Category: College

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 15, 2014

Hi! Your blog has been so helpful to me and my team – thank you so so much! I am approaching my 6th year of coxing. I did 4 years in high school for my men’s team plus I began coxing my college’s men’s team. Next year, we have a new cox stepping up to varsity. He rowed for 4 year in high school and he is coxing now and I feel he is LIGHTYEARS better than me, only because he has had the rower perspective that I haven’t had. I also feel that I’ve been in a funk – using the same calls for years and they get me results – I just feel on autopilot. I’ve gone to coxing camps and everything, I just wanted to know if you have any suggestions to help me get my groove back? Thanks!

I think people put way too much importance on rowing before coxing, to be honest. Sure it can help but it’s not the be all, end all to what makes a coxswain good. Regardless of his experience as a rower, you’ve still got at least five years on him with coxing – he’s got a lot to learn and all the skills he’s gotta pick up are not trumped by the fact that he’s rowed. Just because he knows what that feels like and has listened to coxswains for the last four years doesn’t mean that he has any idea what it’s like to actually cox. (It’s the same way for coxswains who are switching to rowing – just because you tell the rowers how to row and what to do and everything else doesn’t mean you have the faintest idea how to do it when the oar is in your hands).

As far as being in a funk, been there, felt that. I’ve kinda felt like that since August actually since I haven’t been coxing as actively as I was in Boston. I take some of the boats out here once in awhile but there are definitely times when I get in there and just say what works instead of actually coxing them. Other times I’ll cox them during a piece or something and my brain will totally blank on what to say so I end up just saying really “vanilla” stuff. It’s very frustrating. Usually I come home and listen to a couple recordings (either mine or other people’s…), jot down some of the things I like, and then incorporate those calls into my usual ones the next time I go out.

Another thing I liked to do when I was in school was go out on the launch every once in awhile to get some new perspective on the boat and the rowers. You see things completely different from out there, plus you can talk to your coach too and get some ideas from him/her on ways to up your coxing game. Don’t forget to take your notebook out with you too. Taking a few days or weeks off from coxing/crew in general can also really help. It’s possible that the “autopilot” feeling is just the faint signs of burnout peeking through, so taking some time off could be a good thing for you. With summer almost here, this is pretty much the perfect time too.

College Coxing High School Racing Recordings

Coxswain recordings, pt. 20

By readyallrow May 13, 2014

Marietta Tiger Navy Lightweight 8+ 2014 Midwest Championships Grand Final

This is from Sunday’s final in the lightweight 8+ at Midwest where they finished 2nd overall and received an automatic bid to nationals at Mercer.

One of the big things I talked about with our coxswain when we were going over this on the way home was that she’d make calls like “even”, “a deck up”, “they’re sagging”, “pulling ahead”, etc. but not say on who. If it’s just you and another crew up on the rest of the field then calls like that are fine but when you’re still within the pack, you can’t assume that the crew knows who you’re talking about. Similarly with regards to “specifics”, there were several times where the margins she called were way off. That’s one of the things that you’ve got to be accurate about if you’re gonna make calls for it, which you should be. If your crew is the one that’s up, you make the call based on where you – the coxswain – are. If your crew is down, you make the call based on where your bowball is. The latter is obviously tougher to gauge than just looking straight across to the other boat but it’s not that difficult if you possess even the slightest amount of depth perception. Being up a length means the crews are bow to stern – the bow of the crew that’s behind is on the stern deck of the crew that’s ahead. Being up a length of open means there’s a full boat length of open water between the crew that’s up and the one that’s down.

At 1:28 you hear the stroke say “down” because the stroke rate was too high and the crew didn’t lengthen out as much as they needed/were supposed to. From personal experience I’ve found that this is almost always because I called the settle poorly. When I’ve been sharper with the calls and given the rowers more prep time to get ready for them, they tend to be smoother and more “on” in terms of getting the stroke rate where we want it in the fewest strokes possible. Sometimes it’s because of tendencies that individuals have (i.e. rushing) but I also kinda take the blame for that sometimes because there’s almost always something I could be saying to address that. In this case, better preparation for the settle(s) and sharper calls would have helped.

