Share with me your child’s experience rowing crew

[Anonymous]

Please include details on how/when to begin, time commitment, community, and any knowledge of competitive crew in the DMV

[Anonymous]

Also, did they do another sport and didn’t excel or was there something about crew that is special?

[Anonymous]

Wonderful sport!

My kid started in 9th grade, which is typical. He'd played B team-level travel soccer, but wasn't that great. Always a solid runner. He did XC freshman and sophomore year, but crew is the one that really "stuck." By junior year, he was getting nibbles from colleges, and he thought about pursuing it, but ultimately decided to stop after HS graduation.

It is an enormous time commitment. On a typical "practice" Saturday, we'd drop him off at the river at maybe 7 a.m. I thought it would be even worse, but usually college teams were out early and high school teams would get out around then. He'd be done around 11. On a regatta day, if we dropped him off at 7, he might be there until 5. Practices during the season were after school, and he'd get home at 7 or later. Practices during winter (brutal) were usually done at 5.

It was worth every minute. He really loved it and made great friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, did they do another sport and didn’t excel or was there something about crew that is special?

There's a lot about crew that is special. The kids who do well may have the right body type (long and lean), but a little braininess and a cooperative spirit really help. "Boys in the Boat" gets into this a little bit. There are certain kids -- and I'm proud to say that my kid was one of them -- who make every boat better. They're good in different seats, even different sides, because they just put their heads down and get the job done. Some of the brash, brawny kids can't become good rowers because they lack patience or think they can do it all themselves. It gets really interesting when you see these dynamics play out.

Plus, you need a sparky, mouthy coxswain!

[Anonymous]

The time commitment is major: practice four days a week and regattas all day Saturday during the season, and because you have to get to the boathouse there is more transit time than most high school sports, depending on where you live. Lots of cleaning and hauling boats. It helps to be very tall. You have to be the kind of person who enjoys/thrives at doing repetitive actions while facing someone else’s back. My dh and one kid have the right build and mind for it and love it; my other kid and I find erging boring and painful—we are runners and it’s a different mentality, I think. Can’t really articulate beyond that.

Be aware that for girls there are genuine recruiting opportunities for college. Lots of girls from our school go into college rowing. For boys, it’s d3 only but I know only one boy who rows in college and it might be club rowing,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The time commitment is major: practice four days a week and regattas all day Saturday during the season, and because you have to get to the boathouse there is more transit time than most high school sports, depending on where you live. Lots of cleaning and hauling boats. It helps to be very tall. You have to be the kind of person who enjoys/thrives at doing repetitive actions while facing someone else’s back. My dh and one kid have the right build and mind for it and love it; my other kid and I find erging boring and painful—we are runners and it’s a different mentality, I think. Can’t really articulate beyond that.

Be aware that for girls there are genuine recruiting opportunities for college. Lots of girls from our school go into college rowing. For boys, it’s d3 only but I know only one boy who rows in college and it might be club rowing,

Maybe more practice days, I can’t remember

[Anonymous]

It’s a great sport for an average or non-athletic kid to pick up with an incredible work ethic. No one starts much before high school so it’s a very level playing field.

Incredibly time consuming and a lot of expectations from parents.

For serious rowing you need the tall and lean body type but doesn’t matter as much in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a great sport for an average or non-athletic kid to pick up with an incredible work ethic. No one starts much before high school so it’s a very level playing field.

Incredibly time consuming and a lot of expectations from parents.

For serious rowing you need the tall and lean body type but doesn’t matter as much in high school.

This might be worded confusing. Parents are required to do a lot as most teams are club sports.

[Anonymous]

My DD rows for a DC private and has practice M-F at 5:15am, finishing 7/71:15 in time to drive to campus, shower and start the day at 8. She’s up at 4:25 and leaves at 4:40 to drive younger teammates (there are more student-driven carpools from the boathouse to campus). Race days are all day, and Sundays can involve another trip to the boathouse to unload and rig boats. Winter training is 6-7:15am 3x a week on campus. She also does theatre/musical with rehearsal until 8, so it’s a super-long day. Even so she loves being on the water, the sunrise (even on freezing, foggy mornings), nature in the city. It’s an amazing way to start the day. The coaches all have FT jobs, hence the early practice time, but rowers also know that is when the water is best. You can also expect some serious $$ fees and contributions as well as fundraising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful sport!

My kid started in 9th grade, which is typical. He'd played B team-level travel soccer, but wasn't that great. Always a solid runner. He did XC freshman and sophomore year, but crew is the one that really "stuck." By junior year, he was getting nibbles from colleges, and he thought about pursuing it, but ultimately decided to stop after HS graduation.

