Tag: college

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 10, 2013

I’m being heavily recruited to a few top tier men’s rowing programs (UW, Cal, Princeton) to cox. I’m obviously really incredibly thrilled but I’m also so nervous and afraid that I’m really not good enough to do well on that level. Do you have any suggestions for boosting self confidence when it comes to the whole recruiting process? I know they’re recruiting me for a reason, but I just don’t know if I’m that good.

UW? Cal? Princeton? You’re good. Those programs don’t mess around and like you said, they’re recruiting you for a reason. What I’ve learned over the years though is that there’s really just no point in thinking you aren’t good when you have people around you telling you that you are. They wouldn’t be saying it if they didn’t believe it and if you weren’t giving them some reason to think it.

I’m reading “Boys in the Boat” (highly recommend) and there was something I read the other day that describes coxswains much more eloquently and soulfully than I ever could.

“From the moment the shell is launched, the coxswain is the captain of the boat. He or she must exert control, both physical and psychological, over everything that goes on in the shell. Good coxes know their oarsmen inside and out – their individual strengths and vulnerabilities – and they know how to get the most out of each man at any given moment. They have the force of character to inspire exhausted rowers to dig deeper and try harder, even when all seems lost. They have an encyclopedic understanding of their opponents, how they like to race, when they are likely to start sprinting, when they like to lie in wait, etc.

Before a regatta, the cox receives a race plan from the coach and he or she is responsible for carrying it out faithfully. But in a situation as fluid and dynamic as a crew race, circumstances often change abruptly and race plans must be thrown overboard. The cox is the only person in the shell who is facing forward and can see how the field is shaping up throughout a race, and he or she must be prepared o react quickly to unforeseen developments. When a race plan is failing to yield results, it is up to the cox to come up with a new one, often in a split second, and to communicate it quickly and forcefully to the crew. Often this involves a lot of shouting and emotion.

In short, a good coxswain is a quarterback, a cheerleader, and a coach all in one. He or she is a deep thinker, canny like a fox, inspirational, and in many cases the toughest person in the boat.”

You would not be being recruited by some of the top programs in the country if you didn’t do and embody every single thing in that paragraph. You just wouldn’t so stop doubting yourself. You’re not jumping straight from high school into the varsity eight. You’re not expected to be that level of amazing yet. You have plenty of time to soak up as much information as you can, learn from every practice, race, and experience you have, and get to that level. Right now you’re at the level that they want for their freshmen program and given the schools you listed, you know their standards are pretty high. They wouldn’t be pursuing you if they didn’t think you met and have the potential to surpass those standards.

You have to believe that you’ve got some talent otherwise why would you have applied to those schools, academics aside? Whenever you’re starting something new there’s always going to be those seeds of doubt that pop up and make you question everything but the key is knowing how to shut them down immediately by reminding yourself of all the positive attributes you have that have gotten you this far and will continue to take you places in the future. You’ve got them, it’s just about reminding yourself of what they are. Stop questioning yourself and start believing in yourself.

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 7, 2013

Hello! I also am a senior who is looking to cox in college, and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your extensive replies to all the others’ questions about recs and things. I do have another question though: if I were to not try to be recruited, and instead “walked on” a college team, do you think that could still happen? Would I still have a chance to cox or do you think all of the spots would be taken already? At my HS we never have enough coxes, but maybe it’s different?

Definitely! I’ve said this a couple times but you don’t have to be recruited in order to be on the team. Rowing is one of the few sports where walk-ons are heavily encouraged and relied upon, so you would definitely have a spot on the team if you decided coxing was something you wanted to keep doing. The fact that you already have a few years of experience will be great too.

Either right before or as soon as you get on campus email the head coach and find out when the team is having a walk-on meeting and where it’ll be. Assuming you’re going to a school with a varsity program, if you say that you’re interested in coxing in college and you’d like to walk on to the team they might include you in with the recruits since you’re an experienced coxswain. It doesn’t hurt to talk with them and say that you’re considering coxing in college but aren’t sure if you want to fully commit yet. They know it’s a big commitment so just ask for some info on the team and go from there.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 7, 2013

I’m going into my first year of coxing at the university level and have a training camp coming up. Any recommendations for what to pack for the five days? A kind of obvious question I know, but my OCD self feels the need to ask anyways. Thanks!

