by Alessandra Simeone
At Row New York, student-athletes spend so much time together, they’re like family. For some, this is quite literally the case when their siblings join the team. Though they can have their differences, siblings here also add to the nurturing, fun, and often humorous Row New York family.
For seventh grader Daisha Quezada, RNY is still a new experience. Though Daisha is unfamiliar with rowing, she knows her sister Diana (a varsity rower on the Manhattan team) can help: “Sometimes she helps me with rowing technique, specifically coming into the catch. Diana also told me high school is much harder than middle school rowing but you get to go to more races, and you’re more advanced. I’m looking forward to that.” In addition to helping Daisha’s technique, Diana set her younger sister to a particular challenge: “She told me that I had better beat her times and be faster than her by the time I’m on the varsity team. It’s like I have a challenge. I plan on beating her times.”
Competition at RNY is certainly healthy and encouraged amidst teammates. But between teammates Kaitlyn and Shannon Fegan, no further encouragement is needed. Though the story changes about how they discovered Row New York, it seems certain that each sibling needed a change in her life (according to the other): “Kaitlyn here likes to watch Netflix all day,” said Shannon, but Kaitlyn continued, “and Shannon was just like me, sitting on her butt all day doing nada.” Through their mother’s encouragement, they both joined RNY and found a new way to exercise and have fun…and compete even more.
Shannon and Kaitlyn do enjoy each other’s company, in their own special ways: “So the good thing about being on the same team is that coaches are like ‘C’mon, c’mon beat Shannon.’ And it motivates me because I want to be faster than her,” says Kaitlyn. Through the occasional disagreement, Shannon enjoys “having a sibling to go home with, having company, and helping Kaitlyn with rowing…even though she doesn’t see it yet.” Despite hotly-contested definitions of “guidance” and “advice”, Shannon and Kaitlyn undoubtedly push each other and set the bar high– ultimately benefitting both themselves and their teammates.
Of all RNY siblings, Nicole and Daniela Doyle likely spend the most time together, as sisters on the Queens varsity team who attend the same high school. “I think it’s encouraging, and at the same time annoying, because I can’t ever get rid of her!” says younger sister Daniela. “Before she was on the varsity team, I thought ‘this was not gonna be good,’” says older sister Nicole, “but as soon as she got on the team, she just used it to our advantage…we know that we’ll cox each other. Which is good, because we are each other’s support systems.” Despite constant companionship, at the end of the day the Doyle sisters are truly there for each other, “No teammate of ours is going to love us as much as we love each other.”
Charlotte and younger sister Kristal Rendon do not experience RNY as teammates – but as alumna and Assistant Novice Coach, Charlotte has watched Kristal develop as a rower and in turn, Kristal can look to Charlotte for RNY guidance. “Sometimes I go up to Charlotte and ask for advice, sometimes I have trouble not knowing how to manage my time. She already knows, she’s been through it [the program],” says Kristal.
As an aluma, Charlotte can now see how her sister steadily moves through the ranks, very differently from her own journey. “We’re siblings but we are very, very different. I love Row New York but who I am and where I went and what I did here is not how Kristal experiences Row New York. And she’s a very different rower than I was; she’s much more calm and collected, she makes plans and is totally prepared, while I was not! At Row New York it’s nice to see that you can be siblings and be very different as well – the team is open to that.”
We love our siblings at Row New York and strive to keep building programs that our athletes want to recommend to their friends…and family!