At 2:03 the coxswain says “competition’s New Trier”, which we already knew going into the race so I’m not sure why she made that call but regardless, you’ve established who your main competition is, now use that to do something. This would have been the perfect spot (especially after that call and the fact that it was right at the 500m mark) to take a ten to regain the two seats they just took in the last 100m or so. Between 2:21 and 3:21 though New Trier walks nearly a full length on us. As a coxswain you’ve got to recognize that that’s happening and make a call to counter it. It’s fine to be “in the zone” but you can’t be so in the zone that you ignore everything that’s happening outside the small confines of the coxswain’s seat.

5:58 was the only part of the race that really pissed me off. She calls “20 to go” and then the crew took three strokes. Three strokes after the coxswain called last 20. This was another thing I talked about with the girls and later with our head coach – when you’re racing, you’re giving 97, 98, 99% every stroke. When your coxswain calls “last however many to the line” that’s kinda when you re-negotiate with yourself about how much you’re hurting and say “OK, there’s 20 strokes left … I can go little bit harder over these next 20 to make sure I finish on completely empty”. You prepare to kill your body just a little bit more because your coxswain’s told you there’s a finite amount of strokes left – it’s balls to the wall, lights out for the next 20.

When you over exaggerate the amount of strokes left by seventeen there’s a good possibility that you just robbed your crew a few tenths of a second. It’s not about the rowers pacing themselves for the end or anything like that, it’s just them digging deeper within themselves to make sure they use up every last drop of energy they’ve got. There is a big difference between the two; one’s physical and one is mental. When they cross the line after only three strokes, there’s a possibility that they’re gonna think “Wait … what? I’m 99% empty, I’ve still got 1% left”. If five, six, seven people think that, how many tenths of a second do you think that amounts to? In this race a few tenths of a second wouldn’t have made a difference but who’s to say it won’t at nationals? When I coxed the lightweight 8+ there our semi-final had like, two seconds between 1st through 5th place. That margin between the individual crews was small. In situations like that, tenths of a second matter. When medals and championships are on the line, tenths of a second matter.

University of Delaware 2013 Dad Vail Lightweight 8+ Grand Final

Right out of the gate, the way she calls the start and high strokes is great. Her tone, how she’s annunciating the calls, etc. all vibes right with the strokes and just flows perfectly. This goes a long way in helping establishing the crew’s rhythm off the line.

I really loved how coming into Strawberry Mansion (which is about 750m in, I think) she says “as soon as we’re straight we’re gonna light it the fuck up“. I think her calls immediately after the bridge were a little lackluster though. Everything felt rushed and not as on point as most of the other calls up to this point. After a call as a strong as that “light it up” one I expected a little more fire when she called the move at the thousand.

As they’re coming into the last 500 she starts getting pretty shout-y and cheerleader-y and also maybe a little too cocky because even though they were up, they definitely didn’t have it 100% in the bag yet. That’s an important thing to keep in mind, you’ve gotta cox the whole race, not just the first 1750m and then cheer the rest of the way. Overall though I’d say this was pretty solid … especially considering this girl was a walk-on who only started coxing eight months before this race.

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 5, 2014

Hi Kayleigh! I’m a sophomore rower and at the moment I’m 5’7″ and around 130 pounds. I know I’m on the tall side, but I think that I could get to 120/125 pounds and still be healthy. While I do love rowing, my real interest and passion is in coxing, so I was wondering if you think coxing men in college is a viable option for me, and if it is, what I can do to get there. Thanks!

Check out the post linked below. That person was also a sophomore and I think what I said to her would also apply to you – at 15/16 years old, you’ve gotta assume you’re not done growing yet so it’s tough to say whether you’ll be the same size or not by the time you get to college.

My gut feeling is to say stick with rowing and then when you get to college, reevaluate and go from there if doing crew is still something you’re interested in pursuing. The school you go to will also dictate the likelihood of you being able to cox – the schools that are super competitive tend to be very strict about their coxswains being as close to racing weight as possible and two years from now it may or may not be viable for you to lose 5-10lbs and still be healthy. Your height isn’t as big of a deal even though you might feel kinda cramped at times depending on what brand of boat you’re in. Every body is different though so that’s something you would have to judge on your own. Club programs and the like are usually less strict about people having the natural rower or coxswain build so I would say if you really wanted to cox, you’d probably have a better shot with a program like that.

