Hi Friends~
Wow!
If you read the entry last week – this is a continuing story – I was so excited that Arshay Cooper, world-renowned author and speaker had accepted my invitation to come to Asbury Park Boys & Girls Club. He was certainly true to his mission – sharing his inspiring message of personal empowerment for kids in Asbury Park!
The bleachers were filled with middle school kids, including the rowers in the Youth Indoor Rowing Program, and adults including The Director of the Boys and Girls Club, staff, Asbury Park School Board members, Deputy Mayor, and community organization leaders. Arshay was so engaging and his stories were so compelling, that everyone was riveted, laughing, cheering, and participating, and rowing in demonstrations with the kids. Even the Boys & Girls Club Director hopped on!
Arshay’s message of personal empowerment centered on his growing up poor in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, and how he had the unlikely, and life-changing opportunity to join a rowing team, which then became the first Black rowing team in the US. The focus at the Boys & Girls Club was geared toward the middle school kids, and it also impacted the adults, most of whom who were unaware of how meaningful rowing can be – being on a rowing team can change the lives of young people.
NJ.com came to cover the event too! N.J. author shares story of first all-Black U.S. high school rowing team
Arshay’s journey, and that of the men on the first US Black high school team is chronicled in his memoir, which inspired the film A Most Beautiful Thing in 2020. The award-winning film inspired me to begin working on establishing the Asbury Park Youth Indoor Rowing Program, which began in 2024. The middle school kids in the program are developing fortitude, mental resilience, consistency, and teamwork, and having a great time week by week!
Now, onward to high school kids!
Arshay is willing to come to Asbury Park again to speak with high school students many of whom experience similar challenges as those he experienced in the West Side of Chicago. Learning to row is challenging, and for high school kids it can also be intimidating, risking failure, or embarrassment. Arshay can be the perfect inspiration that these kids need to be willing to give it a try.
Rowing on the water will be an opportunity again this summer for 8th grade kids, and there is a real possibility that a Jersey Shore Youth Rowing Program could become a reality in Asbury Park. It will be an incremental process with support from the school district, the rowing community, and the community at large.
I believe it can happen.
The enthusiasm is building, and we’re surrounded by water…
Onward!
Polli
