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Your team is waiting for you on Kent Lake.
Rowing for middle and high schoolers + adults.
No experience necessary.
OUR MISSION
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Kensington Community Rowing Center is Milford, Michigan's home for rowing. Since 2024, we've coached middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults on the water at Kensington Metropark, the same lake that hosts the Midwest and Michigan State Scholastic Championships. Athletes from four high schools and even more middle schools train with us, and most never touched an oar before their first practice. We row alongside Northville High School's crew. Students are welcome at every level, whether you're brand new or already racing.
Come try it. You'll find a sport, a team, and a finish line in your own backyard.
Why Row?
Rowing is a team sport where every seat counts and anyone can start from zero.
Every muscle, none of the pounding.
Each stroke uses your legs, core, back, and arms. Because you row seated, it's easy on knees and ankles.
No bench, no benchwarmers.
A boat only moves fast when everyone pulls together. Every rower matters, every stroke.
You run the race.
Once the boat leaves the dock, it's up to the crew. Rowers learn to think for themselves, stay calm under pressure, and own the result.
Better habits in the classroom.
Rowers learn to plan their week, show up prepared, and work toward long-term goals, skills that carry straight into school.
Phones down, water up.
Practice happens outside on Kent Lake, with sunrises, swans, and a break from the screen.
Better at your other sport.
Swimmers, runners, volleyball players, and softball players build stronger legs and core, plus more endurance, in their off-season.
Friends for life, doors to college.
The friendships you make in a boat last, and rowing experience stands out on college applications.
Our practices are held on the championship course. Kensington Community Rowing Center coaches middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults on Kent Lake in Milford, and no experience is needed. Come see what you can achieve.
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Director of Rowing
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Nick Bickes
Coach Nick Bickes has spent more than 20 years in youth and collegiate athletics, first as an athlete and then as a coach. He rowed and coxed at the Division I level. Since then, he has been a head coach in rowing, soccer, tennis, and golf, and he has led his rowing teams to numerous state, Midwest, and national championships. Several of his rowers earn college rowing scholarships every year.
Nick is also a former high school English teacher, and he coaches the way he taught: he sets high expectations, explains things clearly, and believes every athlete can grow. Whether a rower is brand new to the sport or chasing a college roster spot, Nick meets them where they are and helps them find out what they're capable of. We're thrilled to have him leading our athletes on Kent Lake alongside the rest of our coaching staff.
[ COACHING PHILOSOPHY]“Rowing teaches you to trust the people beside you and to keep going when it gets hard. Whether you're in a single or an eight, those lessons stay with you long after you leave the dock."
Nick Bickes, KCRC Director of Rowing and Head Coach
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