If you do eventually decide that’s what you want to do, you’ve got two options – show up whenever they have walk on tryouts and say you want to be a coxswain or email the coach before you arrive on campus and say you’ve got X number of years of rowing experience but you’re interested in walking on as a coxswain, at [height]/[weight] what’s the likelihood that you would be a good fit (literally and figuratively) for their program?

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 28, 2014

Hi. I’ve been coxing for my high school rowing team for about a year now and unfortunately I’m 5’8″ and 134lb but I fit in the coxing area easily. I’m very scared though because I really love coxing and I want to continue to do it in college but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get very far with it due to my weight and height. I’m a sophomore in high school and I just want to know if there was a way I could still competitively cox in college or should I give up because my size stops me?

Honest answer? I don’t think you’re going to be able to cox in college when you’re already about the same size as a lightweight rower. Plus you’ve got to assume you’re not done growing yet either. If doing crew in college is really something you’re interested in pursuing then I’d say you should probably start rowing this summer or next year so you’ll have at least two years under your belt before you graduate.

College High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 28, 2014

Our team has gotten really close these past couple weeks and I’m really going to miss everyone who is leaving next year. What is the best way to bond with my team before the end of the season?

Go to someone’s house and have a biiig bonfire cookout or something. If you’re in college, bring beer. If you’re not in college, bring root beer.

Seriously though, the best thing you can do is really appreciate the time you spend together when you’re at practice, traveling to regattas, etc. It might not feel like you’re bonding because you’re not doing a specific “bonding activity” but when you look back on it you’ll realize that that one hilarious conversation you had in the hotel or that great race you had last week was one of the defining moments of your friendship(s) and time together as teammates.

College Coxing Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 19

By readyallrow April 22, 2014

Drexel University 2014 Kerr Cup Men’s Varsity 8+

The biggest thing that I noticed in this recording was that he used a lot of basic calls but never actually said anything to the rowers (except on like, two occasions) or made a call about their position on other crews. It was mostly a good example of how some coxswains go out with this “tunnel vision” mindset where they execute the race plan and kinda ignore/forget about everything that’s happening within their own gunnels or in the lanes around them. He also did a lot of counting and counting down to things that didn’t really need countdowns. I like the “in 2 … in 1…” countdown but is that really necessary just to note the 500m mark? It wasn’t a bad piece overall though – how he said his calls almost made up for the fact that he was saying a lot without saying much at all. The best part of the race by far though was that turn through Strawberry Mansion. If you’re a Philly coxswain, definitely take note of that execution.

Related: Navigating the Schuylkill

At 1:11 when he says “back it in”, make sure you’re not making catch-specific calls like that midway through the drive of that stroke. You don’t have to say each stroke number when you’re counting out a five or a ten so if you call your strokes at the catch (like you’re supposed to) but have a catch-specific call to make, just replace that number with your call. You could also say “back it in, one … back it in, two“, etc. and say the number of the stroke you’re on at the finish. Point being though, don’t make catch-specific calls at any point other than the catch, otherwise the effectiveness of that call is lost. Same applies to finish-specific calls.

Other calls I liked:

“At the wire, you’re bringin’ the fire…”

George Washington University vs. Holy Cross 2014 GW Invite MV8+

At the start you hear Connor say “when they say our name, bury ’em…” with regards to getting the blades fully buried before the start. Watching crews lock on and lock in right at that moment is pretty cool. The point of doing this, regardless of whether you do it when you hear your name or when they call attention, is that it helps ensure everyone’s blades are in the water and in the best position to allow them to take a powerful first stroke. It’s something worth practicing though because sometimes people get a little too aggressive with it and jerk their hands up, which throws the boat off, causes them to dig too deep at the start, etc. This is also why I like that “sharp and shallow” call he makes because it’s a good reminder to keep the catches on point without lifting the hands too much.

Listen to the slide speed during the starting 20 between 0:40 and 1:10, then listen to it right at they transition into their settle at 1:11. You can actually hear the slides lengthen out. Between that and the sharpness of the catches throughout the piece, this race is so satisfying to listen to. A few strokes later at 1:39 he says “about half a seat down, no worries…” in the most chill tone, which is exactly how you should tell your crew you’re down, particularly at the beginning of the race.