I’m the same way and yet I still inevitably always forget something, no matter how many list I make.

Personal stuff:

Enough clothes for at least two workouts a day just in case you get gross during the day and want to change.

Casual clothes/team gear for team dinners or other events/activities outside of the rowing bubble

Tennis shoes for running

Shower stuff, towels, etc.

Eye mask and/or ear plugs if you have trouble sleeping (since you’ll probably be in a hotel room with 2-3 other people)

All the chargers and USB cables you’ll need for your phone, laptop, GoPros, recorders, CoxBox, Speedcoach, etc.

Any other medicine you regularly take, plus extra Ibuprofen just in case

Rain jacket + pants, because it always ends up raining on the days when the forecast says “0% chance of precipitation”

Chapstick, particularly one that has SPF in it

Pillow + blankets if you’re staying in dorms rather than hotels

Snacks (Clif bar, raisins, granola, etc.), although you’ll usually get per diem to spend on food once you get there

Rowing stuff:

Notebook + pencil (or two)

Recorder

Multiple wrenches in all the sizes (7/16, 10mm, 13mm, etc.)

Cox box and/or SpeedCoach

Band-aids, tape, etc.

Extra nuts, bolts, spacers, etc. for the boat*

Water bottle(s)**

A backpack or fanny pack of some kind to carry all this stuff on the water with you

* When you get to camp you can ask your coach/boatman if you can raid the toolkit and grab extra parts for at least a rigger or two, plus maybe two extra spacers or so. It’s always good to have this stuff on hand if you have to make adjustments on the water and lose something (like spacers).

** I’ve found that having a spare water bottle on hand during practice is good, especially on hard days when rowers go through their own water pretty quickly. The benefits double when it’s really hot and/or humid out because it helps prevent the rowers from becoming dehydrated.

College Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Letters of Recommendation

By readyallrow August 7, 2013

Following up on a question I got yesterday (linked below) and to answer a few other similar ones I’ve gotten recently, today’s post is going to be on letters of recommendation. They’re not usually required like they are with regular college apps but they can help you out during the recruiting process, especially if you’re a little late to the game.

Letters from your coaches essentially follow the same format that ones from your teachers do. The goal is for them to write about their interactions with you, how they’ve watched you grow as a person and athlete during the time they’ve been coaching you, what you’ve brought to your team and what you can bring to your future teams, etc. “Letter” is just the general term too – the vast majority of these will be written and sent off via email, although you can go the snail mail route if you really want to.

There’s some common sense/common courtesy protocol that you should follow but it’s really up to you how you go about doing this. If you’re asking someone to write you a letter you kinda want to go out of your way to make the process as simple and straightforward for them as possible, that way all they have to do is write it and send it off. Plus, it makes you look good. Don’t be a total kiss-ass but don’t just assume that you don’t have/need to be a little more formal than usual just because of the nature of your relationship.

Here are some general tips and guidelines:

Who should write them

Varsity coaches are obviously the best choice because theoretically they’ve been with you the longest but if there’s another coach on the team who you have a good relationship with, have known for at least one year (spring and fall seasons if possible), and can attest to your character and abilities, by all means ask them if they’d be willing to help you out. You want to have the best people possible speaking on your behalf so while the 24 year old super chill assistant coach might be your bro off the water, if you haven’t had much interaction in terms of being coached by them at practice, I’d wouldn’t put them at the top of my list.

I had both of my coaches, who coached me for three years each, write letters for me. From what I was told, one wrote his letter based on my overall contribution to the team, my leadership skills, my success on and off the water, etc. and the other, who was a coxswain himself, wrote a little more specifically about me as a coxswain.

When and how to ask

Privately, obviously, not in the middle of practice or when there’s a million things happening. If they don’t already know that you’re considering rowing or coxing in college, fill them in because you never know what connections they may have than can help you out down the road. Tell them of your intentions, the schools you’re looking at, etc. and then say something along the lines about how you respect them and their opinions and it would mean a lot if they would be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Most, if not all, coaches consider it to be an honor to be asked to write something like this so make sure you show your appreciation in return by saying “thank you” and that you’ll give them all the information they’ll need within the next day or two (and then actually get it to them in that time frame).

