<p>Great information -- this is really helping! </p>
<p>Keylyme -- coaches are always trying to convince him to join their team. the local high school football coach is crushed that he won't be coming to school next year. Since no one goes to boarding school from our area, and there are basically no private school, he thought my son was a sure thing. And yes, the coaches at the BS he was accepted into have been calling (starting at 10:01pm on 3/9 -- which was 12:01pm on 3/10 on the east coast). I was surprised since he has potential, but no experience in the the sports.</p>
<p>proudinnj -- no local clubs (no local water!) but since he will be going to BS, we don't have to worry about driving him to and from practice!! It is good to know about not having Spring Break -- we usually don't do anything and my guess is that any sport he gets into will have Spring Break practices.</p>
<p>Two more questions -- how expensive can crew be if you go to BS? It doesn't seem like you would have much in the way of specialized equipment or fancy, expensive team uniforms.</p>
<p>Also -- I would expect that the team member would be working out/staying in shape year round, but can the kids participate in other sports in the other seasons? There are just so many opportunities that he wants to do it all. Do the crew kids go to special summer camps or anything like that? I would hate for him to lose his opportunity to travel and do other things during the summer.</p>
<p>My sons played football in the fall, swam in the winter and rowed in the spring. So, at our school it is possible. I don't know the expectations at other schools. There were local clinics they attended during the summer, but because they are lifeguards at the Jersey shore, they row every day in the Atlantic Ocean -- although there really is very little comparison between rowing a lifeguard boat and a shell.
I have heard, but don't know from personal experience, that parents whose children row at parochials have large financial commitments. We contributed at a minimum $1000/yr in fundraisers, uniforms, etc.</p>
<p>Having gone through the college admission expereince with my sons, my piece of advice is for your son to pursue whatever interests he has with a passion -- that is what schools are looking for!</p>
<p>Crew is relatively inexpensive. All you really need is standard sports wear plus a lot of spandex. Edit: this is assuming that your school is providing all the necessary equipment (boats, oars, ergs, launches). </p>
<p>As for SPS, most rowers participate in other sports especially because SPS doesn't have a fall season. A lot of rowers run cross country in the fall. However, if his school has a fall season, he'll probably be expected to partake. </p>
<p>Once he reaches a higher level he could go to a summer camp but it's not necessary. A lot of students go to specific college's 1-week summer camps in hopes of being recruited there. There are also clubs (like CRI, Maritime) that row year round, that rowers sometimes switch to for the summer. If he becomes very good, he would be able to participate in Development or Selection Camp, which is basically for the top high school rowers in the nation to be looked at for the Junior National team.</p>
<p>hsmomstef...that is the great thing about bs; your son can try so many new things. I know that for my first son, crew was all over him as a freshman (he was tiny) and they wanted him for coxswain...but like my younger son, he played soccer and baseball. The wrestling coach convinced him to try that, though. He hated it the entire time, although he did very well.
My younger son was also "courted" by all the coaches of winter sports he had never before done. He ended up choosing one, making varsity, and doing very well. No tried to wean him away from his main sport of soccer for fall or baseball for spring, though. He is pretty committed to those. He is the kind of kid who would do all the sports if he could fit it in!</p>
<p>that all sounds good! One of the biggest draws of BS was the sports -- so many good choices, he is reeling with the possibilities. Knowing his personality, though, I think he would do best with at least one sport he really concentrates on each year -- and then tries multiple sports the other seasons. At his current middle school, the only options are track/basketball/wrestling -- he does track, but doesn't like wrestling and didn't make the basketball team. </p>
<p>As far as passion, you are definitely correct about that! My older son has a definite passion, but my younger just hasn't found his yet -- after all, he is only 14. He is very worried about it -- but I keep telling him that he will find it, you can't just make one up. I have the feeling that after the first year of boarding school, and all the opportunities it provides, he will find his "passion". </p>
<p>As far as cost -- the two boarding schools he is looking at have all the equipment and there isn't an additional fee to do crew, so it looks like it would be relatively inexpensive. I am guessing that there would be a cost for the spring training over break, though.</p>
<p>good info on college recruiting and summer camps, etc. I will have to see where he stands after a year or two.</p>
<p>one thing which may influence the practice time is where they row. My D went to Exeter summer program last year and they row on a tidal river so sometimes could not practice in the afternoons and had to do an AM run. Also, if they practice on lakes the lakes are calmer in the morning.</p>
<p>She rowed fall crew at her day school as a novice. Besides strength and size like your son you need to get the technique. The strongest kids were not always in the top boat. Her school does 8s and 4s in the fall, including Head of the Charles in Boston which the M1 and M2 and W1 attended this year (top two boys boats, top girls boat). Some other events have specific novice events. She will not do spring crew which is shorter races in 4s as her school will not give underclassmen 2 sports credits for fall and spring but next year as a Junior she will row both seasons. We have had kids recruited to several DI and DIII programs. We share a boathouse with 2 public schools including one from the inner city, so it is becomming more available.</p>