I’m a huge fan of how he makes that “long, rhythm…” call at 1:45. Rhythm in rowing means that the crew is relaxed, they’ve got good swing, they’re getting good run, and they’ve just got a smooth, consistent flow going. One of the best ways to tell if your crew has a solid rhythm is to feel the boat and then look at the stroke rate. Does it feel like you’re rowing at the rate your cox box displays? If it feels like you’re rowing lower than the displayed rate, that’s usually a good sign that your crew’s got a good rhythm.

Another thing you can do to gauge your crew’s rhythm is to watch the shoreline. (This is best done during practice.) If the crew is moving well together and not rushing then you should notice that on the recovery you stay in relatively the same place in relation to something on shore. You only surge forward on the drive. If you ever get a chance to ride in the launch, pick a rower and watch for this. If you’re feeling like the boat is being rushed or like there’s no consistency in motion between the rowers, a call like “long, rhythm…” (spoken in the same way Connor said it) is a simple and to the point call to make. It’d also be a good call to make coming out of the start and into your settle as a way to help establish the rhythm following the frenzy of your high strokes. In order for a call like this to actually get the message across, it’s important that during practice or off the water you communicate with them what rhythm actually is so that they know the “deeper meaning” behind the call you just made. Practice is the time to do the explaining and clue them in to what your calls mean, that way during races you can be short and to the point in order to keep them engaged and sharp.

At 2:36, I like how he jumped on the opportunity to move and made that “now we walk” call. Whenever you’re down on another crew, if you take a five or ten for something you should always be watching to see if that burst resulted in you walking on the other crew, even if that wasn’t your original intention. If you do gain on them, capitalize on that and immediately say “even”, “gained a seat”, etc. followed by something like what he said here: “now we walk”. These opportunities are rare and fleeting over the course of a 5-7 minute race so when they come up, don’t miss out on them.

“They came out too hard, now we punish them” – this is another opportunity that you can capitalize on if you’re paying attention. If you notice a crew go out hard and fast, you’ve gotta make a judgement call: do you push your crew to keep up and risk burning them out too early or do you wait for the other crew to crash and burn so you can (hopefully) walk through them with a strong finishing 500? If you wait and see the other crew starting to fall off pace, jump on it immediately. They made a mistake, now’s your chance to burn them. Bonus points if you lock eyes with someone in the other boat when you tell your crew they came out too hard – trust me, it’s a whole new level of (twisted) joy you have to experience to understand.

Another call that I thought was smart/good was the “internal now” call. If you’ve been making several calls in a row about other crews, following them up with something “internal” helps bring the focus back to you guys. He makes a similar one a little bit later where he says “focus on me, not on them”, which is particularly useful if/when you see rowers looking out of the boat. (That should be a cue though that if they’re looking out of the boat they’re probably trying to see where the other crews are so you should give them a position update if you haven’t done so in awhile.) Also with regards to internal calls, with the “one bad stroke, get it back” call, regardless of why it was a bad stroke, move on. Make this call to keep the rower(s) present and focused on the strokes ahead, not the ones (s)he’s already taken.

Last thing – at 3:28 he says “we gotta keep moving”, which I think is one of those calls that sometimes we know we need to make but aren’t sure if we can or should make because it’s demanding and coxswains don’t always feel comforting demanding their rowers do something. Your job though is to execute the race plan and strategize in real time what the crew has to do to finish ahead. If you find you’re just sitting on a crew (not giving anything up but not taking anything either), get aggressive and make a call to recommit, get the catches in, and drive the legs. Don’t let the crew settle for anything because you never know when the other ones are going to make a move and surge ahead.

Other calls I liked:

“Sharp and shallow…”

“Ready … steady … now!”

“They’re fucking toast!”

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 22, 2014

Hey! Lately, I haven’t been getting boated much during practices and have only been boated for one race. Some of our assistant coaches have claimed that I’m better than the other coxswain and that it’s become more of a matter of favorites. Any tips on how I can show the head coaches that I want to be boated for races, especially with one more race plus Pac-12s coming up? I don’t know what else to do other than prove myself each time I’m on the water (which isn’t often) and going over recordings with our coach once I’m back on the water.

As frustrating as this answer is, I think your best option is to keep doing what you’re doing. Take advantage of every opportunity to show your skills when you’re on the water, get constant feedback from your coach(es) and rowers, and continue going over audio with your coach(es). “Wanting” it only gets you so far – you’ve gotta put in the effort on and off the water. If you can make a case for yourself by doing all of that then I can’t see why your coach wouldn’t give you some consideration.

