Have you ever raced in a boat that is really swinging together? If so, you remember. That experience can transform athletes, and stay with them for life. Swing comes only when a crew gets a lot of things right: The athletes have to be fit, strong, and determined. But they also need to be moving in unison, in a dozen different ways. This is so hard to achieve because of the number of variables involved, and because the rowers can’t see all of their teammates. This is the coach’s job, challenge, calling: to take the wide variety of bodies and minds and train them to each do what it takes to make something greater than the sum of its parts—a boat swinging together on the way to the medals stand.