By Carolina Quijada, Adaptive Assistant
This past fall, our School Day Adaptive athletes, in partnership with the NYC DOE’s District 75, enjoyed another successful season with Row New York at Meadow Lake! Students and teachers from Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx joined us for the ten-week program, where coaches Patrick, Mel, and I focused on teaching the basics of rowing. We worked with two schools, five times a week. In total, ten different schools joined us for the fall season. Some students were brand new, while others had multiple seasons under their belts. One student in particular has been an active member of Row New York’s Recreational Adaptive and School Day Adaptive programs since their inception.
Meet Angela…
Since 2011, Angela Torres has had pink, green, blonde, and red streaks in her hair. She is always excited to show us her new look. Angela makes seasonal fashion statements with bright colored sneakers, or trendy workout outfits and accessories. Sometimes she enters the boathouse with headphones, focusing on music until our session begins. That’s because Angela is a dancer. She dedicates her time to Dancing Dreams, where she does ballet and participates in Zumba with the YMCA Beacon program. On occasion, Angela will share moves based on those dances – much to her coaches’ and rowers’ delight. Her individuality has made an impression on her coaches, classmates, and teammates.
Pilar Crooks-Torres, Angela’s mother, makes sure Angela is always prepared for practice and rarely misses a day of training. She tells me, “I love the structure rowing provides. It helps her learn to follow directions,” which can be difficult for students with cognitive disabilities. However, Angela, like our other athletes, gets excited when it’s her to turn to enter the barge. As with seasoned rowers, she has learned Row New York’s routines for a safe and enjoyable rowing experience. Angela is often on stroke seat, and has become a great model for rowers to follow.
Pilar also recognizes the importance of her daughter’s participation at Row New York to be healthy and active. Angela has Down syndrome, a congenital disorder that occurs when an extra copy of chromosome 21 is passed down from a parent. One of the characteristics of people with Down syndrome is low muscle tone, which can reduce muscle strength and motor skills. Therefore, people with Down Syndrome can take a little longer in developing muscle tone and muscle strength, making them prone to obesity and respiratory issues. Their growth, health, and activity are often tracked more often than people without the disorder. However, many parents like Pilar are becoming informed about activities for people with disabilities that maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. In addition to dancing and rowing, Angela walks a mile and a half from the 7 train station to Row New York’s boathouse every Saturday. Pilar and Angela also appreciate that our programs provide opportunities to socialize. Angela often greets and hugs her teammates to show support or appreciation. Pilar tells me, Angela “loves the program and has a great experience with her teammates.”
Meet the Season….
Each day of School Day Adaptive, we asked a Question of the Day on topics such as favorite movies, music, food, or how everyone’s week went. For the Recreational Adaptive sessions, Coach Veronica and I took time to catch up with athletes and also planned mini-events or celebrations at the boathouse. Our last fall season session landed on Halloween. Naturally, many of our rowers came dressed as their role models, fictional characters, and Disney characters. It was great to see Angela dressed as Queen Elsa from Frozen. It was even better to see Angela at my sister’s birthday party – she also has Down syndrome, and is an active member of the Recreational Adaptive program. The party provided parents and families a place to socialize and enjoy a community founded on the love of their children, rowing, and support.
Veronica and I aren’t just aiming to grow social skills for people with cognitive disabilities. At the forefront of our community-building efforts, we are increasing resources, support, and building a collective for parents and families for people with cognitive disabilities. As we work to facilitate the socialization of our participants, it is our hope that athletes like Angela will take these skills outside of Row New York.
On November 6th, 2015, adaptive coaches made their way to the John F. Kennedy Jr. School. After weeks of training, School Day Adaptive rowers were ready for the culminating event and to put their skills to the test. Coaches prepped the teams with strategies and positive words for the race. Each team had two rounds of relay races with meters tallied at the end. Educators also participated in the fun-tivities with a Minute To Win It Dash! We concluded with well-deserved certificates and gifts.
It has been a wonderful experience to see so many teens participate in our programs and achieve what they sometimes felt was “too hard”. It was even better to see them participate in sports with the enthusiasm to finish what they started. I hope to see many rowers with cognitive disabilities join sports and eventually change the image of what an athlete looks like. I also hope that many of our School Day Adaptive rowers, like Angela, continue rowing in our Recreational Adaptive sessions, becoming more skilled in the sport, as many others around the country have done.
