Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Even I am surprised to see the level of spirited discussion this topic has generated. After reading overwhelming opposition to football, any second thoughts are now removed. We will stay firm to no football. That leads to a perfect segue into the topic of Crew. The next thing DS asked is particiaption in Crew if he cannot do football. We did not let him sign up because of time committment and he needs to get adjusted to the curriculam. I believe the crew time committment is even more than any other sports because there is travel time to get to practice and back. Other than health and team work benefits, are there any other advantages to this sport.

DS has a couple of friends who crew at TJ, including one very close friend, and it is brutal. Probably the most demanding sport or extracurriculars TJ, which is saying something. I thought marching band was bad — 3 weeks of FT marching before school, one at sleepaway camp, full weekend “home camps” early in the season, 3 days afternoons a week (until 6 on Monday and 7:30 2 other days, so home at 7 or 8:30) plus Friday games, 0plus full day (7 am to midnight) Saturday competitions. His crew friends say band was so much less of a commitment than crew. They have been conditioning after school every day for a couple months, with returners conditioning at home year round. And once the season starts, it seems like they practice on the Occaquan every single day, including holidays and weekends. He has a friend whose family did not go on spring break so she could do 40+ hour a week of practice trying to make the “best boat” (she did not). Crew accepts no excuses. You get sick, you don’t row. Same for an MD appointment or academic commitment. Kids need the disciplined to get home at 8:30or 9 every night, be physically exhausted, and manage a TJ workload. Not every kid can pull this off. A lot of TJ sports teams know they will not have a winning season. They take it seriously and work hard, but within reason. TJ crew treats it like an Olympic trading camp. Crew is lots of weekend travel if your kid is any good. And a club sport, so no school financial support. It quickly gets very expensive, especially if your kid is good and qualifies for extra regattas. Plus you freeze your ** off for hours on the side of a river waiting for a,glimpse of your kids boat zipping by.

But on the flip side, kids who have the right physique, take crew seriously and work their a** can start with no experience and end up crewing for Ivy or Ivy caliber school. And the kids and parents who crew are really nice, and a very close knit, supportive group (while at the same time being ultracompetitive on the water). Just make sure you and your kid know what they are getting into. They need to want it, and be willing to sacrifice. So do you (carpools, $$, lost family time).

I don’t want to seem like crew is all bad. Many of the kids who do it love it, and think it is one of th highlights of their time at TJ. Just go into it with eyes wide open. I would let my kid crew— but I would have to believe he could keep his grades up and that he really wanted it.

An FYI— I have heard from someone I consider to be reliable that crew did not cut girls last year, but did cut a handful of full of boys. They only have so many boats. It is slightly harder to break in after freshman year, because their are freshman specific boats. So if your kid is serious, they should start showing up to condition every day now. Especially if they are not a freshman.

A lot of this is secondhand info from talking to parents and kids involved in TJ crew. Parent with kids who actiually crew, 0lease correct me.

OK, I will correct you. What you wrote is a slight exaggeration.

Yes, it's a demanding extracurricular, but hardly THE MOST demanding one at TJ. As one who had kids in both crew and marching band, band is a bigger time commitment. One kid also played basketball - that was a huge commitment, with games during the week and often not getting home until 10pm.

I don't understand the part about "crew accepts no excuses." Obviously if you're sick you don't row - isn't that true of all sports? As for other commitments, the coaches are quite aware of the academic demands of TJ - some are TJ grads - so they will work around things if possible. But, like any other sports team, if you miss too many practices, you're not going to play.

Yes, if a kid wants to be on a varsity boat then they have to go to practices over Spring Break. Most area schools actually go out of town to a weeklong rowing camp - TJ stays in town to cut costs. It's not 40+ hours that week though - I just pulled up last year's email:

[Spring Break] practice will run from 8am-1pm Monday-Thursday (4/10-4/13) and 8am-11am Friday (4/14). We will have a long afternoon practice the Monday-student-holiday-after-spring-break (4/17) from 4pm-7pm.

Going to the Occoquan River for practices in spring is the biggest pain-in-the-butt about crew, from a logistical and time-commitment POV. The team tries its best to minimize that by chartering a bus for the younger rowers, and arranging carpools for the older rowers. As for getting home at 8:30-9pm every night -- uh no. It's usually by 8pm in May-June when the additional daylight gives them longer practices, and we live pretty far from the river. But the kids love going to the river, being on the water, breathing the fresh air, seeing some beautiful sunsets.

