I’m trying to decide between Peddie or Loomis Chaffee and I was wondering if any current Loomis parents, alums, students, etc. or anyone with knowledge on the subject would be able to share info about Loomis’s crew team. Are they good/recruitable? I already have a good understanding of Peddie’s crew team and have been in contact with their coach, and while my decision won’t be based solely on crew (if you’ve read my other posts many of you would know that I like and dislike things about both schools) I did want to know how strong Loomis’s rowing team is and whether they race other boarding schools and if they are recruitable for college or competitive at youth nationals or other larger regattas.
Calling @PhotographerMom. She knows EVERYthing about crew.
FWIW, I think crew, swimming, track all share a common attribute which is that college recruiting is based on times, ergs so strength of high school program, while it can help you improve, does not impact college recruitability.
If you were a soccer player, they’d worry about your ability to play in a game with highly skilled players if your experience was on a weak team. Not so for crew.
So only an answer to part of your question…
@gardenstategal that is what I thought as well, but I talked to our crew coach at Oakland Strokes (which is one of the most successful rowing teams in the nation) and he compared erg score to the SAT, it is important, but he said college coaches don’t necessarily base their recruits or their flagged applicants during admission off of erg score. Until I learned this, I assumed I would just go to Loomis and join their crew team regardless of it strength, but now I am really not so sure because I will ultimately be racing in an eight boat or fours during the high school season and apparently coaches rely heavily on those race times for recruiting.
@Socrates01 I thought Loomis didn’t have a crew team as well, but I was told that by Dir. of Athletics that they have a club team that buses kids to the boathouse. I just wasn’t sure if their club team was competitive compared to other schools in the founders league.
@CC4life , I think that the Oakland Strokes coach is right. A good erg score is an important element but it won’t get you recruited unless you have experience in a competitive boat/program as well. So I disagree with the others. If Loomis has a crew it is likely a club sport and that alone probably won’t be enough to get you noticed. If you row in the summer with a strong club crew it might help. The crew team websites of the boarding schools usually list where some of their recent graduates are rowing in college.
This is not a Loomis-sponsored group. While Loomis kids participate, it is run by Hartford Riverfront Recapture.
http://www.riverfront.org/
And since this is not a Loomis team, any costs associated with are over and above. I have no idea how competitive this group is at the youth level, nor do I know what, if any, indoor facilities are available for the winter, so I’ll leave that for someone else. If the goal is to be recruited, I’m not sure Loomis is the best option.
@skieurope THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I had no clue it wasn’t a Loomis program, it still appears to be a strong team, considering they have sent a few boats to youth nationals, HOC, etc and their coaches seem pretty well-qualified (at least from what I can tell on the website.) I still really can’t decide between Loomis or Peddie. Oh my god, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!!
Actually, a program like the one at Hartford makes being on an elite team, at least in the summer, possible (or potentially, a team better than the school’s) The lake where Peddie rows has great programs too but it might be harder to participate if the school team wants to keep the best rowers.
In either case, I think you’d have enough experience on the water to be considered by a coach.
So this hasn’t made your choice for you. How about water polo???
@gardenstategal Yeah, I am pretty sure it is gonna be Loomis, I’m going to call the Riverfront Rowing program tomorrow in order to get a little bit more information and then finally fill out the intent for enrollment form on the LC portal. Go Pelicans!
@CC4life , you have great options. I think you will be a splendid Pelican!
@CC4life Hope that I’ll see you next year! Go Pelicans!
Ski beat me to it.
@CC4life - Here’s a great thread for you to read when you have the time : http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1564851-choosing-a-bs-because-of-a-sport-%C2%97-pro-con-p1.html
I’ll just add that your Oakland coach will be more important to college coaches when it comes to recruitment anyway, so you’ll be totally fine at Loomis if you keep racing during the summer with your club and train there when you’re home for breaks.
Your goal should be good seat placement in fast summer boats leading up to Club Nats junior year - which should be achievable if you talk to your club coach and continue to train while you’re at Loomis.
Just a warning- I always had to fend off BS contact sport coaches with a stick to avoid injuries with my kids . They’d see their size and say We’d love to have your son play football or lacrosse …
Yeah- no. Are you completely insane? So, I’m sure you know this, but stay away from contact sports and stick with sports that will compliment your rowing. I’d also encourage you to checkout the Loomis club rowing program for fun - who knows- a Cinderella boat with some real talent might emerge ! You never know!! 
My kids had full-on BS rowing programs ( Fall Head racing , HOCR, Crash B’s and Spring- which sometimes included Youth Nats depending on the year/ school / boat ), but their club coaches were always still very much in the picture, and they would email insane pieces for them to do in their " free time "- which they did. Sometimes the kids would send back videos for their club coaches to review and critique. It was always ongoing… no matter what.
At fall head races, K2 raced his club single ( which my SD and K1 weren’t allowed to do at their BSs ) . I’d load his single on the club trailer and he’d travel with his BS team and meet us there to race or we’d throw the boat on top of my car and go off on our own to other races, too. It was absolutely crazy, but a lot of fun.
Club singles usually raced in the morning and BS boats usually raced in the afternoon , so it usually worked out well - even when there was an unholy schedule change ( which was announced once when he was out on the water! ) or a sudden seat change that put his races back to back. He made it work though - even when he had to literally throw his single on a sling, change his club uni to his BS uni behind a tree, and run like hell across the venue to help carry the BS boat down to the water - with only seconds to spare. Initially -the BS coach freaked out a little bit when he cut it close, but our club coach calmly told him - Watch- he’ll be on time and stronger and faster for your race … and he always was - so before the head racing season ended, the BS coach would either make him stroke in a BS 4 or put him in the engine room for an 8. Good times… and I give K2 a ton of credit for managing those two coaches and worlds at the same time. It wasn’t easy- for me either!