Put together a list of your accomplishments

Assemble your rowing resume and give it to your coach so they can see your results and accomplishments on paper instead of having to rack their brains to figure out how well you did in the JV 8+ at Stotes your sophomore year. It’s also a good idea to include your most recent report card (or your transcript if you can get a copy) and a copy of your SAT/ACT scores so they can see the kind of student you are in and use that to further promote you in terms of what you’ll bring to the university as well as to the crew team.

Remember, erg scores are great but your grades are what’s going to get you into college. Don’t be stupid and assume otherwise (and yes, that is a stupid assumption). You could also include a brief list of your other extra-curriculars so they can see what all you’re balancing in addition to crew but since you want the letter to mostly speak of your athletic background, try to keep it about rowing for the most part.

Write a brief summary of your plans and goals

This should be at least half a page but no longer than one page. All you’re doing is giving your coaches some insight into what you’re planning to do in the future and how rowing plays a part in that. Include what you’re hoping to major in, what you’d like to do with that (if you know), why you want to row in college, if you have U23 plans, etc. This could also be laid out during a conversation with your coach but some might not have time to do that so writing it out is easier. I did both with my coaches – one I wrote everything out for and the other I had a conversation with after practice.

Give them a timeline of when this needs to be completed by

Coaches are busy people too and most have jobs and lives outside of rowing. It’s very easy for stuff like this to get lost in the fray so for your own piece of mind and for their own organizational purposes, let them know the date that you’d like to have these done by. I asked my coaches if they could have everything done within two weeks from the date that I gave them my stuff and they were great about sticking to that (mostly because I think they knew how important it was to me). If you give them everything today (August 7th) I think it’s pretty reasonable to ask for everything to be completed by August 21st. That’ll give them two weeks to sit down, think of what to write, look over your accomplishments, reminisce about the good times, put together a thoughtful letter, and get it sent out. Any longer than two weeks and you run the risk of it being forgotten about or lost in the shuffle.

Compile the contact info of the coaches/schools you’re talking to

This will give them a chance to do some research on the program and get an idea for how you’d fit in there. As far as contact info goes, include the coach’s name, phone number, and email. Make sure you’re including the coach who’s listed as the recruiting coordinator, not just the head coach since the assistant who handles the recruiting will likely be the one you’ll interact with the most. Most times when you email the head coach they’ll glance at it but just end up forwarding to the coach who’s actually in charge of recruiting.

The other thing to remember is that these letters are confidential between your coach and the coach who reads them. If you feel the need to double check what they say about you to make sure they said something good maybe you should consider choosing someone else to write your letter. You can ask them what they said but a) that’s almost sorta kinda inappropriate and b) they don’t necessarily have to tell you. That’s why it’s important to choose someone ahead of time that you know can and will say positive things about you.

After mine were sent out my coaches asked if I wanted to know what they said and since we had a pretty good relationship I said they could tell me if they wanted but I trusted that they said good stuff. They gave me a general overview (which is how I know that one spoke about me as a coxswain and the other wrote about my contributions to the team, leadership skills, etc.) and that was that.

College Q&A Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 6, 2013

I’m going to be a senior and I’m really interested in getting recruited as a cox. I just finished my novice year and I did some rowing camps at universities. The coach at my 1st choice university was really impressed (she approached me at the end of camp and asked about my grades, college plans, etc.) but she told me I was a little late to the recruiting process. She encouraged me to ask my coach to write me recs to help. What are the guidelines for coach recs? When should they email the recs?

As far as I know there aren’t any guidelines they have to follow in terms of how it’s laid out unless there is a specific form that the college coach(es) give you to have them fill out. Some do that and some don’t. Basically all they’re doing is saying who they are, the nature of your relationships (coach-athlete, etc.) how long they’ve known and/or coached you, and then just talking about how awesome you are, what you’ve brought to the team, why you’re an asset and what makes you one, what they think you can contribute to a college team, how well you get along with and lead others, etc.

