Junior Daesha Roberts didn’t begin rowing until high school, but her late start hasn’t stopped her from excelling in the sport.
During her senior year of high school at Stanton College Prepatory School, Roberts helped her team win the FSRA State Championship. In her career at NSU, Roberts and the rowing team have taken first place at a Sunshine State Conference Championship, as well as second place at a National Championship.
Roberts is a business administration major with a minor in leadership. After graduation, Roberts hopes to go to law school and peruse her JD-MBA.
In addition to being a member of the rowing team, Roberts is also heavily involved on campus. She is the vice president of Traditions for the Student Events and Activities Board and plans on-campus events such as homecoming, Sharkapalooza, Dance Marathon, FinFest and NSU’s Got Talent. She is also a member of the planning board for Community Fest.
I got the chance to sit down with Roberts and ask her a few questions.
How did you find NSU and get into the rowing program here?
“I was actually recruited to come here. I was originally about to sign with University of Central Florida and had already verbally committed, but in December of my senior year in high school, the coach here contacted me. So I came here, and I actually loved the team, more so than I loved UCF, and I was probably going to UCF for the wrong reasons. The team here was great, and there was a lot of academic support, and I felt like it was a close-knit family here, more than the big atmosphere at UCF. It was small, and it reminded me of who I am and how I would like my life to be in the next four years.”
How was it adjusting to living in South Florida?
“It wasn’t a huge adjustment, honestly. My family isn’t too far away, and they get to come visit me because it’s only a five-hour drive. The biggest thing that I think I had to adjust to was doing my own thing ― having to manage my time and be responsible for myself ― but I think that came easily because I really didn’t have a choice. It was manage your time or go back home to a community college.”
What do you think is the hardest aspect of being a rower?
“The hardest part is balancing everything that I have to do because I’m not just a student-athlete, I’m also involved in different clubs and activities. My day is very structured; if you look at the calendar in my phone, you’ll just see red, blue, yellow, green, orange marking all of the things that I have to do. Everything is categorized. So that’s probably the hardest part.”
Have you had any coaches who have influenced you throughout your rowing career?
“Probably my first coaches. They were the most influential. Their names are Tess Durant and Steve Hitchcock. Coach Durant is very strict and rigid; she knows what she wants. She’s never rowed before, but she took her time and studied every aspect of rowing, and I don’t know how, but she figured out the perfect technique and knows how to make you fast. Then Coach Hitchcock is short and stumpy, five-foot-five, an ex-marine and rowed when he was in college, but he has the softest heart and would cry at the drop of a dime. If he saw that someone was working really hard and hit their goals, he would sit there with you, and say ‘I’m so proud of you ― it’s enough to make an old man cry.’ It’s funny because five minutes ago, he was yelling at me and making me do pushups, and then he was crying. They were both incredibly influential and taught me work ethic and how there are certain things that you have to do to reach your goals. If you try to take the easy way out, you might reach your goal, but it’s not the same. They’re probably the most influential coaches I’ve ever had, and I love them to death.”
What do you think is the most rewarding part of being a rower?
“I think it goes back to the work ethic thing. In a lot of other sports, you can just have talent. Like in basketball, if you just have that natural swing, you could hit shots all day, and the same thing with football; some people are just born with that natural talent. In rowing there is no talent. Literally, you just get on the rowing machine, and you practice, and you just keep training until you get faster. You just have to put in the hours and keep training. You’re not going to wake up in the morning and just be good at rowing ― you can’t do that. You need to get out there and just train. That’s really what I like about it. I wouldn’t consider myself the most athletic person, so I think the aspect of learning how to work hard toward something is something that I’m sure I, and every rower, could say the same thing about the sport.”
Are there any specific motivational tools that you use to push yourself toward that hard work ethic?
“I have my entire team full of awesome rowers. They motivate me so much because they work so hard, and they make me want to better because I know that if we’re all pushing each other, then I know in the end, we’ll all be as fast as possible.”
What has been your proudest achievement as a rower?
“I’m going to say my freshman year here. We didn’t win Nationals; we actually got second. However, the lesson that I learned made it my proudest achievement. I came in as a freshman just trying to have fun, but the team made me really buckle down and focus. The leadership on the team at that point had a take-no-prisoner’s attitude. That attitude carried us through the best season that I’ve ever competed in because we had so much confidence, and it wasn’t cockiness; it was just knowing that we had worked hard. But we got to Nationals and we didn’t win the title; however, I think that’s the hardest I’ve worked in a season. But I think this year might top that. We’ve got some good momentum going on.”
Are there any goals or expectations you have for yourself going into the season?
“Winning a National Championship, of course. There are little goals here and there, like we want to beat Barry – they’re our main completion in our conference and nationally. They’re a great competitor, and we respect them very much because they challenge us to do the best that we can.”
Photo printed with permission from J. Fraysure
