeag Rowing Club, appreciates what the solitude of being on the river at certain times of the day can bring.

When Shields sees an eagle soar high above the Amoskeag during an early morning rowing session, he considers himself lucky to have taken up the sport.

Shields has been rowing all his life, he said, and wants to share his love of the sport with as many people as possible through the Amoskeag Rowing Club.

With a dedicated and experienced coaching staff, many with a lot of rowing pedigree, people interested in the sport – from teenagers to adults – can find a niche at Amoskeag, Shields said.
One of those finding his niche is Erik Nadeau, who's going into his junior year at the Groton School in Groton, Mass. Nadeau just started with the Amoskeag club even though he has had no previous experience with rowing.

He chose the Amoskeag program because, outside of Boston, it's the closest one to his home.
During a recent session, his instructor, Charmie Curran, a grand master rower, patiently showed Nadeau the skills he'd need.

Rowing is one of the only sports, said Shields, where novices use the same techniques as Olympic competitors. In fact, Shields said, they do all the same things they're doing in the Olympics.

Unlike basketball, for example, where an athlete may start learning how to dribble the ball before working on shooting skills, rowing students get taught all necessary rowing skills simultaneously.
As the athletes progress in their skills, said Shields, “they really figure out how not to slow the boat down.”

Although there are a lot of historical reasons to appreciate rowing, enthusiasts say the sport offers an amazing workout.

Cross-country skiing is the only other sport, said Shields, that provides a complete, full-body workout.

He refers to rowing as the art of moving the boat with your body weight, using all the muscles of your legs, back and arms.

Coach Ethan Currie, a student at Wesleyan University, was a high school freshman when he started rowing.

“It's the only sport you can get into at any age,” he said. In other sports, “you have to start out really young in order to get the skills to join later,” he said.

In football, for example, a freshman can't just join the team with no prior experience.
“But with crew,” he said, “you can start at any age.”

For Currie, he also liked being on a team. “I can't imagine not being on a crew,” he said.
Currie also explained some of the intricacies of the rowing program.

Sweep rowing, he said, has eight, four or a pair rowing together, with each person rowing with only one oar on one side of the shell.

Scullers, on the other hand, use two oars, working both the port and starboard sides simultaneously. There are one-, two- or four-person sculling shells. Some of the skills rowers must learn include what's called the feathering and squaring of the blade, he said.

For coaches, “it's a tough thing to communicate,” said Currie, “trying to break it down and get them to focus on one thing at a time.”

Coach Trina McGillis, a 2010 graduate of Boston University, is particularly enjoying teaching the learn-to-row classes. While it looks “really graceful and pretty,” she said, “it's a lot of hard work to get there.”

In spite of all the early morning and after-school hours these athletes devote to the sport, Shields is proud of how many high school students participate.

He said that they have about 100 students from Bedford, about 65 to 70 from Central, and 35 to 40 from Derryfield.

The high school programs, he said, are “parent run and privately funded,” but there are other programs in which people can participate, including the learn-to-row program that even has middle-school-aged children who participate.

Adults, of course, are invited to join. And unlike many other sports, no additional gear is required – just show up with a pair of shorts, sneakers and a T-shirt, and you're ready to go.

If you'd like more information about the sweep rowing or sculling programs, you can go onto the Amoskeag Rowing website, AmoskeagRowing.org, or go down to the riverside this summer near the Hooksett District Court, beyond the dog park, most weekday mornings at about 8:30 a.m., and you're bound to run into an enthusiastic group of rowers.