Over the month of July 2019, I attended DeMatha’s summer band program. I had lots of fun. I play the French horn. I used to play the trumpet. The reason why I switched playing from a trumpet to a French horn is that when I played the horn for the first time, I felt more relaxed than playing the trumpet. To this day, I still play the horn.
I was so happy that I got to play at a high school level of music. Before I had to play with students who were younger and the music was too easy for me. During rehearsal, I would get bored because of how easy these music pieces were for me. When I got to the band program I saw music pieces that had more than 100 measures, I knew I was at the right place. My school is known for its level of academics, arts (a pretty good reputation), and sports (the biggest subject people talk about.) I am going to focus on their band. DeMatha has a great band program. DeMatha’s band is actually a class that I have to take every day as part of my curriculum. I went to one of their classrooms and I saw lots of trophies that DeMatha won. I even saw one trophy they won in New York. The whole summer band program was to learn how to sight-read. Sight-reading is when you play a new piece that you never heard of and play all the way until you finish playing that particular piece. We played a lot of pieces. When I say a lot, I don't mean 3. I'm talking about playing 8 or more. I do remember some of the songs we played. We played Bunker Hill, By the Sword, Black Panther, Aladdin, and Fire and Lighting. I had lots of fun in the program and I am excited to be in the band program for the school year.
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I did a week of rowing for DeMatha. Honestly, I never thought I would do Crew.
I learned a lot of new things in rowing. In rowing, the right side is called port and the left side is called starboard. Also, the paddle is called an ore. Lastly, the boat is called a shell. I don’t know why it is called a shell, but that term is used in the Olympics. I learned the basics of rowing. When it comes to rowing, you need to get your shell on the water. Those things are heavy. I had to learn how to strap and unstrap. I also had to learn how to carry the shell above my head and on my shoulder. That is just carrying the shell. Next, I had to attach the ores. The shell had ore locks. If you don’t know what ore locks are, well the name is self-explanatory. It is the spot where I had to put the ores and lock it. That is how to assemble the shell. So I was rowing on the Anacostia River. I have to say, that river is so dirty. I was thinking, “How can fish live in that water?” I rowed all the way to the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. I learned 4 steps of rowing. The 4 steps of rowing:
The Brains of this Sport I talked a lot about being a rower. I didn’t talk about this one particular position called the coxswain. The coxswain sits in the first seat of the shell. The coxswain actually steers the shell. Not only that, the coxswain yells at the rowers. There is a reason why. The coxswain is basically the leader of the sport and it is up to the coxswain to make sure that the rowers move fast, together and lead the race and win. I hope I get to be on DeMatha’s rowing team as a coxswain. My aunties told me that I am the right size to be one. I want to be one because of this special perk. I don’t have to carry the shell. I am just joking around, but I am liking this sport and I do agree with my aunties that I would make a great coxswain for the team. |
AuthorMy name is Michael Duarte. I am 15 years old. I am a student. I am a soccer player. I enjoy sports. I love to play and watch different kinds of sports. I am also getting in the habit of reading. CategoriesArchives
June 2021
About this Page
This is a page where I review sports games and books that I read. Hope you enjoy! |