Maryam Ali is the most unlikely member of the West Potomac HighSchool crew team.
In a sport dominated by the fit and affluent, Maryam lives insubsidized housing, suffers from asthma and struggles with herweight. She's black while the vast majority of competitive rowersare white. Her mother -- a medical technician and single parent offive -- struggled to pay for her $260 uniform and prayed for thescholarship that is covering part of the club's $750 in fees.
Yet none of that matters to Maryam, a 16-year-old sophomore whohas fallen in love with the water. Or to her mother, Tee Dillard.
'She told me she wanted to do this. I told her to go for it,'Dillard said. 'It's expensive, but what can I do? I'm not going toallow that to hinder' Maryam.
Buying just the bottled water, sports drinks and snacks forMaryam's practices has been a challenge. When they went to a localregatta recently, family members had to choose between a $2-a-headride on a shuttle bus from the launch site or lunch.
The financial difficulties they've encountered reflect the long-standing divide between haves and have-nots in prep sports -- agap that is widening as club sports grow ever more expensive and newparticipation fees are imposed on public school teams by cash-strapped school systems. In Maryam's high school and others inFairfax County, students might have to pay a $100 fee to participatein any organized sport next year.
For Maryam, the challenges go beyond the financial. Even findinga ride to practice while her mom is at work can sometimes pose aproblem.
Maryam had no idea what crew was when two of her friendssuggested she join the team last fall. She just thought it might befun. Better than coming home from school and watching TV.
When winter conditioning started in November, she was shocked byhow difficult the workouts were: running and weight lifting androwing on indoor machines. She could barely walk after the first dayand ended up in the trainer's office more than once with an asthmaattack. She's had a weight problem since she was 6, about the timeher father died of kidney disease, her mother said. Gym class hadbeen the extent of her athletic activity.
'I wasn't expecting it to be as hard as it was,' Maryam said.But, she added, 'there was a unity. Everybody did everythingtogether. You're working hard, but everyone else is in pain, too.And everybody was really encouraging.'
Then she went to her first outdoor practice at a marina south ofMount Vernon. When she pushed off into the water, she was amazed athow peaceful it was as she floated by herons and George Washington'shouse, sunlight sparkling on the water.
'The feeling of being out on the water, it's indescribable,' shesaid, curled up in a chair at home wearing her blue-and-white crewwindbreaker. 'It's something you have to experience. It's calming.'
Maryam has become part of a team of about 50 mostly white teenswhose booster parents raise $150,000 yearly to cover the team'sbudget. Crew is considered a club sport in Fairfax County, meaningit is not financially supported by the school system.
The club has taken a pay-what-you-can attitude towards Maryam's$750 dues. An anonymous donor is paying for her trip to theprestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia on Friday andSaturday, where she'll cheer for teammates rather than compete.
Since she began working out, her rowing time has become muchfaster, and her muscle mass has increased. But Maryam is still notstrong enough to row with the others, her coaches say. And she'sslowed her progress by missing practices, which she attributes toher asthma and an aching shoulder.
Nevertheless, they have gone out of their way to accommodate her.The team's head coach, Jaime Rubini, borrowed a single-seat scullfor her to practice in and assigned her a personal coach.
'We welcome anybody,' he said. 'We don't ask for perfect rowers.'
At practice on a sunny afternoon, Maryam proudly wore the hand-painted crew T-shirt the varsity members made for the younger girlsat the season's start.
But after the other members of the team pushed off in their four-or eight-member boats, she remained behind on the dock, doing a fewhalf-hearted sit-ups and lunges.
Because she's not part of a group boat, she misses out on some ofthe bonding activities particular to crew -- such as the 'SecretSister' gift exchanges each boat does.
Once she got out on the water in her single scull, toting herwater and her asthma inhaler, Maryam plowed diligently ahead as hercoach, Lauren Ridley, 21, directed her from a bullhorn in a nearbyboat.
Maryam has been working with one goal in mind: to get in a racebefore the end of the season. 'I just want to do the best I can . .. and be an important part of the team,' she said.
But Ridley said that until Maryam can finish 1,500 meters on theindoor rowing machine without stopping, she won't be ready to race.
'I'd rather her get fit on the water here and have a good timerather than get stressed out in a race she can't finish,' Ridleysaid.
A few weeks ago, Maryam and her family headed to the OccoquanReservoir at Sandy Run Regional Park to watch their first-everregatta. They showed up late, frazzled, having gotten lost severaltimes. Because the stands were full, they stood in a clump near theshore, unsure of what to do.
A boat of West Potomac girls sailed by. The family cheered.
'That looks hard,' said Maryam's sister Aisha, 13.
'It is,' Maryam said. Then: 'I want to race!'
Maryam's mother looked approvingly at the crowd, the water andthe glinting silver trophies. Beyond her somewhat fragile hopes thatrowing might be a path for Maryam to get to college, she also thinkscrew relieves her daughter's stress about the family's rockyfinancial circumstances or the fact that she's struggling inchemistry.
'She's just a kid. I tell her, 'Don't you worry about thosethings. Let me handle it,' ' Dillard said. 'She worries more for methan she does for herself, and that bothers me a lot.'
Some of Maryam's teammates approached and greeted her excitedly,with hugs.
'Oh my gosh, Maryam, hi,' one said. 'We got fourth. The oar hitme in the stomach.'
'That's okay,' Maryam said comfortingly.
They seemed perplexed about why she was there in her jacket andunitard but not competing.
'We don't get it,' one said.
Maryam said she was there to cheer them and hoped to competesoon. After they departed, she reminded her mother of how much shewants to go to crew camp so she can keep training.
'I just really love the sport,' Maryam said. 'It's the one thingI want to do instead of what I have to do.'
A bit later, Maryam's 6-year-old sister Lul piped up to say thatshe wanted to ride in a boat.
'Those boats aren't for us,' Dillard said. 'We'll have to watchthem with our eyes.'
Then she turned to her oldest daughter. 'I would really like tosee you in a boat, Maryam,' Dillard said. 'Next year.'
Maryam was standing on shore, her eyes glued to the water. 'Nextyear,' she agreed, wistfully.
gowena@washpost.com
