Dedicated Athletes are Starting a Rowing Program in Amherst

Jim Kaveney of Amherst is spearheading an effort to establish a rowing club, with an eye toward Amherst’s Baboosic Lake as the club’s home.

The initial vision is to offer a learn to row program this summer, while trying to generate interest and support within the town to grow the program into a sustainable club. While all of the details are not yet in place, the learn to row program is tentatively planned to run in the mornings from mid-July through early August.

“The immediate goal is to introduce rowing directly to the Amherst community. Rowing is all around us in the greater North East region and Amherst would be another great town ambassador for the sport,” said Kaveney. The ultimate goal is to have the Amherst Rowing Program to be the vehicle to build a thriving community center for competitive water sports around the beauty of Baboosic Lake.

By adding a community rowing program, Amherst would join towns like Bedford, Hanover, Manchester and Hooksett that offer rowing programs for their community in some capacity, with other communities like Hollis-Brookline looking to develop a program of their own as well.

Kaveney has discussed plans for the rowing club with the Director of Amherst Town Recreation, Nancy McMillan. Nancy is supportive of the plan to bring rowing to the Amherst community and she thinks that Baboosic Lake is an ideal spot to initiate and offer a learn to row program.  

He has also recruited the help of Tim Cotreau, a guidance counselor at Souhegan High School. Combined, the two have 30 years of experience in the sport.

Kaveney got his start rowing at Mercyhurst University, coached novices at the collegiate level and most recently helped to build a competitive high school rowing program in Connecticut. Cotreau has been involved with the sport for a decade, after getting his start at the University of Massachusetts. During graduate school, Tim coached successful crews at Manchester Central High School and the University of New Hampshire. Most recently, Tim has been actively rowing with the Merrimac River Rowing Association.

“It would be great to provide an opportunity for the youth and adults of Amherst and surrounding areas to learn and compete in a life changing sport,” said Cotreau. “Rowing is a sport that anyone can learn.  It is graceful and may look easy, but the beauty of the sport requires hard work and persistence.  The habits and lessons that can be taken from rowing will help in all avenues of life.”

Cotreau, who is in his third year at Souhegan, knows several former students who have gone on to compete for their college or university in the sport. Perhaps the most notable is 2001 Souhegan graduate Francis Cuddy, who learned the sport at UNH and remains a legend in that boathouse after making the US National Team and competing in the World Championships and the Pan American Games. More recently, Chandler Wallisch is in her senior year rowing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where she does quite well and David Brundage who rows for Bucknell.

“Rowing may be an option for students looking to remain athletic in college," said Cotreau. “Rowing teams keep large rosters, and there aren’t many youth rowing programs for these colleges to draw from, so they are often in a place where they are teaching the sport to freshmen or recruiting athletes who competed in other sports.  A student coming in with experience can make an impact on a college team.”

Chandler Wallisch is a Souhegan graduate and experienced rower who is looking forward to seeing the sport grow in her hometown.

"Rowing is a perfect youth-directed sport to establish in Amherst as it provides the ideal combination of social engagements, where life-long friendships are established, as well as learning important concepts derived from team environments. Rowing is also one of the world’s most demanding sports both physically and mentally which appeals to a wide range of audiences. Enhancing physical fitness will support a healthy lifestyle for the young athletes in addition to positively influencing their mentality."

Wallisch said that the sport has strengthened her own character, manage her time and discover a deep sense of determination and self-motivation. It is "the perfect combination of an individual and team sport" that challenges the mind, body and spirit

Rowing is the ultimate team sport, where it requires everyone to work in unison in order to move the boat forward. The same is true for building a community rowing program.

Kaveney and Cotreau are dedicated to the development of the program in Amherst, but understand that it cannot be done alone. They are quite confident that a successful program will be built as many local parents have committed their time and energy already. For instance, a local attorney is donating his time to establish The Baboosic Lake Rowing Club Non-Profit Organization.

If you are interested in the learn to row program or want to get involved with an amazing community activity please contact Jim and Tim at baboosiclakerowing@yahoo.com. No rowing experience necessary! Please stay tuned for updates and information about important meetings.