The great cheers and roars cannot be forgotten from the MAPL Championship race as the last boat crossed the finish line and the Bucs claimed the cup. It was the moment of the 2025 crew season. The victory was priceless not only because it was the first win in 17 years for the Men’s crew team, but also because they knew how much effort and how many touching stories were behind that moment: from March training in Chula Vista, training daily in Mercer lake, and all the way to winning the cup. The journey was challenging but unforgettable and inspiring.
Rowing is a brutally demanding sport that drains an enormous amount of physical energy, and it is hard to overcome the physical challenges without positive team spirit and support. On top of that, Blair rowers have to balance academics and athletics as student-athletes.
Being on the sculling team this fall season, I see Mr. Redoes everyday, both on the water and in my dormitory. I often wondered how the athletic journey was like for him as a teacher, a coach, and a Blair alum. He had once been a student-athlete rower himself, going on to row at Cornell University, which intrigued me more of his backstory, about the events that led to him now before returning to Blair as a teacher and a coach.
When I asked him what motivated him to return to the rowing program, his answer was simple and honest. It was an unexpected opportunity, combined with thoughts of his and his wife’s parents getting older and wanting to spend more time with them. One day, while he was teaching at the University of Montenegro, he received a call from his former advisor from Blair, offering him the position of women’s rowing coach. He explained that what made his decision more firm was that his wife, Dr. Markoholovich, who had been doing research at the NIH, also agreed without hesitation. Thanks to this, he was able to return to Blair not as a student but as a coach and a teacher.
What does Blair Crew mean to Mr. Redos now that he has returned as a coach? I was curious whether the team reminds him of his own student days, and what mentality he wants Blair rowers to have. Is it about winning? Or teamwork? Or something deeper? Mr. Redos says that today’s Blair crew still carries the same spirit he remembers from his days. The only difference being that the team is larger now, and the energy among rowers have grown even stronger under Mrs. Gould, Men’s head coach together with him. He emphasized that while victories at MAPL or big regattas matter, what is more important is the sense of unity that runs through the entire team, treating each other with respect and having fun while doing so.
Through the coaches’ dedication and the team’s energy, I can feel the Blair rowing program becoming more united each season. This made me wonder what kind of vision Mr. Redos has as the program’s leader. He answered that he sees rowing not just as a sport, but as an opportunity for students to experience something larger than themselves. It’s entering a team where you become part of something big, something you may never experience again after high school.
Today, I was speaking not to a team coach, but to a mentor with vision and value, someone committed to guiding students with care. And this is likely true of all Blair coaches. Blair really is all together, for all of us.
