Hi I’m a sophomore in high school and this is my second season rowing (I’ve rowed all fall and part of summer but also rowed last fall but couldn’t row in the last spring due to an illness). I’ve fallen completely in love with rowing and my ultimate goal is to race at the Head of the Charles my senior year. My team is quite large with four varsity girls 8s and I’m on the novice team right now. Next year and my senior year I’ll be on the varsity team. My team only sends the top varsity girls 8 to the HOCR and even though it is so far away, do you think it is possible for me to meet that category even though I will have only had three years of rowing experience? Does my not rowing most of freshman year put me at a dramatic disadvantage, even though I plan to row every season until then (most people on my team don’t do summer)? Thanks!!
Given the fact that you’ve already rowed for two fall seasons plus the summer and have two fall seasons ahead of you, I think you have plenty of time to work towards making the top 8+. Missing that one season is not going to hurt you – did you know most Olympians didn’t start rowing until college? That’s FOUR YEARS of experience they missed out on and look how many of them are carrying around medals right now. If you put in the effort, which it sounds like you’re willing to do, that one season off is not even going to be noticeable.
Your dedication is evident so that makes you look pretty favorable to your coach because he/she knows that you’re willing to do the work without them telling you to. What is the “top 8+” based on? Erg scores? Seat racing? If you don’t know, I would find out. My guess is that erg scores will play a role, as will seat racing.
Here’s a few other suggestions…
Spend as much time on the water as you can during the fall, spring, and summer. Optional workouts? Go. I guarantee your competition (the other girls on your team and the crews you’ll be racing against) aren’t wasting any opportunities, so neither should you.
Work on your 5k/6k erg times. What are the times/splits that the girls in the top 8+ this year have? That should give you a good idea of what your coach is looking for. Don’t try and take 45 seconds off your time right off the bat either – the longer you do something, the less time that’s going to come off so you won’t be able to drop a ton of seconds like you did when you first started erging. Don’t be discouraged by that, just keep in mind the splits your coach is looking for and work towards them.
Set goals for yourself – short term goals (for the week), medium goals (for the month), and long term goals (for the season). Write them down and put them somewhere where you’ll see them frequently so you can remind yourself of what you’ve gotta do.
Get in the gym if you can, at least 2-3x per week. The only way you’re going to be stronger on the erg and more importantly, on the water, is if you build up your muscles. Legs, back, and arms all contribute to overall power, but having a strong core really helps your technique and to prevent injuries so don’t forget to work that too. Make sure you know how to properly perform any exercises you do before you do them in order to avoid injury, as well as knowing how much weight you can handle. In the fall you should focus more on endurance, meaning low weights, high reps.
Make sure you give yourself rest days so that your body can recover. You’re tearing muscles when you exercise and they need those off days in order to repair, adapt, and get stronger.
Cross train. Swim, bike, or run for at least 30 minutes 1-2x a week. This helps improve your cardio and prevents your body from getting bored.
On top of all that, talk to your coach after practice and spend some time asking him what he thinks you need to do over the next two seasons to eventually make it in that top 8+. Ask him where he thinks you can make some improvements and then ACTIVELY work to make those changes happen. Being coachable will work wonders for getting you what you want. Don’t get complacent either. It’s easy to forget about your goals when they’re something that’s far in the future. Take breaks every now and then and give yourself time to relax, but when it’s time to train, focus and do the work.
