LEADING LIGHTS: Maddy Peel, far right, pilots the Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA)/Mercer Juniors women’s lightweight eight in action this spring. Coxswain Peel, a Princeton High graduate who is headed to Cornell this month to join its women’s rowing program, helped the Mercer boat take fifth at the USRowing Youth National Championship in Sacramento, Calif. this June.

By Bill Alden

For Maddy Peel, mastering a new vocabulary proved to be a key challenge when she joined the Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) Mercer Junior rowing program as a neophyte coxswain in the fall of 2014.

“It was a lot about learning the lingo at first. There are a lot of words that aren’t used anywhere else,” said Peel.

“Once you get the hang of what to say, it starts getting a little bit easier. It is also knowing what is going on in your boat. When you are brand new, you are sitting down and you can’t really tell what is going on. You see eight oars but you don’t really know what is happening.”

Peel found her voice, moving up the ranks and becoming a fixture on the club’s women’s lightweight 8. She helped guide that lightweight 8 to a 15th place finish at the USRowing Youth National Championship in 2017 and ended her high school career by piloting the boat to fifth at this year’s Youth Nationals in Sacramento, Calif. in June.

Coming into this season, Peel developed a clearer message for her boat.

“I had mostly the same girls from last year so I really knew them and their technique and what they do on and off the water,” said Peel, who recently graduated from Princeton High and is headed to Cornell, where she will be a cox for its women’s rowing program.

“I have been trying to dial back what I say and really say only what needed to be said. I try to be as clear as possible; that is something I really worked on this season.”

With so many rowers back for a second year on the boat, Peel sensed it was primed to do some special things this spring. 

“We just had a really great dynamic on the boat this year. Everyone was pulling on every single stroke and pushing as hard as they could,” said Peel, who was joined on the boat by Catherine Vinch-Buck (Pennington School), Erin Dobbs (Notre Dame), Nathalie Verlinde (PHS), Taylor Vierling (Northern Burlington High), Maheera Bawa (Montgomery High), Julia Berdzik (Notre Dam High), Chloe Couillens (Hopewell Valley High), and Eveline Enthoven (PHS).

“We have also been doing a lot more work and a lot harder pieces on the water this spring. We have just really been pushing together. It helps that a lot of girls on this boat are older. Last year, we had only one person graduating and this year, five of us did. Everyone just had a lot more experience and had better technique as well.”

After taking first at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals to qualify for the Youth Nationals, the boat put its nose to the grindstone.

“For that first bit of just nationals training, we were doing a lot of harder pieces,” recalled Peel.

“Then it was a lot of technique, making sure that we were being as efficient as possible in the water. We wanted to do better than we did last year.”

After taking third in its opening heat at the Nationals and then placing second on the semis, the boat headed to the A final for the top six boats in the competition.

Peel and her boatmates knew that they has to push hard from the start to have any chance for a medal.

“We have had some rough starts not all that bad, just not our best in the opening heat and the semifinal so our main goal was to really nail down that start sequence for the final, which we definitely did,” said Peel.

“We were first off the line at the start and then we were holding steady. I would call a power five whenever it was necessary and then we also did our power move in the middle.”

While the Mercer boat didn’t crack the top three, it was a fitting finale for Peel.

“It was an amazing way to end my Mercer career. Going from 15th to 5th was quite a large jump,” said Peel.

“Making it to the A final was definitely one of my main goals. We were all really happy with how the race went in the end. Everyone was super thrilled with fifth, it was our best race. We were so close as a boat, no individual girls had an amazingly fast ERG time. We were all pushing together and everyone wanted it so much that we were able to make it happen. We were all in sync.”

Pushing her teammates has been a growth experience for Peel on and off the water.

“Coxing has helped me in so many different ways,” asserted Peel.

“One of the main things that you have to deal with as a coxswain is the dynamic between you being part of the team, but then also you need everyone to respect you at the same time and listen to what you are saying and do what you are saying. That is something I definitely got better at as the years went on. I think that is something that is really useful in life after coxing.”

In the meantime, Peel will be continuing her coxing at Cornell, having found a team that she connected with immediately.

“I was looking for a competitive rowing program but also a school that was really good in biology because I think I want to do pre med,” said Peel, reflecting on her college recruiting process.

“When I went up on my official at Cornell, all of the girls were so kind. On my first night, it was just me talking to these other girls who were on the team and they were talking to me as though we were equal and I had been there forever.”

With Cornell starting the fall semester next week, Peel is fired up to start competing for the Big Red.

“I am excited for school, I really can’t wait,” said Peel. “Mainly I want to just keep working on my skills.  I really want to work on, even more than I am able to now, really knowing what to say and what are the best calls. I have gotten better at it, but there is still more I can learn and do to be better.”