All BS athletic centers have ergs so stay in touch with your club coach and have him send you weekly workouts and pieces to do . Tell him/ her that you’d like to row in college and stay on his/her radar while you’re at Loomis. If a student has a club coach ( especially a good one from Oakland Strokes ), you don’t need to worry. All college coaches usually bypass the BS coaches anyway and talk to the club coach. If they do talk to the BS coach- it’s more of a courtesy call.
Rowers don’t really physically explode or move real water until college. College coaches are looking for HS kids with experience and technical skill- first and foremost. A great time always helps ( of course ), but college coaches know they’ll beat it down when you get there. By college sophomore year- my boys were either hovering at 6:00 or sub 6:00- so they had 20 seconds of BS lethargy beaten out of them pretty fast , and the only thing that saved them was their club mentality and training .
Right now- work toward enhancing your summer rowing resumé and get your time down somewhere in the 6:20 range for future college rowing fairs. The big one - as you know- is held at Club Nats. That’s also when rowers are invited to some late summer elite athlete “gatherings” which is a thing - and a good thing to attend before you get invited for official visits in Fall - senior year. So move mountains and go if you’re invited!
The more exposure to a college rowing program - the better - especially if you’re handing them your life.
So- work hard and get into a fast club boat during the summer before senior year and be seen! Work closely with your club coach and target the college programs you want to shoot for. You can also start following those college teams on Row2k now, so you get a feel for their programs and boats leading up to admissions .
You can also skip all of this and try to walk on at college, if you wish , but if rowing is your passion- it’s all very doable while you’re at Loomis.
If you have the will - you’ll definitely find the way. Sometimes a less direct path with a little added adversity is more meaningful, rewarding and fun anyway! Good luck, @CC4life !! Go Pelicans!! Yay!!
Thanks, @Socrates01 ! All I’ll say is- East Coast - Best BH in the Country!! 
BS coursework ( thankfully ) was never an issue or a problem and they were definitely in high demand with college coaches. And collegiate rowing programs really do pile it on!!
But ours is also a cautionary college rowing tale in many ways… it gets better! I think it’s been long enough so I’ll share.
The boys and SD started rowing when they were in 7th grade. Each owned their own single by HS and all three trained year round from the start . My SD was the only one with a seamless college rowing experience from start to finish- at an Ivy.
K1 was an amazing junior rower, but a total prima donna - and an unbelievable PITA. I can say that now because I’m his mother, but it wasn’t exactly a closely guarded secret either back then . He was recruited to an Ivy and almost out of the gate had a massive falling out with the head coach. To be honest- it wasn’t a huge surprise. He continued to row at another BH upriver with a highly regarded coach who took him on… I was ripped, but I fully backed Ivy coach- who kept in contact with me. He was that good , but many thought K2 was even better- which I’ll save for an unholy sibling thread down the road . Anyway- after the dust settled- K1 went about putting together a dynamic double with another young man and eventually worked his way back to the Ivy team… It was a long, long journey- and it wasn’t easy to mend the relationship with Ivy coach or his teammates ( far from it! ) , but it turned out to be the ultimate life lesson for someone like him, and I’m pleased to say he’s a different person now.
Thank God.
He graduated and will soon start coaching the Masters after work and he still rows in his free time .
I won’t get into gory details, but K2 hit a different- unforeseen wall that took us all by surprise- including all his past coaches . Beloved by everyone ( college coaches and teammates alike ), he decided to live a little ( cough ) instead of admitting that he was completely burned out… which would’ve been totally understandable! It happens- a lot!! But, he kept it to himself- and BOOM.
No one saw that one coming… at all- including me and we’re very close .
So, he took some time off to regroup and eventually worked his way back, too. His coach and teammates ( for the record ) weren’t happy either because he was their rockstar recruit, but I think they all understood and appreciated the incredible path he jumped off and rallied around him and gave him a lot of support. Again- mom was kind of ripped- maybe more shocked , but I was very relieved that he was okay. It could’ve been a lot worse and I’m truly grateful it wasn’t.
He’ll coach again and row this summer, too. Both boys started coaching during the summer after BS senior year and K2 does really well with the novices and more advanced kids. He’s such a cool person in many ways and he’s still a great rower.
So… it was quite the journey for both boys, but it was theirs to have and everything ended well for the most part.
Mom, however … No, I’m fine. Just kidding.
@PhotographerMom offering priceless advice as usual…Honestly, what would those of us on CC do without you.
@PhotographerMom Thank you so much for all the information. As the first (and most likely only) rower in the family, we are all sort of figuring the whole rowing world out as we go. I had no idea that college coaches will keep in contact with the club team back home more than they would with the coach at BS. Until now, I just sort of (naively ?) assumed that I would end up leaving the club team at home and row in the spring at Loomis during the season and erg throughout the rest of the year and row once I’m back home either solo or with a summer program.
I would probably have to figure out how that would work out with the strokes coaches or whether they would even be open to allowing me to still be part of the team considering that I don’t think they have any current members who aren’t in the bay area (as in there are no BS kids who come back during breaks–at least not any I know of). Furthermore, the Strokes work on the School Year calendar so they don’t do practices in the summer, but rather they hold summer camps/training boot camps so again not sure how that would work out. You’ve definitely given me a lot to think about and to start figuring out before I head off to BS.