On Nov. 24, high school students training with Amadeusz Rowing Academy at Diamond Fitness in Oyster Bay were treated to a visit from USRowing team members Kelly Pierce and Nicole Bielawski. The two nationally renowned athletes spoke with the group about what it takes to be a successful rower, life as a collegiate athlete and balancing an intense training schedule with academic demands.
“These very successful rowers are terrific role models,” said rowing coach Amadeusz Pietrzak. “They offer young athletes encouragement, motivation and guidance and they demonstrate the benefits of goal-setting and self-discipline.”
Kelly Pierce, whose hometown is Oakton, VA, attended Princeton University where she was a member of the elite Princeton Rowing Team, and continues to train in Princeton as a member of the USRowing Team.
Pierce took third place at the 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and was a winner at the 2011 NCAA Championships and the 2010 Head of the Charles Regatta.
Nicole Bielawski is a native of Westbury and attended Friends Academy in Locust Valley before also attending Princeton University where she, too, rowed with the Princeton Tigers crew. Bielawski has won many rowing awards as well, including at the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, and at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships the NCAA Championships.
The special guests were invited by Pietrzak, a native of Bydgoszcz Poland, who is a graduate of Dowling College in Oakdale.
Pietrzak is widely respected for his success in training and mentoring highly successful young athlete scholars. His student athletes have been recruited to many Ivy League schools and Division 1 universities including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia and Boston Universities.
