By Edwin Sam ’13, Contributor
“It is a matter of how hard someone is willing to train. There is no limiting factor if you keep improving physically,” said John Graves, a CCDS graduate from the class of 2006. This fall, Graves will be competing for a spot on the Senior Men’s National Rowing Team. He will also be an assistant coach for the CCDS men’s soccer, basketball, and crew teams. In September, he will be going to Princeton University for time trials, where, if he qualifies, he will go to New Zealand for the World Championships in October. Graves competed with the Under-23 U.S. National Team while he attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
A deep commitment to rowing and success is one of the reasons why Graves pursues rowing at such a high level. He also has a rowing pedigree, as both of his older brothers, also CCDS graduates, row at a very high level. “Both of my older brothers are on the Senior National Team and are training for the Olympics. My brothers are a big influence on me,” he explained. Graves started rowing at the age of nine, but only began competing when he was a freshman in high school. While at Trinity College, he made the U.S. National Team and was a part of Trinity’s Under-23 Squad, on which he won the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships. Additionally, in the U-23 World Championships, Graves placed 10th, which is the highest finish ever by an American in this event.
While attending CCDS, Graves played five sports in the Upper School. During the fall of his senior year he was captain of the men’s soccer team, while serving as a kicker for the football team. In the winter, he played basketball, and in the spring, he participated in baseball and crew. He continued to show his athletic versatility at Trinity College where he played both soccer and crew. John started on the Trinity soccer team for four years, and after his senior year he was voted MVP of the team.
Playing five sports in high school and two sports in college, he has clearly learned how to manage his time. He follows a strict training diet and schedule every day. This diet consists of lots of greens, nuts, and lean meat. Graves joked that he “has a love/hate relationship with pizza.” As for his training, Graves usually wakes up at 5:30 a.m. At sunrise, he begins rowing, which, according to him, is currently around 6:53 a.m. He rows until 9:00 a.m., and then comes to CCDS near 10:00 a.m. Graves stays at CCDS until around 1:00 p.m. He lifts weights at 1:30 and does additional rowing from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Afterward, he comes to back CCDS to help coach the men’s soccer team.
Although he is already very busy training, Graves is very enthusiastic about the opportunity to coach CCDS sports. “[Soccer, Basketball, and Crew] were the sports I did while here at Country Day. I want to give back the same experience that I had here.” In addition to coaching, he is considering teaching history. He was a history major at Trinity College, and explained that one of the main reasons he decided to go into history was because of CCDS history teacher Mr. Merle Black. “Mr. Black is my favorite teacher. I have never encountered a teacher like him. It is an incredible opportunity to work with him and Mr. Carr.”
Image courtesy of http://www.usrowing.org/News_Media/AthleteBios/jgraves.aspx
