From post-race discussions to building mixed-school friendships, team culture is a big deal for students and coaches alike on the Minneapolis Sailing Center’s high school team.
The high school team creates a space for students from across the Twin Cities and beyond to come together over the love of being on the water. Their season runs from the beginning of April through the end of May, with practices on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Regattas, or sailing races, occur most Saturdays and Sundays.
The Sailing Center’s atmosphere is full of excitement, and everyone on the team seems completely comfortable in the space. During practice, people run in and out of the boathouse and down the dock with armfuls of equipment. They put on windbreakers, lifejackets, and boots before rigging up their boats, all while talking and sharing jokes with each other. The members of the team seem to really enjoy being together, in addition to their love for sailing.
Coach Collin Mueller believes that sailing is a great sport for young people to learn. “Sailing is such a cool sport where kids can use their minds and their bodies to learn a skill that they can participate in for the rest of their lives,” he said.
When asked about the best part of being on the team, nearly everyone stated the same thing: community. For 10th grader Leif Rush, this is especially true. “[My favorite part is] the community that we have because… [there are] a lot of other schools, so we make connections across communities,” Rush said.
Once practice officially starts, the team, consisting of around 15 sailors, gathers on the tables by the dock to listen to their coach outline the plan for the afternoon. They discuss race rules, penalties, and past experiences, with each sailor pitching in at least once to ask questions and help each other understand the drills better.
The team’s approach to competition was clear after several discussions with the sailors. 10th grader Adi Narayan Views competitive sailing as he would any other sport. “[Winning] is really important because… [sailing] is a competitive sport. You’re going against people, and it can get heated… so it’s pretty important to be on your game,” he said.
7th grader Vicente Wong-Busse commented on his straightforward views on racing. “You always want to have a plan. Winning means you executed it well, and losing means you didn’t so you have to figure out how to do it better next time,” he said.
Rush believes that losing a race is not a bad thing. “A loss is just an opportunity,” they said. After every race, the team discusses what went well and what could be improved, as well as their goals for the next race. The beginning of practice was very similar to one of these discussions, with everyone reflecting on things they’d done well in the past and what they wanted to do better over practice.
With just over a month left of the season, the sailing team plans to attend several more regattas, including a few bigger competitions like the Midwest Regional Championship. For the sailors, however, it is not just about the race results, though they do care about those, it is about showing up, getting better as a team, and building strong relationships within their community.