It is an enormous time commitment. On a typical "practice" Saturday, we'd drop him off at the river at maybe 7 a.m. I thought it would be even worse, but usually college teams were out early and high school teams would get out around then. He'd be done around 11. On a regatta day, if we dropped him off at 7, he might be there until 5. Practices during the season were after school, and he'd get home at 7 or later. Practices during winter (brutal) were usually done at 5.

It was worth every minute. He really loved it and made great friends.

That’s wonderful. Will he ever row for fun (either at school or when he gets home) or is it not really that kind of long term sport?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful sport!

My kid started in 9th grade, which is typical. He'd played B team-level travel soccer, but wasn't that great. Always a solid runner. He did XC freshman and sophomore year, but crew is the one that really "stuck." By junior year, he was getting nibbles from colleges, and he thought about pursuing it, but ultimately decided to stop after HS graduation.

It is an enormous time commitment. On a typical "practice" Saturday, we'd drop him off at the river at maybe 7 a.m. I thought it would be even worse, but usually college teams were out early and high school teams would get out around then. He'd be done around 11. On a regatta day, if we dropped him off at 7, he might be there until 5. Practices during the season were after school, and he'd get home at 7 or later. Practices during winter (brutal) were usually done at 5.

It was worth every minute. He really loved it and made great friends.

That’s wonderful. Will he ever row for fun (either at school or when he gets home) or is it not really that kind of long term sport?

It depends. I rowed in college and row now. You can join a club and/or row on your own. You don’t need a team to do it. But you need to have a place to row and the funds to do it. Rowing does establish a life-long habit of fitness and getting out into nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful sport!

My kid started in 9th grade, which is typical. He'd played B team-level travel soccer, but wasn't that great. Always a solid runner. He did XC freshman and sophomore year, but crew is the one that really "stuck." By junior year, he was getting nibbles from colleges, and he thought about pursuing it, but ultimately decided to stop after HS graduation.

It is an enormous time commitment. On a typical "practice" Saturday, we'd drop him off at the river at maybe 7 a.m. I thought it would be even worse, but usually college teams were out early and high school teams would get out around then. He'd be done around 11. On a regatta day, if we dropped him off at 7, he might be there until 5. Practices during the season were after school, and he'd get home at 7 or later. Practices during winter (brutal) were usually done at 5.

It was worth every minute. He really loved it and made great friends.

That’s wonderful. Will he ever row for fun (either at school or when he gets home) or is it not really that kind of long term sport?

My dh was a college rower and has erged at home for years as his main form of exercise. He has zero interest in rowing on a river though (we live right by one) and probably hasn’t since college. You can erg as a “lifetime sport” but it’s a big piece of equipment to have in a small place IMO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wonderful sport!

My kid started in 9th grade, which is typical. He'd played B team-level travel soccer, but wasn't that great. Always a solid runner. He did XC freshman and sophomore year, but crew is the one that really "stuck." By junior year, he was getting nibbles from colleges, and he thought about pursuing it, but ultimately decided to stop after HS graduation.

It is an enormous time commitment. On a typical "practice" Saturday, we'd drop him off at the river at maybe 7 a.m. I thought it would be even worse, but usually college teams were out early and high school teams would get out around then. He'd be done around 11. On a regatta day, if we dropped him off at 7, he might be there until 5. Practices during the season were after school, and he'd get home at 7 or later. Practices during winter (brutal) were usually done at 5.

It was worth every minute. He really loved it and made great friends.

That’s wonderful. Will he ever row for fun (either at school or when he gets home) or is it not really that kind of long term sport?

It’s not a very easy or practical sport to do later but there are rowing clubs for adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please include details on how/when to begin, time commitment, community, and any knowledge of competitive crew in the DMV

For schools in the DMV…NCS, STA, Gonzaga field 8 person varsity. SJC and some others field 2 and 4 person boats.

Jackson-Reed, Whitman and BCC for public schools field 8 person boys and girls varsity.

There are probably others, but those are prominent in the DMV. I believe all of the above schools send both boys and girls to D1 rowing programs, as well as D3.

[Anonymous]

My oldest is a freshman in high school, and he is just getting started with crew team. It is a new sport for us.

He has historically played baseball and swam, and dabbled in tennis as well and at one point he wanted to try out for those teams in high school, but ultimately this year did on the boat with crew team for two weeks in the fall, & decided he wanted to do winter conditioning with the crew team and do crew in the spring. He has enjoyed kayaking generally, so I had always thought he might like crew, but I never took him to do anything with it before high school.

I think some people have a different view on high school sports from me. For example my husband kind of said something like oh it’s kind of sad he’s not gonna be playing baseball anymore. But I think that’s the way it is when you get to high school.

I think time spent in prior sports is cross training rather than a waste. I ran D1 and college and I did all kinds of sports as a kid but I didn’t join the track team until high school and frankly I think it was better that way because I wasn’t burnt out.

I think my son is in good shape from other sports, and that all hopefully will theoretically lead to him having success in crew, too.