When you talk with the coach that makes the lineups ask him/her point blank why these other coxswains are being boated over you – what have they got that you could stand to improve on? I think this is a great question to ask and yes, it’s very possible to ask it without coming off as a whiny brat. If they’re free, ask one of the assistant coaches to come with you when you talk to your other coach too. This will give you the opportunity to bring up what the two of you have discussed in terms of areas where you’re excelling or could use some improvement so that you can get your coach’s feedback on how tweaking some of those skills could result in you potentially getting put in a racing lineup. If/when you do this though make sure you’re completely clear on the feedback they’ve been giving you and do not throw them under the bus by saying something like “well they said the only reason I’m not in the boat is because I’m not one of your favorites”. I’ve seen that happen and I’ve had that happen and from all assistant coaches everywhere, you’re a real asshole if you misrepresent our conversations like that in front of the head coach.

It may very well be that your coach has a favorite coxswain (sometimes it’s hard not to) that he wants with a certain boat but in my experience, favorites don’t just pop up randomly. The reason they’re a favorite is usually because the coach has found that they’re reliable, they communicate well, they’re trustworthy on and off the water, and they’ve got whatever special quality it is that your coach looks for. Not that you don’t have or do any of those things but it’s always worth asking (or thinking about on your own), in comparison to [the coxswain in the boat you want], where am I (potentially) falling short? Reflect on that and talk about it with your coaches. As a coxswain and a coach I really appreciate seeing a coxswain who comes into a meeting prepared to say “this is what I think I’m doing well, this is what I think I need to improve on to get into this boat … confirm or deny”. That shows me and the other coaches that you’re actively thinking about where you can make improvements rather than just expecting us to spoon feed you and give you what you want.

College Coxing Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 19, 2014

Hi!! I’m a high school junior, and recently I’ve been looking at colleges. At my high school, I’m a mid-pack rower, but the colleges I’m applying to are for academic reasons, and most of them are D1 and way too competitive for me as a rower. I’m 5 foot 8 and 123 lbs, and I’m considering becoming a men’s cox. Do you think that it’s a good idea? I’m already familiar with rowing, but due to my size and lack of experience, would it be a better idea to try as a rower? I really love the sport and want to participate during college, so whatever you think is best!

Hi! I’m assuming by too competitive you mean that your times wouldn’t stand up against the other rowers, not that the sport itself is too competitive in terms of the commitments, etc? If it’s the former then I’d say look for local clubs around the university and see if you can start training there. If you want to keep racing you could pick up sculling and go to regattas like Club Nationals, Canadian Henley, Independence Day Regatta, etc. over the summer. That way there’s no conflicts with school and you would set your own training schedule. I personally don’t know that much about sculling but from everything that I’ve heard from friends and other coaches, it helps your sweep rowing a ton.

As far as becoming a coxswain for a men’s team, it’s worth looking into if you’re really interested in it. You’re a little taller than most coxswains but in the grand scheme of things it’s weight that matters, not height. Plus, the men’s minimum is 120lbs so you’re good with that given your current weight. You can walk on to the team with no coxing experience – plenty of people do it – so it’s really your choice, just don’t expect to get recruited as a coxswain since you don’t have any experience with it.

I think based on what you said about looking at colleges for academic reasons (priorities, man – good for you!) finding a local club that you can row out of on your own schedule would be your best bet. I think most clubs have lower fees for college students, although I’m not sure if that applies year round or just in the summer. Another thing worth looking into though!

College Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 15, 2014

I’m a novice coxswain for a men’s team, and I have absolutely no idea what to say to fix an issue. It’s been at least four months with me as a coxswain and we’re nearing the end of racing season. I have no idea what the source of an issue is, and am just grasping at straws. It occurred to me I’m simply repeating the same exact things every practice. Our biggest issues is the rest of the boat rushing up on stroke pair, and occasional issues of set that extend beyond just lower or raising blades and handles. My team has lost all patience with me and have no trust in me whatsoever. I want to quit, but have no replacement.