In terms of when to email them, I would do it as soon as possible but probably no later than the first week or two of September. I’d also email the coaches of the schools you’re planning to apply to and saying you’re interested in joining the team (if you haven’t already) and to expect a letter of recommendation or two from your coaches to arrive within the next week, two weeks, whenever. That way they’re not getting letters from coaches about potential coxswains they’ve never met or heard from before. I’d give your coach a deadline too and say that you’d like to have them sent out by this date since that’s when you told the college coaches to expect them. Otherwise you run the risk of them starting it, forgetting it, and then not remembering it until you mention something in November.

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow August 5, 2013

Hey Kayleigh! I was wondering about the general process of going to colleges when visiting about recruitment. I’ve already sent in my rowing resume, a recording, and school transcripts to the coach, and he said he’d like to meet and discuss the team when I visited campus. What goes on at these meetings and how does the topic of recruitment come up? I don’t want to be blunt about it when I’m there but I’m curious about admissions and when I’d know about whether or not I am a definite recruit. Also, do you know what kind of questions might be asked? Thanks!

The questions I got were mostly about my rowing background, what I was hoping to study, general questions about why I was looking at that university, why I chose to apply there, what attracted me to the major I was interested in, what my goals were with crew, etc. The questions they asked me revolved more about my education than anything else … the majority of the rowing related questions came from me. Most of the coaches straight up said that they wanted to make sure the recruits came to the university because of the education we’d be getting, not specifically for the rowing program, so they really touted the benefits of the school itself and the academic resources that were available to us through the athletic department.

As far as recruiting goes, you can still be on the team if you aren’t a recruit – you’re basically an experienced walk-on. There were several girls that did that when I was at Syracuse and they were always lumped in with the women who were recruited. The only difference between the two groups was that one group was pursued by the coaches (the recruits) and the other pursued the coaches (the experienced walk-ons). I think the best way to go about finding out your “status” is to just ask where you fall in terms of the coxswains they’re looking at and how serious they are about supporting your application.

Other than all of that, they’ll probably take you on a tour of the athletic facilities – their weight room, erg room, adviser’s offices, etc. – and then invite you down to check out the boathouse. One of the coaches I met with also gave me a tour of campus, which was nice. Basically any time you spend with them is an opportunity to ask any questions you think of (like the ones linked below) so use it wisely. You can always email them afterwards if you think of something after you leave but it’s always so much simpler to ask questions in person and get a response right away and typically with more detail than you would in an email.

I would also recommend, if you can, talking to some of the rowers who are currently on the team. That’d be a good way to go about getting info on team culture, training, balancing school and crew, etc. from an actual student’s perspective, which I tend to take a little more seriously than the coach’s simply because the rowers are living it and are dealing with the same circumstances that you potentially will be.

Whatever you do though, ask a lot of questions. The coaches will appreciate it because it shows you’re serious about being a part of the team and the university and it’ll be good for you because it’ll give you an idea of what the coach/program is like and how you’ll contribute to the team if you decide to go to that school. You want to be able to make an informed decision when you ultimately decide on what school to go to so get as much information as you possibly can when you go meet them. Oh, and be relaxed too. It’s not like you’re going into a high-stress, super serious meeting. All the meetings I had with coaches were pretty chill and easygoing, so don’t be nervous.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 24, 2013

I’m a junior starting to look into the recruiting process. What would a good first email to a coach be formatted as? What should I include? How long should it be?

I think the emails I wrote to coaches were fairly short and to the point. I had already narrowed down the schools I wanted to apply to so I don’t think I emailed more than four or five coaches at most. I definitely recommend getting an idea of the schools you want to go to first and the program you want to study instead of blindly emailing places that have decent rowing programs but potentially only so-so academics. Being able to say that you’re interested in this school and this program let’s the coach(es) know that you’ve done your research and are actually interested in the university as well, not just the crew team.