Yes, it can be hard to manage with a TJ workload, but no harder than other TJ sports. The best thing about it, though, is that kids who have never played an organized sport before can become athletes. My kid was the stereotypical nerd who never exercised, but he became a devoted, super-athlete through crew. And I know now he will continue to exercise and be physically fit for the rest of his life because he's learned that it makes him feel so much better.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Even I am surprised to see the level of spirited discussion this topic has generated. After reading overwhelming opposition to football, any second thoughts are now removed. We will stay firm to no football. That leads to a perfect segue into the topic of Crew. The next thing DS asked is particiaption in Crew if he cannot do football. We did not let him sign up because of time committment and he needs to get adjusted to the curriculam. I believe the crew time committment is even more than any other sports because there is travel time to get to practice and back. Other than health and team work benefits, are there any other advantages to this sport.

DS has a couple of friends who crew at TJ, including one very close friend, and it is brutal. Probably the most demanding sport or extracurriculars TJ, which is saying something. I thought marching band was bad — 3 weeks of FT marching before school, one at sleepaway camp, full weekend “home camps” early in the season, 3 days afternoons a week (until 6 on Monday and 7:30 2 other days, so home at 7 or 8:30) plus Friday games, 0plus full day (7 am to midnight) Saturday competitions. His crew friends say band was so much less of a commitment than crew. They have been conditioning after school every day for a couple months, with returners conditioning at home year round. And once the season starts, it seems like they practice on the Occaquan every single day, including holidays and weekends. He has a friend whose family did not go on spring break so she could do 40+ hour a week of practice trying to make the “best boat” (she did not). Crew accepts no excuses. You get sick, you don’t row. Same for an MD appointment or academic commitment. Kids need the disciplined to get home at 8:30or 9 every night, be physically exhausted, and manage a TJ workload. Not every kid can pull this off. A lot of TJ sports teams know they will not have a winning season. They take it seriously and work hard, but within reason. TJ crew treats it like an Olympic trading camp. Crew is lots of weekend travel if your kid is any good. And a club sport, so no school financial support. It quickly gets very expensive, especially if your kid is good and qualifies for extra regattas. Plus you freeze your ** off for hours on the side of a river waiting for a,glimpse of your kids boat zipping by.

But on the flip side, kids who have the right physique, take crew seriously and work their a** can start with no experience and end up crewing for Ivy or Ivy caliber school. And the kids and parents who crew are really nice, and a very close knit, supportive group (while at the same time being ultracompetitive on the water). Just make sure you and your kid know what they are getting into. They need to want it, and be willing to sacrifice. So do you (carpools, $$, lost family time).

I don’t want to seem like crew is all bad. Many of the kids who do it love it, and think it is one of th highlights of their time at TJ. Just go into it with eyes wide open. I would let my kid crew— but I would have to believe he could keep his grades up and that he really wanted it.

An FYI— I have heard from someone I consider to be reliable that crew did not cut girls last year, but did cut a handful of full of boys. They only have so many boats. It is slightly harder to break in after freshman year, because their are freshman specific boats. So if your kid is serious, they should start showing up to condition every day now. Especially if they are not a freshman.

A lot of this is secondhand info from talking to parents and kids involved in TJ crew. Parent with kids who actiually crew, 0lease correct me.

Anonymous wrote:Crew is a tall persons sport (unless you’re a coxswain), which if anything tends to cut against Asians.

I hope you're smarter than what you posted here. Tennis is a tall sports as well (e.g. serve) but it does not mean anything. Roger Federer is 6"1' and John Isner is 6"9' and both are professional tennis players. Federer has 20 Grand slams title and Isner has NONE.
'

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They did well in tennis and crew because both the crew and tennis rosters are almost completely filled with Asians and Indians. What do you expect?

I don't know about the tennis team, but you are wrong about the crew team.

What does being Asian have anything to do with soon well in tennis or crew? Serious question. Last I checked there very few top Asian players in tennis. Don't know much about crew but it's as white/preppy a sport as it gets I believe. Are TJ Asian kids somehow superior athletically than other schools?

Most of the top public school tennis teams in this region are heavily Asian. The parents get the kids involved early because it’s not a contact sport and, at the junior levels, depends more on eye/hand coordination and tactics than strength or height.

+1

check the TJ sports website tennis section. It has the tennis roster there. About 95% Asians/indians names there.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Even I am surprised to see the level of spirited discussion this topic has generated. After reading overwhelming opposition to football, any second thoughts are now removed. We will stay firm to no football. That leads to a perfect segue into the topic of Crew. The next thing DS asked is particiaption in Crew if he cannot do football. We did not let him sign up because of time committment and he needs to get adjusted to the curriculam. I believe the crew time committment is even more than any other sports because there is travel time to get to practice and back. Other than health and team work benefits, are there any other advantages to this sport.

If he turns out to be a solid rower, this can be a good item for college applications. The ratio of high school programs to college programs is a lot lower for crew than for other sports, so while it's not recruited like some other sports are, having a few years of experience on a crew team and some solid numbers to show for it can be an attractive line on an application.

