By Katy Nguyen
A little over a year ago, senior Nicole Weber was taking her little brother to his Boy Scout classes at the Newport Sea Base when she saw the Rising Team and was instantly interested.
Her ambition and curiosity urged her to try out a difficult sport she had never done before, and Weber was ready to face this new challenge.
Before that all started, Weber was a pre-professional ballet dancer for 13 years at Southland Ballet Academy and the American Ballet Theatre Gillespie School. Weber has done ballet for almost her entire life so far, and rowing has only started to become a new addition of her athletic resume.
Rowing is one of the original sports in the modern Olympic games and its origins can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians. The sport involves incredible arm and body strength to propel a boat using oars, against the pushing force of water.
Picking up a new sport takes a lot of strength and willpower. Weber describes her team as her motivation to keep on trying harder. Rowing requires a considerable amount of teamwork, and with her charming character, Weber is able to build lasting relationship with her teammates at Newport Sea Base.
It’s an incredible accomplishment to be extremely good at rowing, within only one year of starting it. Weber requires a lot of stamina and endurance to propel herself forward each time she practices.
“I am also very motivated by the chance to improve myself,” added Weber.
Throughout the past year alone, Weber has competed various races: Southwest Regionals at Lake Natoma CA, Club Nationals at Camden NJ, The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and San Diego Crew Classic.
“Earlier this year I won first place in the Women’s Varsity Quad at Head of the American Regatta,” said Weber.
Weber is continuously hard at work, balancing her rigorous AP classes in between her intense training sessions and competitions.
“I practice 6 days a week, 3 hours a day. I also have a rowing machine at my house that I use to train with outside of practice,” said Weber.
This amount of dedication and perseverance proves to be all worth it in the end.
This led Weber to commit to UC Berkeley on Oct. 4, 2018, over the phone and then signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14, 2018.
UC Berkeley, a public university which lies as one of the top schools in the state, with highly competitive admission, Weber is able to secure her spot because of her natural talent and commitment to her newfound sport.
“It seemed like the perfect school for me, and the rowing team are national champions [which is] very inspiring. I felt like I would be well supported no matter what I did there and be surrounded by excellence,” said Weber.
Weber hopes to pursue an Olympic career is taking her first steps by joining the UC Berkeley Crew.
“I’m hoping to compete for the US Junior Nation Team or the Olympic Development or High-Performance Camp,” Weber noted.
Webber added that she will soon find out whether she gets selected or not, but nevertheless her talent and hopeful spirits will guide her on the right path.
From Baron to Oski and possibly a future Olympian, Weber keeps on rowing forward in life.
This story was published in the 2019 Red Magazine. Stop by room 306 for a copy.
