A lot has happened in Row New York Brooklyn this past year.
Fall 2017
We added our second full-time programming staff member, Arlynn Baer, and our first academic staff member, London Arnold. We held our best-attended tryout on September 28th and for some time, our team grew to 44 student-athletes. By the end of the fall, the team settled to 35 athletes. At the Fall benefit, Brooklyn’s own Barry Wheeler won Row New York’s Excellence Award and Dooly Zamy delivered his story of becoming a coxswain, filling the room with laughter.
Keontae, Dooly, and Barry (left to right) at the gala
A well-attended parents meeting and a Halloween party put Row New York Brooklyn in a strong place to compete for the Spirit Award at the Meadow lake Challenge.
During the Halloween Row, student-athletes made signs for the upcoming Meadow Lake Challenge. Brooklyn won the spirit award as a reward for their teamwork, sportsmanship and team spirit.
Winter 2017-2018
During the winter months, we packed up our dock and headed inside for indoor workouts. Our athletes showed off their literary prowess at the launch of Where the Ocean Holds the Sky, a book student-athletes wrote with our academics staff and 826NYC. They told their stories of personal triumphs, challenging moments, and self-realization that showed that they’re more than just dedicated athletes.
That dedication would be put to the test through a tough winter of training and indoor racing.
The Row New York Brooklyn team began its indoor racing season at the East Side Community High School, racing Arshay Cooper’s East Side Crew.
Photo by Troy Benson –– see more photos on our facebook page!
This indoor race was a valuable experience for those headed to the Strong Island Sprints, hosted by Saint Anthony’s High School. There, all athletes competed and the majority beat their personal records. Brian Colot finished 2nd in the Novice Boys category and Georgia Moore finished 3rd in the Novice Girls.
Click the photo for more photos from Strong Island Sprints.
Before our next competition, the students had a break from school. Row New York put it to good use by taking our kids on tours of Brooklyn College, NYU Tandon, Cabrini College, U Penn, and Villanova. We also traveled to Sarah Lawerence College to use their rowing tanks. Finally, Brooklyn rounded out its indoor season by hosting the Queens and Manhattan teams at Pacplex on March 3rd.
Click the photos for more pictures from the college visits.
Spring 2017
As the temperatures warmed, we started to look ahead not only towards the spring racing season but also towards our student-athletes’ professional futures. The academic team hosted the Young Women’s and Young Men’s Professional Dinners. Each dinner featured a panel of professional women and men from a variety of fields, to help expose and inspire our student-athletes to opportunities that await them in their professional lives.
Due to poor weather conditions and a few family emergencies, the Brooklyn team raced at only three regattas this spring: the Metropolitan Youth Speed Order, where our Boys Novice 8+ won 3rd place, The New York State Scholastic Rowing Championship, and Row for the Cure, where the Boys Novice 8+ won 2nd place.
At the end of the year, we graduated 5 seniors and retained 25 other athletes. London worked closely with schools to create personalized regents study plans for several athletes. Those students are now on track to graduate on time.
Summer 2018
The Brooklyn program taught 150 community members to row in celebration of City of Water Day. Participants learned to row on land and on the water and stayed afterward to enjoy some food, music, coloring, and fun.
Click the photo for more pictures from City of Water Day
Throughout the year, the Brooklyn program hosted State Senator Roxanne Persaud, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, Councilman Alan Maisel, the Pershing Square Foundation, the Carl Marks Foundation, the film crew from Freethink Media, the Queens novice team and the Queens and Manhattan varsity teams.
We are now busy practicing and attending academics throughout the summer. The team is looking forward to hosting a scrimmage between boathouses in early August.
Class of 2018
Barry Wheeler will attend Clarkson College. He is interested in environmental engineering and loves to skateboard. He is considered one of four “Founding Members” of the Brooklyn team, which earned him an award at the end-of-year BBQ.
Keontae Trotman will attend SUNY Albany and is interested in mechanical engineering. He didn’t consider himself athletic until he started rowing and credits the sport with giving him the confidence to do anything. Keontae also won an award for being a Founding Member of the Brooklyn team.
Brandon Hinds will attend St. Johns University this fall. He is interested in environmental science. Although he finished high school, he still attends practice because he absolutely loves rowing. Brandon loves to cook and bake. He’s actually pretty good at it and dressed as a baker on Halloween.
Kervens Thimothe will attend SUNY Purchase. Kervens is an entrepreneur who started a multimedia business. You can check out his website here. Kervens is passionate about photography, filmmaking, graphic design, and other creative ventures.
Emerson Joseph moved to New York recently and will soon move to Florida to be closer to his dad and the rest of his family. Despite the uncertainty he faced this year, Emerson is still planning to attend Broward College this fall. Emerson always acts with great sportsmanship and loves talking and making jokes.
Barry and Keontae with their Founding Member Awards
