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CTC brings a whole new crew

By Joseph White on Sunday, July 12, 2009

Address: 2411 W. 55th, Chicago, IL 60632

When most people think about inner city youth sports programs, they generally think of basketball or football, or perhaps even boxing. But Montana Butsch of the Chicago Training Center has something different in mind. He wants to fatten that list a bit, with football and basketball sliding over to make room for rowing.

Wait. Rowing?

While rowing is hardly a mainstream sport in America – let alone in urban areas like Chicago – Butsch has been pushing hard to change that. Since it’s inception in 2007, the Chicago Training Center has nearly tripled its roster of inner-city crew athletes, growing from fifteen rowers to well over forty. On July 11th and 12th, Butsch brought his team of athletes from high schools all over the city to compete in the Lincoln Park Boat Club’s Chicago Sprints Regatta for the third year in a row.

And compete they did, as competition is one of the main draws for kids on the Chicago Training Center team. “I’m probably the most competitive person I know,” Eileen Harris, 17, said. “And I don’t know life without crew.”

Lucas Gonzalez, 15, enjoys the unique thrills the sport provides. “I like the competition. I like going fast. I think that’s the fun part.” A member of a four-man crew, Gonzalez helped propel his team into the semifinals on Sunday, pressing hard down the kilometer-long course.

The athletes are also quick to acknowledge the importance of teamwork in rowing. “If even one person is screwing around or doesn’t want to work hard, you can’t win a race,” said 17-year-old Connor Skelding.

The sport is undoubtedly an exercise in timing and consistency. In a four- or eight- or even two-person boat crew, if everyone isn’t in sync, everything can go to pieces very quickly.

And that is where the training comes in. The Chicago Training Center has three weekly practices on open water, as well as introductory training in swimming and basic rowing mechanics. New athletes train on a rowing machine called an erg, and once proficient in technique, they hit the open water in a long boat. But mechanics aside, the real secret to the sport is teamwork.

“We use rowing as a vehicle,” Butsch said. “We are a youth service provider, focusing on the mind body and soul. Rowing forces teamwork. It forces goals. It forces the kids to organize their priorities.”

In addition to on-water training, Butsch has incorporated a mentoring and tutoring program into the Training Center. “Montana is helping us think more about our future,” said Yvonne Villanueva, 17.

“Crew has taught me I can accomplish more with the help of a team,” Harris added. “I don’t have to do everything on my own.”

Butsch has been building his team steadily since 2007, visiting high schools and community events in order to recruit students, and forming a partnership with St. Ignatius College Prep. “My goal is for this program to become an institution for inner city kids,” he said. “For it to become as well known as the Jesse White Tumbling Team.”

Butsch has actually gone directly to the source for some guidance, consulting White – now the Illinois Secretary of State – about how to best build a successful youth sports program. Butsch said of his motivation: “I asked myself, ‘How can I learn from him and what he has done before?’”

The Chicago Training Center seems to have found a niche for kids seeking an alternative to traditional urban sports like football and basketball. “I wanted a sport that not many other people were attracted to,” said 17-year-old Marya Correa.

Angel Lopez, also 17, chose rowing because it is relatively unknown. “There aren’t that many people in the sport so you can compete at any level,” she said.

In time, Butsch envisions the program growing large enough to field teams in competitions around the region. “I hope to max out at around 300 athletes as well as form a partnership with the park district and LISC, and begin talks with the Olympic committee.”

Beyond competition, the Chicago Training Center team members welcome the sense of community and friendship that is fostered through the program. “We always have group meetings before and after every race,” Gonzalez said. “We’re all friends.”
 
Butsch feels that perhaps the reason rowing appeals to these kids is the way the sport negates the advantages of physical gifts.

“Unlike other sports where natural talent and athleticism can give an unbalanced advantage, rowing is about work ethic,” he said. “What you get at the end of the day is what you deserve.”