Pawling has red, white, and blue summer

As Saint Joseph's freshmen moved into their cozy dormitories at the end of August, excited about the start of their stay on Hawk Hill, one newcomer was on the water, learning lessons on rowing and life.

Ryan Pawling represented the United States at the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron (FISA) World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2. This event serves as a qualifier for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, which will be held in Beijing.

Pawling's stay in Munich opened his eyes, not just to rowing and understanding what it means to be a representative of the United States, but to courage and determination. Learning from his teammates, while together wearing the red, white, and blue, Pawling coxed for the Adaptive team, a division for those with qualified disabilities.

Pawling was selected as one of six coxswains on the U.S. team, which finished the competition in sixth place as a tune up for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.

Pawling teamed up with top-caliber rowers who were among the best in their division. The crew was among the most unique in the tournament as two of Pawling's fellow rowers were blind, another had a prosthetic leg, and the last had a type of cerebral palsy.

Pawling helped his team qualify for Beijing by placing in the top six boats. By focusing on his communication techniques, he learned skills that will help him when rowing with able-bodied athletes. These are skills he can apply further outside of rowing and athletics.

"One of the blind rowers told me that I should expect from them the same as I would expect from an athlete on the able-bodied team," Pawling said. "Their disabilities in the boat forced me to pay more attention to detail when making calls and commands. To keep the boat together, I had to give more feedback and information, which is very important, even when dealing with fully-sighted rowers."

Traveling to the world championships, Pawling was also able to witness world class rowing on the part of the other squads. As teams from all over the world gathered for this rowing extravaganza, he tried to learn as much as he could about the sport during this unique opportunity.

"Rowing at [the FISA World Rowing Championships] has definitely given me more connections and experience in the rowing world, such as meeting national team rowers and coaches," he says.

Like most rowers, Pawling has sacrificed many hours and a great deal of energy over the course of his career. Rowing for multiple teams and organizations while attending La Salle College High School, he credits his busy rowing schedule with preparing him for college studies and successfully balancing life outside of the classroom. Juggling many academic and athletic commitments in high school, Pawling says the transition from high school to Saint Joseph's has been "smooth."

Pawling also credits those people who have helped him make the transition such an easy one. Understanding and appreciating the lengths that others have gone in supporting his experience in rowing, he mentions that his family attends most of his rowing events, even those occurring overseas. Before he got his drivers' license, Pawling's parents drove him to and from practice and school. Many times, he had two practices a day, one before school, in the wee hours of the morning, in addition to an afternoon workout.

"Without their help, I wouldn't be nearly as successful in crew," he states.

As Pawling has settled down at St. Joe's and gotten acclimated to classes and his new professors, preparation for the games in Beijing are no doubt in the back of his mind. Entering his first year of college, an experience like his is undoubtedly foreign to the majority of his fellow freshmen. Pawling notes that it may be difficult to get the boats together for practice as the various rowers are located across the country.

However, as Pawling learned during a week in Munich, hurdles such as these are microscopic compared to the ones that his teammates live with on a daily basis.

It is this insight and experience that Pawling hopes to instill in his teammates as a leader for the Hawks team on what appears to be a bright season ahead.