Anyways, I introduced myself, said where I was from, the team I rowed for, and that I was interested in the university and potentially joining the team as a coxswain. I emailed them after I’d already made plans to visit the schools so I said that I would be taking a tour of the university and the exercise science department on this day at this time and would there be any chance that we could meet, either at the boathouse or their office, to talk about the program. Two of the schools I wasn’t able to meet with because they weren’t going to be there when I visited (I think it was during spring break but I can’t remember) and two others I did meet with (Syracuse and Virginia). From there I said that I’d attached my rowing resume for them to look at and I hoped to talk with them soon, sincerely, me.

Example:

Dear Coach (last name),

My name is (your name) and I row/cox for (team name) in (city/state). I’m interested in attending (university name) to study (name of your potential major) and am looking to join the crew team while I am there. I plan on visiting (university name/abbreviation) on (date) to attend their prospective student information session and take a tour the campus and (name of your major/program) department. Would it be possible to meet up at either the boathouse or your office to talk more about the program?

Attached you’ll find my rowing resume with my relevant information and results from the past (#) years. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks!
(Your name)

Simple, straightforward, and to the point.

With regards to doing unofficial visits like this, the only time you’re not allowed to visit is during the NCAA’s dead period, which is when coaches aren’t allowed to have face-to-face contact with any prospective student-athletes or their parents. You can still communicate through email and phone calls though.

Check out these posts too, they might help you out down the line.

What questions to ask coaches during the recruiting process

What NOT to ask coaches during the recruiting process

Waiting for responses from coaches

Getting the attention of coaches

Making a beRecruited account

Rowing scholarships

How to stand out when on an official visit

The “recruiting” and “contacting coaches” tags

College Video of the Week

Video of the Week: Row Like Pigs

By readyallrow July 22, 2013

In case you’re unfamiliar, “Row Like Pigs” is a student-made film about the 2003 Dartmouth men’s team and is considered to be one of the better rowing documentaries out there.

Here are some of my favorite parts:

Chicken vs. pigs, contribution vs. commitment. Took me a minute to get it but when I did … mind blown.

“In reality, it’s pretty simple. You just have to work phenomenally hard, get phenomenally fit, phenomenally tough, and when we race, lay it all out and you’ll do alright. In fact, you can even win it all. It’s that simple.”

“Refuse to be beaten.” (Imagine that as a call in the a bow ball to bow ball race coming into the last 250m…)

Winter training = football camp, works two things: fundamentals of the sport and fitness; great way to explain it.

“At first you’re just like, are you kidding me but then you’re like ‘I can do this! And not only can I do this, but I can do it well.'”

“Bring the assassin out of the closet.” That’d be a great call.

“When it’s time to go, the Dartmouth guys go. They’re not scared, they don’t hesitate, they walk into the valley of the shadow of death and they do not fear evil.” Replace Dartmouth with your team name and “evil” with your competition’s name. Break this out around 1000m in. Good call for toughness, both physical and mental, when they need it during that middle thousand.

“When you feel the splash, when you hear the splash, that’s when you jump.” Anticipate.

“Seat racing’s maybe one of the hardest things about this sport. You go all fall and winter and then you get this one shot after six months to make the boat, you know, and if you don’t, it’s hard to not look back and have regrets and doubt yourself. And also, one week you’re helping your friend through an erg test, you know, he’s your best bud in the world, and then the next week you got switched across the gunnels with him for a seat race. It’s hard to keep emotions out of it. It’s hard to not make it personal. In the end I guess you gotta just make whatever boat you’re on go fast and just train again for next year’s one shot to make it. Making the first boat isn’t everything. You’ll have more opportunities to do it but if you let that shit distract you for too long, you’ll miss the opportunity to just race boats and have fun.”

“I want that fucking bow ball, push them the fuck away. Put them under your footboards and stomp on them.”

48:42, I like the “40 seconds Dartmouth, now GO!” call.

58:27, honestly if you don’t laugh at this just leave.

It’s an hour long so whenever you’ve got free time or you’re getting an extra workout in, put this on.

College High School Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 21, 2013

Next year (most likely) I’m going to be a sophomore novice rower. Practices are for 2 hours, 6 days a week. I’m really stressed out about not having a social life or time for homework. I’m assuming you’re in high school or rowed in high school, so how did you manage? Was it really bad?