<p>For us, the biggest expense, which isn't that big, has been the travel. They had a race in NY last year and this year the spring crew is going to SC for preseason training. Many of the races require overnight stays. But on the flipside the races are on weekends so we do'nt have the issue of missing classes to leave school early for an away game like other sports.</p>
<p>I have looked at summer camps and when we know what the rest of the summer schedule is, may sign up for one. They seem to fill around now. A handful of kids from our school attend, so it isn't expected. They do a week away for preseason before fall and spring seasons begin with multiple rowing times per day plus other training. They state the minimum required experience and some have novice and experiences groups, some only experienced.</p>
<p>In my D's school, the "crewbies" are a cult and since they require such strong teamwork, to the point that they are the most cliquish of the sports teams. It is also the largest sports team, 50+ kids in a school of 350, the coed aspect is something that she does like and she really bonded with her boat. When they travel they room by their boat (4's) so if one kid keeps the others up, the whole boat suffers.</p>
<p>"The larger schools (Andover, Exeter, St. Pauls, Kent, Salisbury, NMH, Choate) row almost exclusively eights. They row against each other and some of the large NE public and parochial schools (who are pretty darn good)"</p>
<p>Choate actually rows 4s fun is fun. Nice try though.</p>
<p>Here's a story that is either very encouraging or discouraging, depending on your perspective. A good friend of mine had a nephew who went to one of the very top prep schools (I don't want to be more specific, but it is a school everyone would recognize.) He was a great rower, apparently. He got recruited by many of the top colleges because of crew and end-up going to one of the very top. (Again, I don't want to be more specific, but it is a college everyone would recognize.) My friend said, "My nephew is a great kid but he isn't a great student. It's not fair that he is going to XXX, while far more qualified students are rejected."</p>
<p>In any event, the student do go to XXX. He rowed crew and graduated. I asked his uncle how college went, and he told me: "My nephew said that he had nothing in common with the other students at XXX. He said that they were 'so smart.' He further said, "There is no way I should have been admitted."</p>
<p>Two interpretations: Crew is great; it will help you get into schools you otherwise who have no chance.</p>
<p>Other interpretation: What the heck are colleges doing with their admissions?</p>
<p>There trying to make their sports better...sports can bring together a community in a way nothing else can in my opinion. But its unfair if he's not smart at all.</p>
<p>I think this happens with all sports, and all schools, to highly varying degrees. Some schools really care about sports standings. I can also imagine that most colleges would expect a kid from a top prep school to be able to do well enough to be okay. But it is a sad tale indeed.</p>
<p>Or ... fit is really important. Although the student was successful and graduated, he didn't have an optimal collegiate experience because the student and the school weren't a great fit for each other.</p>
<p>The rower is now an assistant coach for the rowing team at the college. Not a good fit academically, but I guess a good fit in other dimensions. Food for thought.</p>
<p>You are 100% correct. And some of the cultures are not academic. Kinda strange to some people, but that is higher education in the U.S. today (except for Cal Tech, apparently).</p>
<p>I just started rowing this year and it is a FABULOUS sport. As far as the "type" of people that excel at it, all I can say is ENDURANCE ATHLETE. Crew takes a tremendous amount of strength, and typically the athletes are very well built. The sport involves not only rowing on the water, but a good deal of training on the ergometer (rowing machine), strength training, core exercises, and running. As far as colleges, some will recruit for rowing, some won't. Most Ivy League schools will most likely recruit, as their teams are school sponsored. Other schools, such as Washington University in St. Louis, have crew as a club team, so while the coaches may express certain interest in a particular athlete, chances are they will not be able to provide a scholarship for them.
All in all, I highly recommend it if your son is looking for a team sport that also involves individual effort. Make sure he is prepared to work hard. I came into crew after 8 years of competitive swimming, so it wasn't an entire "shock" to my system. If there are specific schools that your son is interested in, I would contact the coach ahead of time. The other fabulous thing about the sport is that many people begin it in college after participating in and entirely different sport all throughout high school. Someone who is already coordinated as an athlete would have no problem picking up the rowing technique. Best of luck to you! Feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>I go to Kent where crew is taken VERY seriously. We have five boots, four of which are interscholastic, and the guys train all year. They are all required to run cross country if they are first boat. If you're first boat, college recruiters will come looking for you. I know seniors on 2nd boat who are being recruited. We have eastern Europeans who row for us, and yeah, its big.</p>
<p>On one of my daughter's tours, she asked the guide about crew, freshman trying out, etc. and the guide looked at her and said "You're too short...forget about anything other than cox". She's 5'4"...any truth to this?! My D was very discouraged to hear this...she's been looking forward to trying crew for two years now.</p>