Ask Rower’s Edge

The basic starting point is a 2K time of 7:30 for an openweight woman rower.  Lightweights can be 10-15 seconds slower depending on the program.  This is just a starting point and it is important to understand that some programs are looking for a faster time than 7:30.  While the erg score is important, coaches also consider height, weight and water performance when evaluating a potential recruit.   The timing of commitment to a team differs according to both the type of college application submitted as well as the type of rowing program.  A high school recruit who has applied and been accepted early decision will have committed  since early decision applications are binding.  For schools that offer a National Letter of Intent, there are signing dates during which the student-athlete signs the letter which is the commitment to the team.

Your daughter needs to find the right school for her and not listen to what her team-mates say is the right school for them.  She needs to focus on her academics and do her best in school as well as on the rowing team.  She should look at schools that will work for her academically and then contact the rowing coach to see if the coach is interested in recruiting her.  Remember that each rowing coach looks for the particular level of rowing performance that works for them.  Tell her to include her academic information as well as her rowing information when she contacts the coach so that they have a complete picture of her accomplishments.

Coaches look for the same basic things in all rowers: on the water performance, strong erg scores and  good academics.  All 3 are important in recruiting.  The target for each of these depends on the type of school where you are looking to get recruited.  Certainly the more competitive the academic institution, the stronger your academic performance needs to be.  Remember that your application must be reviewed by admissions and the admissions office is the office which determines whether you meet the academic admissions standards of the particular school.  Likewise, the more competitive the rowing program, the higher the standards of erg score and on the water performance needed to be recruited. It is important to communicate this information to the college coaches.  Generally e-mail is the best way to start the communication so that the coach can keep track of your specifics.  However, there are times when it is also advisable to call the coach.  Recruiting is a process and you need to figure out how and when is the best way to get your information in front of the coach.   Coaches also really like to meet potential recruits face to face so plan college visits and coach meetings as part of your recruiting process.    

We are always very careful when discussing anything to do with height or weight to make sure that we are promoting a healthy lifestyle.  It is tough to know how much a coxswain is going to grow.  The best place to start to get some information is probably from your son’s primary care physician.  He/she may be able to give a ballpark based on your son’s development as well as looking at the height of both of his parents.  In terms of communicating this to coaches, you do not need to speculate on how tall your son will grow because coaches are very tuned into this issue.  Coaches  want to meet prospective recruits for many reasons-one of which is to see the size of prospective coxswains.  Your son should communicate his height and weight when he communicates with coaches and follow up with face to face meetings.  Remember that if your son becomes a rower, his experience as a coxswain is invaluable since he has an understanding of both positions in boat.  In terms of timing, your son can begin communicating with college coaches whenever he figures out the programs in which he may be interested and is ready to make some visits.  Certainly the best time to communicate is when he has good coxing race results.

College coaches understand that you are in high school and that you will improve as you get more experience.  However, you should have something to tell them about your coxing when you send an e-mail.  If you feel that you do not have anything concrete to tell them yet, you should hold off until you do.  If you want to cox in college, you should be communicating with coaches by the spring of your junior year.  Hopefully by that time, you will have some on the water performance of which you are proud.  Remember that coaches will want to hear race recordings so be prepared to send race recordings if and when the college coaches ask for them.

There is a college team for anyone who wants to row in college.  The challenge is to find the right “match” for your son in terms of academics and athletics.  Your son should do his best in school and with rowing and start to look at colleges that are interesting to him.  Tell him to look at all sizes of schools and try to figure out what geographic part of the country he wants to attend college.  He can get a lot of information about rowing teams from the team webpage on the college’s website.  If he likes the school, he should send the coach an e-mail with his rowing information as well as his test scores, gpa, height and weight.  This is the first step in figuring out whether a coach would be interested in recruiting him.

Each division of college rowing handles recruiting in its own way. In general, Division I schools have the most “pull” with admissions. Within Division I, different types of schools have different recruiting policies: from having different levels of recruits (in some large state schools) to having a list which is submitted to admissions with little knowledge about who will ultimately gain admission to a school. Some schools offer “likely letters” while others offer National Letters of Intent (NLI) which help give the potential recruit more confidence that they will be admitted. Some Division I schools offer athletic scholarships while others do not. Division II and III also have their own recruiting policies which can differ from offering athletic scholarships to having little or no weight with admissions except for a very small number of top recruits. Club rowing varies greatly depending on whether it is a men’s or women’s team. In addition, there are “super-clubs” which are club in name only but feel like a Division I team and are as competitive. It is critically important that the potential recruit get specific information about the recruiting policies from the individual school in which they are interested and not to generalize about the recruiting process.