Diane Hamerla 1980 - 1984
01 - When did you begin to row for U.M.? = 1980
02 - Tell us about your experience, the coaching staff, your favorite
memory or what you are up to these days? = I starded rowing in 7th
grade for a total of 6 years, there were a few of us starting early back
then. Wow, there's a lot of history from those years....
I remember watching my older brothers Tim, then Lyle and Perry rowing
throughout the years; starting with the '2 ton' wooden kashpers, the
flipped trailer that led to fundraising for newer boats, though the some
of the indestructable kashpers survived.
Seeing my borhter Lyle off for the Jr. Olympics, and my brother Perry
trying out for the team the following year.
It's hard to pick, but I think my strongest memory was from City
Championships... After loosing to the Belleville team all season at home
regattas, the Dad Vails, and a trip to Poughkeepsie, it all came down to
the build up for City championships... where we not only beat Belleville,
we won! Moving on to the next big step, a second place at Nationals,
having beaten Belleville again, however our focus had shifted to the
next team to beat. I even wrote about that on my college entrance essay.
THE GOOD
- cleaning up the riverfront for the start of season, expansion of the
parking area, and finally preparation for the upgrades to the
boathouse.
- the purchase of new boats (the zebra striped 4)
- City Championships several years placing 2nd at the Canadian and US
Nationals
- International rowing regatta with England and French rowers
- Jr. National camp tryouts (close but not quite)
- rowing scholarship to Syracuse University
- all the great support from parents, fund raisers, food stands, free
snacks/ drinks at the races
THE BAD
- the van that rearended the trailer- took off the end of two shells.
- the truck breaking down on a long road trip (OK, we did have fun
'picnicing' while we waited
- my first race when I crabbed
- the year we rowed out of Boathouse row in Phila due to the nuclear
waste site upriver from the boathouse
THE 'UGLY'
- the year it poured rain for each and every one of the 5 Dad Vail
races
- the local dog- ugly maybe but the dog and his owner were a great
security backup (I know they contacted the police about vandals at least
once)
- the 5 mile run to Genuardies (the original location)
- complete hand full of blisters, and the handshakes received while I
had the palmful of blisters (ouch!)
What a full set of memories. Thanks to everyone through the years,
especially the coaches and teammates!
03 - For how many years were you a member of the team? = 4
04 - Interested in Sponsoring our Team Today: = YES
05 - Address and Contact Information = Diane Hamerla 14 Community Road,
Billerica, MA 01821 friendlychat@verizon.net
Andrew Powers 1989 - 1992
When did you begin to row for U.M.? = 1989
Tell us about your experience, the coaching staff, your favorite
memory or what you are up to these days? = Andrew Powers 1989-1992.
So I'm standing outside of the high school gym after pick-up basketball and my father is talking to a man that he seems to know fairly well.
He introduces me to the man, Bill Belden, and tells me he's the coach of the rowing team. Upper Merion has a rowing team? Coach Bill asks me how well I handle mornings, he coaches the "skulling?" team, they practice early, 5:30am, they like tall guys that seem just dumb enough to handle pain. I shrug it off, merely thinking about...food, T.V., shower.
But my father asks again and again, and I think "what the heck, something to keep me in shape" for basketball. The rest is history.
Favorite memory is most likely the Upper Merion regatta, 1990. I was grounded at this point for about 2 months for sneaking away with friends to a jello wrestling match at C.B West high school between the cheerleading team and the wrestlerettes. I'm done my doubles race and word goes around the crowd that the singles race will be cancelled due to the fact that there is now only one entry, two competitors dropping out. So people are needling me to enter the race. I'm standing there with food in my hand, food stuffed in my face, in my stomach, and I'm being told to go back out on the water in another race in a boat I had sat in once and taken about 100 strokes in. Plus, I was about 190 lbs at the time and the shoddy, old, wood Kaschper single was 175 lb max.
My father turns to me and states matter of factly that if I enter and in the race, I'm not grounded anymore.
It was without a doubt the hardest race I had ever put together. I puked above the island somewheres during warmup and the guy I was racing saw it. I couldn't take a full stroke. I had never sat in bow so I had no ability to turn my head and navigate (the railroad bridge lurking). But the thought of freedom from weekend nights sitting in the corner were overwhelming. I. Had. To. Win. The. Race.
All I really recall is that the launch following this "race" was filled with recent graduates of the team, coach Bill, and an official. I saw
their faces, and they were all grinning ear to ear. I didn't actually win the thing, I just gave up last.
The first thing I said to my father was something along the lines of if I had to do it again, knowing what I know, there are plenty of
productive things to accomplish during a lengthy grounding.
For how many years were you a member of the team? = 4
Interested in Sponsoring our Team Today: = YES
Address and Contact Information =
Andrew Powers
409 Kingsley St. Philadelphia,
PA 19128; apowers911@hotmail.com
Tim Carey 1985-1991
01 - When did you begin to row for U.M.? = 1985
02 - Tell us about your experience, the coaching staff, your favorite
memory or what you are up to these days? = Tim Carey 1985-1991
Great website!! You guys have done a nice job with it!
I was on the team for 7 years (6th-12th grades) so I got a ton of
memories from it. Even before I started on the team, watching my older
Sister and Brother row to many wins got me interested in the sport. The
coach, Mr Cavitt, had one of the most successful programs on the water.
Winning wasn’t the exception, it was the norm!
For me, I have 2 vivid memories from my years on the team. My first
Manny Flick stands out. I was rowing bow seat in our Novice 8. At the
time, I was in 6th grade, about 5 foot, 80lbs. I sat on top of two
pieces of wrestling mat glued together to elevate me. (Basically the
thickness of a phone book) During the race, the boat was crabbing about
every 10th stroke. I know we started in the middle of the course, but some
how ended up hitting the retaining wall for about 1000 meters.
Miraculously we did finish the race, but it took about 15 minutes or so. In
the years to come, just about everyone in that boat ended up winning at
least a Cities Championship while on the team. Another memory was
later that same season. I was coxing my older brother’s LWT4 at the
Canadian Schoolboy Champ. Since I was only 80 pounds, I needed to carry 40
pounds of weight in the boat, since the Canadians required a minimum
coxswain weight. That weight was a cinderblock that I had trouble lifting.
My Dad had to carry it to the dock each time we launched. The racing
was great, we won our heat and semi and things were looking great for
the final. In the final though, in my zeal, I lost track of the race
course and began our “finish” entirely too soon. After about the 60th
stroke of our finish piece, my older brother (the stroke) looked like he was going to die, but not before killing me! Needless to say, we didn’t win and I got screamed at the entire way back to the dock and it continued on the 7 hour bus ride home and every night at the dinner table for
about a year! It was a good lesson in coxwaining and winning/losing!! So many fast crews have come through this program. Great coaches too. From Mr. Cavitt, my
Dad-Jack and Mr. Belden. Plus so many assistant coaches that were born from the team.
Dave Reinbold, Scott Colbert, Andy Grey, Matt Snyder, Donna Pollack and Tom Ferlick to
name a few. I have a lot of great memories and really this team was the platform for my
continued involvement in the sport to this day. Best of luck to the team! You’re in good
hands with Coach Perkins!
05 - Address and Contact Information = Tim Carey, 251 Pleasant Valley
Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406 email: drunkirishman@aol.com