I guess to add on to this, I forgot to mention that at the end of December, basically all of our novice coxswains quit. We had four, and all of them left until I was the only left. I stayed because I didn’t want to leave my guys hanging. There is this one spare coxswain on the team, let’s call her C. She…doesn’t really do anything. I believe she is the women’s novice coxswain, but they only have one boat, so she just does…nothing. She’s there every morning though. I passed along the idea of quitting to my coach and her, and she basically said she “couldn’t” be the novice men’s coxswain because she wasn’t “allowed” to. I learned from my coach that she wanted to stay a novice coxswain for next year, and by competing she would have to be varsity. First off, I feel like I should be allowed to be a little annoyed at this. Part of me just wants to walk up to the coach and hand over my position, pay my fees, and leave. I never really wanted to be a coxswain in the first place. I joined rowing to row, but I didn’t have the athletic ability to do it. Thinking about it now, I don’t know why I stayed on the team. I don’t know what to do. We have two races left, one on Saturday and WIRA.

OK, let me ask you a question. What have you done to educate yourself on the different issues your crews are having? By educate yourself I mean how often did you bring the issue up with your coach(es) and ask them what causes this, what do the rowers need to be doing, what calls should/could I be making, etc., in addition to doing your own research outside of practice by Googling or YouTubing the issues your crew is having, looking up technique, drills, etc. or talking with your rowers to find out what you could be doing to help the crew? How often did you try to video your crew or have someone on the launch video them so you could go over it as a crew with your coach? Your coaches have a responsibility to teach you about this stuff but you have a responsibility to teach yourself as well. The loss in patience and trust from your teammates is usually exacerbated when they get the impression (or know) that you’re not doing anything on your own to make yourself a better/stronger coxswain.

Personally I don’t think you should be “allowed” to be annoyed that another coxswain doesn’t want to or doesn’t feel ready to race yet. That’s a judgement call on her end and if she wants to continue as a novice next year to gain more experience and enhance her skills before she begins racing, you have to respect that whether you agree with it or not . I’d much rather have a coxswain do that than jump straight into a competitive crew that’s preparing to race when they’re not ready to do so.

If you’re having issues with rush and slide control, try doing some two-part pause drills pausing at hands away and half slide. I did those with my crew a couple weeks ago and they helped a lot.

It really sounds like you aren’t enjoying crew at all though and (correct me if I’m wrong) don’t have much invested it in other than the fees and the time you spend at practice. If you’ve only got WIRA’s left now then I would at least stick it out through that and then you can give your coach your fees and leave.

College High School Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 10, 2014

Hello, so going into the spring racing season, I knew that I wanted to improve as much as possible etc etc (coming off an unsuccessful fall) but then I also knew that there are things that I need to do as a junior (such as college touring). There’s a fair sized regatta at the end of my April break, but that’s also the only time I’ll have until August to college tour. Also what if I get asked by college coaches why I’m not racing? I know this is mostly my decision, but could you help me out?

Ooh, that’s tough. Between crew, marching band, SATs/ACTs, and all the other stuff I had going on, I didn’t have time to start going on college visits until the late fall (read: November) of my senior year. I had already narrowed down the schools I wanted to visit to three so that made it easier but I didn’t go visit any of them until pretty late in the game. I would have liked to have started the process earlier but I don’t think it hurt in any way going when I did. If you end up having to wait until August I honestly don’t think you’ll be too far behind the curve as long as you’re not trying to look at like, eight or nine schools. There were several kids that came in the fall to look at Cornell who were in similar positions as you so if you end up having to wait til then I wouldn’t stress about it – there are plenty of other people doing the same thing.

If you decide to go at the end of April then it can easily be explained to any coaches that ask that this was the only available opportunity that you had to look at colleges until August and looking ahead to the fall you didn’t want to try to juggle the start of your senior year, getting back into the swing of training, filling out applications, etc. with trying to travel all over the country to look at schools. As long as the regatta you’d be missing isn’t a championship of some kind, I don’t think they’d look that closely at it. You have to weigh the pros/cons though and decide if this is a race that you can afford to miss. Obviously that’s something only you and your coach would know but it does require some thought and consideration.

Ultimately you should do whatever you think will make the whole process as smooth and stress-free as possible for you. Don’t try to balance traveling to visit schools with a million other things because you’ll just end up overwhelmed and distracted, which will take your focus off of why you’re really there.