A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team

The nine boys who take the trip to Wisconsin learn about various aspects and terms associated with rowing: the difference between sculling, when each rower has two oars, and the sweep, when each rower has one oar; port and starboard, the respective sides of the boat; rowing in pairs, fours, or eights; and the titles and roles of each rower on the team. When Cooper returns home, he finds that his stepfather, Ike, has returned, just having been released from prison. Cooper writes that Ike “never once taught [him] anything about love, reading, loyalty, math, or faith” but did try to teach him how to hustle (50). Although Ike says that he is trying to change, Cooper clearly has reservations about him being back in their home. While many of his memories about Ike are bad ones, Cooper admits that “there were good memories too” (51). The following day, Ike attends church with the family, but midway through the service, one of the ushers tells them that Ike has stolen all the leather jackets from the coat rack.

At school, Cooper is excited to tell Grace that he has been selected to compete in a cooking competition and asks her out for a real date, but she instead suggests that he come to her house for dinner and to meet her family. At rowing practice, Coach Jessica tells the team that they each will need to pass a swim test before the coaches decide who will be going to Philadelphia for their spring break trip and that they will get in a boat on the water during the week. The swim test takes place at the local YMCA, where the coaches discover that the majority do not know how to swim, including Cooper, who at one point must be rescued by a lifeguard. At the end of the week, the team heads to the Lincoln Park Lagoon to row on the water for the first time. Cooper explains that “going on the water to row for the first time when you’re from the hood is the scariest feeling in the world” (63). Although they successfully get in the boat, the practice ends abruptly when panic spreads among the team as the boat drifts into the open water.

In Chapter 6, Cooper describes the team’s trip to Philadelphia during spring break. He argues that he is not sure if he is just thrilled to be somewhere else, “but this city carries the joy of a thousand ice cream trucks” (74). Alpart greets the team as they arrive at the home of his friends, Ted and Tracy, where he has arranged for them to stay. The plan is that they will go sightseeing the following day and begin working on Monday. On the campus at the University of Pennsylvania, Cooper immediately falls in love with college life, and when they get to the school’s boathouse, where Alpart was once a rower, the whole team is blown away by the facilities. On the water, O’Gorman takes a lead role in coaching as he uses a bullhorn from a separate boat. Cooper explains that O’Gorman was also a Penn crew team member and has won national championships as a coach and medals as a coxswain.

Behind O’Gorman’s coaching, the team finally gets the feel of rowing together, and afterward they all agree that “it is one of the hardest things [they have] ever done” (80). Back on the Penn campus, they visit the W.E.B. Du Bois College House, where most of the programs “are based on the history and culture of the people of the African diaspora” (81). Five African American Penn students act as their guides at the Du Bois House and lead the group in a discussion about their college lives and issues concerning race, gender, and diversity on the campus. On the bus ride back to Ted and Tracy’s house, Cooper sits next to Alvin and attempts to prolong the intellectual discussion, asking Alvin why he joined a gang. Alvin explains that in order to be protected where he lives, he needed to take part in that lifestyle.

Throughout the week in Philadelphia, the team follows a strict training routine: running, two hours on the water, a campus visit, and then training on the erg machines. Cooper points out that the team loves Alpart, but “when it comes to training he is very serious” (84). The training is clearly helping not only with their rowing strength but also with their technique as they continue to improve daily. Cooper argues that “[m]ore than any other sport, rowing instills discipline and skill that you can only obtain by spending hours of beating your craft” (84). At the end of the week, the team and coaches put on a talent show, and everyone is enjoying themselves until Alvin and another student almost fight over one of the girls on the trip. Cooper writes that he “is ashamed that Ted and his family have to witness this” (87), and he tries to calm everyone down. According to Cooper, “For the first time on this trip, everyone is divided and goes their separate ways in the house” (88).