It wasn’t that bad, to be honest. I did marching band all four years in addition to coxing and at some point probably spent just as many hours doing band-related stuff each week as I did crew stuff in the spring … this lead to learning insane time management skills.

First, my social life. I had two groups of friends in high school, my band friends and my crew friends. I didn’t see much of or hang out with my crew friends until winter rolled around unless some of crew friends also happened to be band friends, which several were. In the summer and fall though, 100% of my “circle” was in band. In between full rehearsals and sectionals we’d all go get lunch together and then spend the next hour talking and complaining about shit (the weather, our music, time commitments, school, college, bad reality TV, etc.). If we had rehearsals in the evening, some of us would show up an hour or so early because we were section leaders and had stuff to do before practice started. Usually someone would bring popsicles and we’d hang out together while doing whatever we had to do. After practice the whole band would normally stick around for another 45 minutes, sometimes just to hang out, other times because the parents brought everyone food. Sometimes my group of friends and I would go to this legendary donut place downtown (at like, 10pm), grab some donuts, and then either go driving around for a bit, go see a movie, or go sit by the river and hang out. This usually added another couple of hours to the amount of time I spent “at band” in the evenings.

In the fall when school started, our rehearsal schedule would change slightly but we’d also add in football games on Friday nights and competitions on Saturdays. Friday nights were great because 75% of the football game was spent just hanging out. We’d warm-up ahead of time, run through the show, do pre-game, occasionally play a song when they’d score, do halftime, play a few more songs, do post-game and be done. The rest of the time we’d just be sitting in the stands doing whatever. One of my friends and I spent a solid four games in a row our junior year trying to learn the Harry Potter theme song without music. That was fun. Other times we’d bring cards and play Poker or something. After the game, we’d have to load everything up so we’d be ready for the competition the following day and also clean up the stadium, which we got paid to do. From there we’d either all go get food, go bowling for a bit, or if it was really late, just head home (this was rare though). Saturdays were an all day thing with competitions so we were stuck with each other for at least 12 hours, if not more.

We didn’t have a fall rowing program because nearly everyone on the team (100ish people) was either playing a fall sport or was in marching band, so we only had winter training and a spring season. Because we traveled out of the state of Ohio for all but maybe two of our seven or eight regattas, we were excused from school on Fridays so we could travel. Nearly every Friday through Sunday starting in early April and going through the end of May from 2002-2006 I spent in hotels and on charter buses. We’d race Friday afternoons or Saturday mornings through early Sunday afternoon and then get back late Sunday night, sometimes really early on Monday morning. And yes, we had to be at school on Monday. Because of this, in addition to all the time we spent at practice, we spent a lot of time around each other. On Thursday night before races we’d have boat dinners, so we’d either go to a restaurant and monopolize a table for 3+ hours or we’d go to someone’s house, eat a TON of pizza, make t-shirts, watch movies, and just hang out.

The point I’m trying to make with all of this is yes, I had a very busy schedule for 10 months out of the year, but because 99.9% of my friends did the same things I did, I never felt like I didn’t have time to socialize or was missing out on something. We were always around each other, whether at practice or while traveling, and there was always plenty of down time for us to do normal teenager stuff. Both groups of my friends and I all determined pretty quickly that anyone who did row or wasn’t in band probably wasn’t as much fun to hang out with anyways. We never really had any problems with being around each other that much either, which still amazes me. There were definitely times when we would get irritated with one another but I think the fact that we all realized in order for the band or boat to do well, we needed to suck it up and get over it. Tensions like that, in addition to being plain annoying, were just a hindrance to whatever it was we were trying to accomplish.

With regards to school, homework, etc., like I said earlier, you really learn how to manage your time well. Granted there are times when you just say “fuck it” and slack off for whatever reason but you quickly find that all that does is put you in a hole that becomes progressively harder to climb out of as the season progresses. I definitely did this a couple times but my teachers were great and knew what our schedules were like, so they usually cut us a little bit of slack and worked with us so we could get all of our stuff done and turned in. They had every right to not do that but the fact that they did really only encouraged us to work harder. It taught us too that if we want to do crew or band and do well in school, we had to set limits and manage our time properly.

