Chatter between the rowers scurry back and forth at the dock fills the air. For the varsity junior members of the St. Louis Rowing Club,  James Palanca (12) assumes leadership of the role called the coxswain. 

“A coxswain is like the captain of the boat,” Palanca said. “The tempo of the stroke, race plan, getting eight guys to match up in the most effective manner.”

During the school year, Palanca practices six days a week, averaging around 20 hours at the boathouse. He watches videos of the best coxswains giving their commands and implements their tactics into his practice. 

“James has one of the [best] work ethics I’ve met,” teammate Will Yin (11) said. “If he isn’t the best at something, he is going to work as hard as he can to get to whatever goal he’s at. He’s always trying to outwork everybody.”

One experience that Palanca recalls was his opportunity to coxswain top rowers in the nation during his freshman year. This experience  molded Palanca to be a better rounded rower. 

“Being able to handle the pressure and cox these youth Olympians, I feel like it [was] a very defining moment,” Palanca said. “I’m very grateful for them helping mold me and it’s kind of why I support the pressure.”

Throughout the year, Palanca consistently pushes himself to his limits. His motivation is that he knows that all the hard work he puts in will translate to the critical moments during a race. 

“It’s pressuring when the difference between getting gold can be tenths or hundredths of a second,” Palanca said.  “You put your whole year into this.  I want the challenge of [taking] on as much as I can because I’m confident in my ability to help the boat.” 

On water, Palanca is able to display his leadership by giving commands of how to adjust the boat.  Off  water, Palanca gives his fellow teammates advice and finds ways to connect to them.

“He’s always trying to get [us] involved,” teammate Ritwik Ashok said. “[For example] working out together, or things to improve [our technique].”

The sense of community he has felt from SLRC has fueled his desire to be the best. In high school he has been able to expand beyond local competitions, and he plans to continue rowing collegiately.

“I’m very passionate about winning,” Palanca said. “I got recruited for [coxswaining] and at the international level representing the United States.”

Palanca continues to learn new strategies to improve his skillset as a coxswain. He has established his true motivation for why he continues to push himself. 

“The driver for me [for] rowing is myself,” Palanca said. “It’s gotten to the point where I’m not doing it for other people.”