OP here. Even I am surprised to see the level of spirited discussion this topic has generated. After reading overwhelming opposition to football, any second thoughts are now removed. We will stay firm to no football. That leads to a perfect segue into the topic of Crew. The next thing DS asked is particiaption in Crew if he cannot do football. We did not let him sign up because of time committment and he needs to get adjusted to the curriculam. I believe the crew time committment is even more than any other sports because there is travel time to get to practice and back. Other than health and team work benefits, are there any other advantages to this sport.

Anonymous wrote:https://www.facebook.com/wearetjcrew/

TJ Crew facebook page - knock yourself out figuring out the racial demographics

Hint: The lower they are on the risers, the more likely they are to be coxes rather than actual rowers.

https://www.facebook.com/wearetjcrew/

TJ Crew facebook page - knock yourself out figuring out the racial demographics

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They did well in tennis and crew because both the crew and tennis rosters are almost completely filled with Asians and Indians. What do you expect?

I don't know about the tennis team, but you are wrong about the crew team.

What does being Asian have anything to do with soon well in tennis or crew? Serious question. Last I checked there very few top Asian players in tennis. Don't know much about crew but it's as white/preppy a sport as it gets I believe. Are TJ Asian kids somehow superior athletically than other schools?

Crew is a tall persons sport (unless you’re a coxswain), which if anything tends to cut against Asians.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand the concern if TJ was playing other schools in FCPS, but their opponents last year almost literally were the Sisters of Mercy. Like charter schools in DC with enrollments of 150 kids.

And yet TJ racked up only one win. Plus a default by the deaf school because their whole team got suspended when they were caught with pot. Band parent who watched the games here. Even when TJ played the school where all the kids played offense and defense had kids who were huge beside the TJ kids. And the QB got sacked on every lay. They tried. But they just don’t have the size (or, let’s face it— the talent).

painful to watch but sacks <> blow to the head. big difference, in fact.

You don't need to have an actual blow to the head to cause a concussion. Hits to the mid-body can cause a rapid back-and-forth motion to the head that causes a concussion.

Link?

See page 3 of this document from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/pdfs/providers/facts_about_concussion_tbi-a.pdf

It’s also covered in any decent concussion education program. Anyone who has coached youth sports in at least the past five years should have been taught this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They did well in tennis and crew because both the crew and tennis rosters are almost completely filled with Asians and Indians. What do you expect?

I don't know about the tennis team, but you are wrong about the crew team.

What does being Asian have anything to do with soon well in tennis or crew? Serious question. Last I checked there very few top Asian players in tennis. Don't know much about crew but it's as white/preppy a sport as it gets I believe. Are TJ Asian kids somehow superior athletically than other schools?

Most of the top public school tennis teams in this region are heavily Asian. The parents get the kids involved early because it’s not a contact sport and, at the junior levels, depends more on eye/hand coordination and tactics than strength or height.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand the concern if TJ was playing other schools in FCPS, but their opponents last year almost literally were the Sisters of Mercy. Like charter schools in DC with enrollments of 150 kids.

And yet TJ racked up only one win. Plus a default by the deaf school because their whole team got suspended when they were caught with pot. Band parent who watched the games here. Even when TJ played the school where all the kids played offense and defense had kids who were huge beside the TJ kids. And the QB got sacked on every lay. They tried. But they just don’t have the size (or, let’s face it— the talent).

painful to watch but sacks <> blow to the head. big difference, in fact.

You don't need to have an actual blow to the head to cause a concussion. Hits to the mid-body can cause a rapid back-and-forth motion to the head that causes a concussion.

Link?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They did well in tennis and crew because both the crew and tennis rosters are almost completely filled with Asians and Indians. What do you expect?

I don't know about the tennis team, but you are wrong about the crew team.

What does being Asian have anything to do with soon well in tennis or crew? Serious question. Last I checked there very few top Asian players in tennis. Don't know much about crew but it's as white/preppy a sport as it gets I believe. Are TJ Asian kids somehow superior athletically than other schools?

I would not be happy about it but at a minimum, I'd insist on a Riddell's Revolution helmet that is supposed to help minimize not prevent concussions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: And does well in some sports, like crew and tennis. In others, they flat out suck, and win only one or two matches a season. And yet they play in the conference year after year. They are smaller than the kids from other FCPS schools. The last year they played FCPS schools, they gave up an average of 40-50 pounds a player. That’s not my guess based on watching the games. That was the information provided to parents when their conference and the coaches decided it was not safe to have TJ play other FCPS schools any longer. This year they won one game they played, and won a game by forfeit, because the other school suspended their team. If you ask anyone at TJ, they are proud of their “winning” season.

They did well in tennis and crew because both the crew and tennis rosters are almost completely filled with Asians and Indians. What do you expect?

Funny. DS has several white friends who crew. But in general, yes, if a school is 75% Asian, their sports rosters will be largely Asian. Including football which is why TJ has a size problem. As does basketball. What? You think they only let the Asian kids out for math competitions.