Our coaches were really on us about our grades too. They knew when report cards came out and they’d come up to every single one of us and ask how we did. Not in an interrogative way, luckily, but because they were genuinely that invested in us. This also really encouraged us to work hard and stay on top of things because we knew our coaches wanted to see us succeed off the water too. There were several times that I can remember them telling someone they weren’t going to be able to row for a certain amount of time until they picked their grades up and most of the time the kids did the work and got it done. Other times they just said screw it and quit (and continued not doing their work).

In the fall I’d leave my books at school on the days when I had evening rehearsals and just go an hour or two before I normally would so I could get started on (and hopefully finish) my homework. This worked for me because it forced me to give myself a much needed break in the two hours of in-between time. It was also great because those of us that had classes together would all get there early, pile into someone’s car, go grab some dinner, head back to the high school, and then do work until rehearsal started. I swear the only reason I passed some of my math tests is because my friends that were better at math than me helped me out while we were there. By doing this though we were able to not only get our work done but hang out at the same time.

In the spring I’d sometimes bring whatever book we were reading in English with me but doing homework when you’re stuck on a bus for 5+ hours isn’t too appealing, so I did the majority of my work at home like a normal person. Because I was only really at home for four days during the week, I had to get all my work for the rest of the week and the beginning of the following week done so I could turn it in early and not have to worry about doing anything when I got back at 11pm on Sunday night. When I was in school if I was sitting in a particularly boring class I’d get out my homework for another class and work on it. Obviously you’ve gotta be careful about doing this but as long as you’re stealthy you won’t have a problem. If my friends and I weren’t going out for lunch I’d try and get something accomplished during that time for at least one class. Most often this was when I worked on chem labs since that didn’t require much work, just a lot of writing and some math.

You quickly find out what your priorities are when you have a busy schedule like that. It definitely helps when your friends do the same things you do because then you can hang out while you’re at practice and not have to sacrifice any of your “outside” time if you can’t/don’t want to. In the grand scheme of things though, especially if you’re not planning on rowing in college, school has got to be the number one priority. Even if you are planning to row in college, school still has to be first because you can’t row in college unless you can get into college.

Plus, if you find that the time commitment is too much and you really miss not being able to hang out with your friends, it’s not like you can’t walk away (at the end of the season, NEVER in the middle). You’re not bound to the team the entire time you’re in high school. Again, it comes down to priorities. You might love rowing but if your participation in it comes at the detriment of other stuff, you need to re-evaluate why you’re doing it, what you’re getting out if it, if it’s something you’re planning on sticking with for a long time, etc. Crew is great but it’s not the end all, be all. If there are other things that are important to you, you have to put in the effort and make time for them. If they’re not important, most likely you’ll find a reason or an excuse to not make the time. It’s very rarely about finding time, it’s about making it and once again, it all comes down to priorities.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 20, 2013

So I’ve always been a coxswain on a men’s team and I was recruited by men’s programs at various schools. The school I ended up having to choose (not my number one) only has a women’s program. I’m concerned because I’ve always been around a comfortable weight for a men’s coxswain, not a women’s. Any tips for making the switch with my weight? I’ve been really concerned about it.

Does your school have a club men’s team? Sometimes they aren’t as well “advertised” as women’s programs but it’s worth checking into if you haven’t already.

I’d talk to the coaches first and just say that you’ve always been naturally and comfortably around 120-125lbs, which has never been an issue because up until now you’ve been a men’s coxswain. Being 110lbs (or in that range) might not be reasonable or even possible for your body and coaches have to understand that. Don’t do anything drastic just to get super close to the minimum and don’t let anyone tell you that you need to be exactly 110lbs either. If you can be somewhere in the range of 115-117lbs, that should be fine.

Like I said in that question from yesterday, find out what a healthy target is for you and just make simple changes to your diet and exercise routine. Doesn’t need to be anything drastic. In the fall there’s some leeway with weight for everyone – it doesn’t become something that anyone really starts thinking about until spring season rolls around – but you should still be aware of your goal and be consciously working towards it. If you get to a point where you’ve got nothing left to lose and you’re starting to feel some negative effects from it, talk with your coaches again. This shouldn’t be something you obsess over either, both now or when you’re at school.