Rowers With Autism Will Compete at Prestigious Regatta in Philadelphia at End of the Month

Kessaris, Damon and Basso have had plenty of other support and guidance as well. Pierson High School student Miles Barrowcliffe, a talented rower who will also compete at the Head of the Schuylkill, has also been helping out with coaching, while John Breen, who hails from the Philadelphia area and has been a rowing coach for years, also makes frequents trips to the area to assist with coaching in the program.

Liberatore said the help and guidance of both Barrowcliffe and Breen has been key for several reasons. She praised Barrowcliffe for his willingness and enthusiasm, pointing out that he has a younger brother on the autism spectrum.

Breen has been key as well, not only because of his years of experience coaching rowing at a high level, but because he understands how valuable the sport can be to a wide range of people who may not be in it purely for the competitive aspect, but because of how it can enhance and improve their lives even when they’re not in a boat. Breen runs his own nonprofit, Fitness In Recovery, which “utilizes specifically designed movement sequencing as dosed-exercise to provide hedonic rehabilitation and accelerate systemic addiction and behavioral health recovery,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

While Breen’s nonprofit is geared more specifically around using exercise and movement as a way to help recovering addicts, the overarching idea that exercise and physical activity is often a key component in supporting mental health, particularly for individuals experiencing a wide range of internal or external challenges, is something Liberatore said she can relate to, because she sees what rowing has done for her son and his peers.