Sixth Former Beau Christopher reflects on his crew experience

Sixth Former Beau Christopher started rowing during the summer before he began upper school. After four years of dedicated work, he has grown into his position as a decorated rower, teammate, and leader.

His first rowing experience was one to remember.

“I did the Conshohocken rowing program with the Haverford coaches,” Christopher said. “And I just fell in love with the sport, so I decided to continue into that fall and spring and then all throughout my years of high school.”

After joining the team, Christopher began to appreciate the sport even more.

“There is the competitive nature of going out there and putting all of your strength into the oars, but there is also the camaraderie of the team,” Christopher said. “You have all your boatmates, and they’re all putting in the same amount of effort as you, and it all pays off when you do well.”

Over the years, Christopher believes one thing that has allowed him to improve so quickly has been the support from his coaches.

“In practice, we do a lot of race prep, and our coaches prepare us really well for our races,” Christopher said. “Our coaches all rowed, and they are so knowledgeable in the sport . . . it works out for the better when you take their advice, [implement it] on the water, and put all you have into every practice, which is pretty much what I did.”

He explained that Fords Crew has a sort of “work hard, play hard” culture, which is something he has completely bought into.

“There’s always a sense of brotherhood on our team,” Christopher said. “We all get along and it’s always a fun time—even though it’s hard work, it’s fun.”

The nature of the sport itself is something else that Christopher will carry with him as he moves forward.

“Rowing has definitely taught me mental toughness, like being able to push over that barrier and go harder,” Christopher said. “It taught me how to be coachable as well; you have to make quick changes on the water to benefit your boatmates, and that’s definitely taught me how to be coachable and how to take advice to your head but not to your heart because it affects everyone in the boat. It makes you a better person as well when you’re able to be coachable, listen to the coaches, and learn from them as well.”

“The whole atmosphere every time I step into the boathouse—I’m always greeted with camaraderie and brotherhood from the coaching staff and from my teammates too.”

Beau christopher ’21

While Christopher has learned a lot already, his rowing career is far from over. Next year, he will be rowing in the warm weather of Rollins College. 

“I’m excited to carry on the Haverford legacy. I’m going to try to win some medals for my college, but at the same [time] I’ll be winning them for my coaches that started me in the sport,” Christopher said.

He looks forward to this next step, but he stated that there are many parts of his Haverford experience he will miss.

“The whole atmosphere every time I step into the boathouse—I’m always greeted with camaraderie and brotherhood from the coaching staff and from my teammates too,” Christopher said. “Overall, I just really want to thank the coaches and my team for an amazing four years.”