Over the past four years, cousins John Patton ’23 and Oscar Patton ’23 went from having little experience with rowing to becoming two of the best rowers in the country. John said, “Some people on my team think I’ve been rowing for a while, and I’ve really only been rowing for three years, so it’s humbling to me because it helps me keep that idea that I’m always progressing. It’s not like I’ve been doing it for ten years. Each year I’m getting better.” John grew up in Brookline, MA, and moved to Houston, TX, in seventh grade. He grew up going to rowing races and rowed a little in middle school. However, in Houston, it was difficult to find opportunities to row, so he ran track and field instead. Both of John’s brothers had rowed, and when he was a freshman, his brother, James Patton ’20, was the captain of Deerfield’s Boys’ Varsity Rowing team. John started rowing partly because of his family; his dad is a two-time Olympic medalist for rowing. John wanted to try rowing not only because it was important to his family but he also found it an exciting competitive outlet. He said he enjoys rowing for its many team aspects, saying, “It’s like that quote that ‘you’re only as strong as your weakest link.’” In other sports, a star player can score many points for the team and earn a quasi celebrity status, while in rowing, a boat has to work entirely together to win. John said, “I kind of liked that aspect of it because it really forces you to be a team player and teaches you a lot of valuable skills.” He said he likes that rowing has a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and areas, and appreciates that every boat has a unique culture and environment. John also appreciates the variety in the boat setup available. The intense competition intrinsic to the sport and in his family drives John to improve. He said his brothers are “always trying to compete, even at dinners. It’s like a race to see who can get to the bread first.” This competition pushes him every day to work and be the best he can be, and as John said, “Why do something if you’re not going to give it your all?” Oscar is from Concord, Massachusetts. Oscar’s father rowed at Brown University and Oscar decided to try it out for the first time at a local club in seventh grade. After that, he continued to row recreationally until he got to high school, when he dedicated himself to the sport. For Oscar, much of his motivation came from the success of everyone in his family. The fact that the rowing team had lost every race during his sophomore year also served as an impetus. John said that being out on the water is a calming experience that relieves stress: “I think I’m probably one of the only people who would describe it as peaceful. There’s a lot of little things you have to focus on, which really leads to everybody getting into this kind of zone.” On the other hand, John also noted that the team has been trying to raise their energy level during races by “shouting and just being chaotic because it sort of helps everybody know that we’re all working towards this goal. And it just gets us fired up.” In addition, he said that it helps him tell that the team cares: “If it was quiet when we were racing, you wouldn’t really know what others are thinking.” The race last year at Nationals that Deerfield won was a memory Oscar recalls as a highlight from his time at Deerfield. For threequarters of the race, Deerfield was behind by two or three seconds. In the last quarter, however, they pushed through and won by a small margin. Oscar said, “I’ll never forget that. That’s on YouTube, and I’ve rewatched the race like 20 times.” Switching this year from fourseat boats to eight-seat boats has meant more competition and has been challenging. Even though the rowing team placed first at Nationals at the end of last year’s season, variables like injuries, coordination, and energy have come into play with a larger boat. Part of the reason for the switch was the size of the rowing team and the limited number of coaches. Being the first year to row in eight-seat boats is inspiring for John since “this year’s rowers can set the bar high, and then that will encourage future generations to just keep doing the same thing.” John said that having Oscar on his team is helpful: “I can tell when he’s frustrated, and I know what he’s annoyed about. Because we’re cousins, we come from a similar family with competitiveness, and we both have that same drive to want to be leaders and make our team as good as possible.” He added, “I think the balance between us two is perfect because we both bring different things and different ways of looking at it. And I think that has helped us develop and lead our group.” Oscar echoed this sentiment, saying that rowing with John has been very helpful for his development. “I mean, John’s the best rower in the world. I’m pretty sure anyone who has rowed with him would tell you that.” He added that John’s work ethic and close relationship have made the team dynamic special. After only erging during their freshman year because of COVID-19, John and Oscar participated in a virtual US National Championship, winning the U17 pairs as determined based upon erg times. John was in Texas, and Oscar was in Boston, and they FaceTimed each other during the race. After their sophomore year, they both went down to Oregon. In Chula Vista, San Diego, they trained for the junior national team at a selection camp, along with 70 other athletes. John ended up making the team as the youngest on the boys’ team. They ended up winning the World Championships that summer, which America had not done in a couple of years. The next summer, John returned to the USA team and got third place, but the leadup was different. John said, “It was kind of a different role for me because I had to lead versus just being a piece of the puzzle. I sort of helped the coach out a lot and led the group versus just being there and existing.” He ended up getting the United Teen Junior Athlete of the Year, along with the coxswain, who are voted on by the coaches and the teammates. Rowing is something both John and Oscar prepare for almost year-round. In the winter, the students who participate in the winter rowing co-curricular erg after school Monday through Saturday and lift on Tuesday and Thursday. They even did an extra bike workout one morning per week. Oscar said, “It has been really helpful to have the rowing tanks to use in the winter when you can not row on the river.” During the actual rowing season, the rowers do about the same practice. John will be a member of Yale University’s rowing team, and he hopes to continue his rowing journey past college. John said, “I think I’ll just keep doing it as long as I can, honestly, until my body doesn’t allow it anymore.” He added that he could see himself coaching in the future. He also said that he hopes to one day go to the Olympics. Oscar will be attending Princeton next year for rowing. “That’s going to be a lot more training than we’ve done here, which I’m excited for,” he said. He hopes to try and make the U23 National Team. He was on the U19 National team and now has four years to make the U23 team. Oscar said, “I just want to go as far as I feel like I can in the sport.”