AOW: Sam Helms, Julian Drury
Twenty meters remain until the finish. St. Paul’s boat one inches closer to Exeter’s bow. Under senior coxswain Nikhil Chuchra’s instructions, senior co-captains Sam Helms and Julian Drury urge the rowers to speed up. As the finish line comes into sight, both boats start to accelerate; within seconds, Exeter’s boat one emerges victorious.
Talented and passionate rowers Helms and Drury got their first taste of crew at Exeter when they joined the sport.
“Initially my mom made me do it,” Drury said. “I wanted to play lacrosse. I played water polo and hockey that year. I got a concussion in water polo and almost another in hockey, so she didn’t want me to play another contact sport.”
With his parents’ advice in mind and having considered that his close friend, Chuchra, rowed on the team, Drury decided to try the sport.
“My parents always took me to the head of the Charles in the fall to watch the races, so I was always interested in rowing. It wasn’t my first choice, but once I got into it it was a lot of fun,” Drury said.
Similarly, Helms’ involvement began when he started to consult with his advisor, the boys’ varsity crew coach at the time. Helms immediately impressed the coaches with his strength and form and started out on the third boat. Throughout the season, he improved enough to move up to first boat, a rarity in Exeter crew’s history.
“Sam has been a power rower and someone you look up to since prep year. He was one of only two preps in recent memory to make boat one as a prep,” Chuchra said. “He has more experience and has won more varsity races than anyone else on the team, plus he is technically sound enough to stroke a boat. Power and technique as grand and refined as his are a deadly combination.”
Drury has also come a long way in terms of his rowing abilities since his prep year.
These captains succeeded to such a degree because of their genuine love for the sport. Drury described the exhilaration he feels when he rows with his fellow teammates.
“I think my favorite part about rowing is seeing how fast we can make a boat go,” he said. “It is fun when there are seven other rowers and a coxswain who all know what they’re doing and who can almost make the boat basically float over the water.”
Helms found crew’s appeal in the physical act of rowing, and his limitless desire to improve gave him great devotion to the sport.
“Crew has become an obsession of mine; I've spent the past four years, in-season and off-season, working to improve my skill,” Helms said. “It has taught me how to discipline and push myself. It has taught me my limits and also how to break past those limits.”
As captains, Drury and Helms could not be a better pair. They share a passion for rowing, have built up the team with their knowledge and experience and complement each other’s personality well for a cohesive leadership.
“Sam has been a great person to be a co-captain with. He is very well versed in rowing and we both have a lot of experience with a range of sports, which I think helps,” Drury said. “Him coming from a track and distance background, and me coming team sport background, we sort of complement each other as far as leadership and knowing what to say to the guys and how to say it.”
From their different backgrounds, Drury had the team sport mentality of how to bring the boats and team closer together, and Helms had the power, drive and endurance to win, much like the qualities of a distance runner.
“Going into this season, I knew Sam and Julian would be a strong pair as captains because they balanced each other out in their approaches to leadership,” varsity crew head coach Tyler Caldwell said. “Julian was typically more vocal while Sam tended to lead by example; Julian will often see and discuss the big picture and Sam can focus on the smaller details. They encouraged their teammates, reached out to boys outside of their boat, and demonstrated a genuine love for the sport. They consistently embody commitment, dedication and sportsmanship.”
The rowers have nothing but great things to say about the leadership Drury and Helms have provided this season.
“These guys did really well to motivate the team to show up to practice everyday and work their hardest,” upper Brooks Saltonstall said. “Sam leads by example in the boathouse. He is a extremely powerful and strong athlete. He is definitely a top tier rower. Julian was the organizer. He always knew what he was doing. Julian always kept everyone in high spirits with his bright mood.”
“They did a great job of really engaging everyone on the team, and were constantly talking and giving advice to novices, preps, lowers and uppers,” Chuchra said. “You don't really see that many seniors captains engaging with novice and JV members of their team. They both really care for the sport, and care for their team, so being leaders of the crew team at Exeter was almost natural for them.”