tell me about your experience with high school crew....

[Anonymous]

Interesting thread, and not trying to hijack but I have similar questions. My son (6'1') just started rowing this spring with the intention of going out for crew when we move for the upcoming academic year (currently live our of state). So far he seems to like it. He was doing cross country before, so we're kind of used to the at times boring aspect of attending as spectators. Also the cardio hasn't been as bad for him because of the running experience.

Anyone know about crew teams in MD -- looking like we'll wind up at BCC, Walter Johnson, Whitman or Churchill... How hard is it usually to make a high school crew team anyway? Is it considered Varsity or a Club sport?

[Anonymous]

Sounds freaking boring... but if there's nothing else for the kid.. why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Interesting thread, and not trying to hijack but I have similar questions. My son (6'1') just started rowing this spring with the intention of going out for crew when we move for the upcoming academic year (currently live our of state). So far he seems to like it. He was doing cross country before, so we're kind of used to the at times boring aspect of attending as spectators. Also the cardio hasn't been as bad for him because of the running experience.

Anyone know about crew teams in MD -- looking like we'll wind up at BCC, Walter Johnson, Whitman or Churchill... How hard is it usually to make a high school crew team anyway? Is it considered Varsity or a Club sport?

I think BCC and Whitman have good crew programs. Not sure about WJ or Churchill. Among the privates, St. Albans is a crew powerhouse.

It's a club sport in this area. In some years, more kids want to participate at some schools than can be accommodated on the buses or in the boats, so there are cuts just as with a varsity sport. A kid with some rowing experience who is 6'1 and used to cardio training should be welcome.

I'd ignore the other poster's snarky posts. Guess this area isn't the only area where some people will just go looking for opportunities to criticize where people live, where they send their kids to school, and what they do out of school. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is also the benefit that there are decent scholarships out there for women because of Title IX. Don't let height discourage you --I'm not sure if high schools still have "lightweight" teams but colleges still do.

This is an excellent point. A friend of mine who had never done crew (wasn't offered at our school) tried out on a whim after starting college and ended up with a generous 4 year scholarship at her university. She was not a particularly athletic person either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds freaking boring... but if there's nothing else for the kid.. why not.

I can't imagine being out on a river, surrounded by nature, engaged in a physically demanding sport to be boring. I am probably romanticizing it, but I grew up far from any water and I think it is awesome that kids around here get to experience the Potomac in this way. It makes me think of those Thomas Eakins ptgs of rowers. But I can see why it might be boring for a parent to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I can't imagine being out on a river, surrounded by nature, engaged in a physically demanding sport to be boring. I am probably romanticizing it, but I grew up far from any water and I think it is awesome that kids around here get to experience the Potomac in this way. It makes me think of those Thomas Eakins ptgs of rowers. But I can see why it might be boring for a parent to watch.

It can be exhilarating at times, and exhausting at other times.

The notion that parents should steer their kids away from a sport that requires discipline and teamwork because their elders have short attention spans makes me laugh. I don't recall youth soccer or piano recitals as particularly gripping, either. You can always watch a movie or read a book on an IPad if you don't want to talk to the other parents at a regatta.

[Anonymous]

I tried crew and hated it. Time commitment and diffuculty weren't bad at all. It was the same time as other varsity sports I had done and hard but not harder than wrestling. The main thing is we got out on the water only once a week and spent the rest of the time on the ergs which is super boring. It's just the same motion over and over there's no strategy or thought to it.

[Anonymous]

There's actually a great deal of strategy involved with crew. It's a great sport for the right type of kid.

[Anonymous]

My son is very small so should he say he is interested in coxswain at this summer's rowing camp at the Naval Academy? He has no experience.

[Anonymous]

I rowed varsity crew in high school and college. The sport is all about strength, endurance, and focus. It was a very useful tool to get recruited into a great college. I was recruited by and rowed at an ivy with a B+ GPA overall.

It's important to know that successful rowers have a typical body type, esp for women. Very tall, very strong, very muscular. You don't see petite girls getting recruited. For men in college there are heavyweight and lightweight teams. For high school was mostly heavyweight. Again, very tall, very strong. There are opportunities for smaller/petite people to cox. But above and beyond, most rowers I know are large. Fwiw, I am 5'8" and 155lbs and was the smallest on my college varsity squad and on the small end of my Hs varsity team. I was recruited.

Rowing can also be very difficult on your lower back and knees. Many people don't realize that competitive rowing is all legs and not arms. Several of my HS and college teammates had back issues and required PT regularly.

The bonding is awesome and there is so much camaraderie, but it's also very competitive. Our coaches would often pit us against each other to see who had the fastest times, which would create the fastest boats. This was tough on friendships sometimes. You would have to seat race your friends and teammates which was hard.

Lots of time commitment getting to and from boathouse, to and from regattas and races, lots of time spent on the bus.

Also intense off season training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did crew in a private dc high school and I disagree that height is necessarily a disadvantage. I'm 5'4" and was seven seat of the varsity eight for two years because I busted my ass to improve my technique and strength. Yes bring taller may be advantageous because your stroke is longer, but being strong and determined and having a committed work ethic will take you further than your height alone. Don't let your child's height stop them from tring.

I rowed varsity crew, and we never met a competitive team with women that small rowing in the middle of the boat. You wouldn't see a woman that small rowing successfully in a serious/competitive college program, either. Recreationally? Sure. Not Head of The Charles or Jr. Nationals.

[Anonymous]

Note tonight dear, I have crew! (GWU crew team t-shirt).

[Anonymous]

It's a huge time commitment. And it is expensive. But it was a great experience for two of our kids. They loved rowing! Both of them were offered rowing scholarships.

Lake Braddock Crew is an outstanding organization!

[Anonymous]

What parents attend all of their children's high school athletic events? My parents came to all of 1 event. If you're not making it a career, why would a parent be involved?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What parents attend all of their children's high school athletic events? My parents came to all of 1 event. If you're not making it a career, why would a parent be involved?

Are you kidding? Parents have to be involved. Because crew is a club sport (at least in MoCo) parents haul the equipment, hire the coaches, supply the tent and all of the food for the regattas, and do the fundraising to pay for it all. It's not for the faint of heart, but it can be fun too. I don't go to every regatta as a crew parent, but I make the majority of them. Most of the parents do similarly.