LW woman rower....where is best for walk on?

Athletic Recruits
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<p>My dd is a junior. She doesn't have the times to be recruited. She has a 3.8 GPA and OK SAT scores. She rows over an 8 min 2K (just started crew in Sept 2012).</p>

<p>Which schools should she apply for? She would really like to be part of a LW team that competes in college. Also, a chance for coaching so she can better herself...</p>

<p>Thinking of applying at:</p>

<p>University of Wisconsin
Boston University
Bucknell
University of Tulsa</p>

<p>Any thought on this? REALLY wanting to know the LW girls that are walk-ons....what their experiences are?</p>

<p>Thanks! New to being a rowing mom!</p>

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<p>Forgot to say…she is 5’5" and 120-125 lbs.</p>

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<p>Wisco is worth a look. They will be clear about times they require, but it may be that she can meet their expectations once there. Bucknell may be an academic reach, depending on her scores. Don’t think they have a lightweight team.</p>

<p>I think most teams welcome walk ons to let them see how they perform. </p>

<p>As you have already guessed, not that many teams have a LW team. 5’5" is definitely on the short side for an open weight team. You might also look at rosters for comparison–many list the heights.</p>

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<p>All the LW girls this year at BU are walk ons. I think any of those schools would love a walk on that is serious!</p>

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<p>Thanks you all!!! I can’t private message back since I am new here…
Do “walk ons” usually have decent chances of rowing?
Any other schools you can think of?</p>

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<p>Walk ons definitely row. Even at the top 10 D1 rowing programs, there are many girls who are in the top boats who came onto the team as a walkon.</p>

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<p>Since you are thinking she will be a walk on anyhow, I’d start from the other end of the college search to get the best school fit. That is, start by narrowing down colleges by location, size, average gpa/score rates, majors, and don’t forget to select varsity rowing. The Super Match tool lets you do all that and more. Then from that list that is a likely academic fit and also has rowing, you can start to look for those teams that are larger (maybe 50 girls) and likely to have LW concentration, if not a LW program. And look at their results at NCAAs the last couple years.</p>

<p>As to a walk on actually rowing, since relatively few girls are actual recruits per year on most teams, you probably will find that. Ask the coaches. They will likely give you examples and you have to figure out if those are frequent or more exceptional. But asking the number of slots they have and multiply that by 4–if the team is much larger than that, they MUST have walk ons actively rowing. Also consider how many boats they usually take to competitions when you do those numbers.</p>

<p>Sorry, my D isn’t a LW so I can’t run down the programs for you.</p>

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<p>This is the first year for the women’s lightweight program at BU and the team for this inaugural season is all walk-ons. BU also has a novice team of about 30 that is all walk-ons. So to answer your question, walk ons definitely row, at least at BU!</p>

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<p>Just for clarification . . .</p>

<p>Both Boston University and Bucknell University have rowing teams and both have the same initials.</p>

<p>Also, Bucknell does happen to have a Lightweight team:</p>

<p>[Bucknell’s</a> Lightweight Eight Wins Silver Medal at IRA Regatta to Equal Second-Best Finish in Program History - BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE](<a href=“http://www.bucknellbison.com/sports/c-rowing/recaps/060212aab.html]Bucknell’s”>http://www.bucknellbison.com/sports/c-rowing/recaps/060212aab.html)</p>

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<p>^GolfFather,</p>

<p>Bucknell doesn’t have a lightweight team/lightweight program. What it does have is an openweight team which puts together an 8 of its lighter girls to compete at IRA’s etc. Nor does Bucknell recruit lightweights. For those interested, there’s a discussion of Bucknell’s lightweight strategy on rowingillustrated.com.</p>

<p>Boston University has just inaugurated a dedicated lightweight women’s program.</p>

<p>Walk ons are welcomed on all crew teams. As many CC’ers have noted, there are more college boats to fill than there are high school rowers. D’s D1 lw team numbers more than 20 freshmen this year. 3 of them were recruited; the others are walk ons, most of them novices, all welcomed.</p>

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<p>^^^^</p>

<p>Sorry. Semantics IMHO.</p>

<p>There is always only one “team.” Our high school only has one team. But we have LW rowers and LW boats. Bucknell recruits lightweights, has LW rowers and LW boats.</p>

<p>Potato, pototo.</p>

<p>If a HS girl is interested in rowing as a LW, Bucknell is an option.</p>

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<p>High school sure differs a lot from college. Nothing to do with semantics. Colleges have distinct teams: heavyweight, lightweight (men); openweight, lightweight (women)-- though only a handful have women’s lightweight teams. Look it up. Go to Harvard’s athletic website for instance and you’ll find 4 different teams, 4 different rosters. Bucknell doesn’t have a dedicated, separate women’s lightweight team. If a girl is interested in rowing lw at Bucknell, sure she can. But she won’t be recruited as a lightweight.</p>

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<p>“There is always only one “team.” Our high school only has one team. But we have LW rowers and LW boats.” </p>

<p>“Bucknell does happen to have a Lightweight team”</p>

<p>Contradict yourself much GolfFather? I find it so interesting that parents who know a great deal about their child’s sport and recruiting in that sport weigh in with authority on other sports. Openweight rowing vs. lightweight rowing is a perfect example. Parents of girls who are openweight rowers pronounce frequently in this forum about lightweight rowers. And for the most part they couldn’t be more wrong. I speak as the parent of a top lw college rower, recruited by every lightweight team in the country. Lightweight rowing/recruiting vs. openweight rowing/recruiting is apples to oranges, chalk and cheese. Potato/potahto anyone? Over the last couple of years we’ve learned so much from CC, and will always be grateful. And yet… there is always also so much disinformation/misinformation to wade through…</p>

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<p>This exchange is completely ridiculous.</p>

<p>There are colleges that recruit LW rowers, have LW rowers who row in LW-only boats and compete in LW-only championships.
Call it whatever you want. </p>

<p>It also continuously humorous and sad that there are some people who feel that they need to boost their own self-worth by insulting other people online behind the veil of Internet anonymity.</p>

<p>Please have a nice day.</p>

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<p>What west coast schools “recruit” LW women rowers?</p>

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<p>GolfFather, here is a huge difference between having a lightweight team and having lightweight rowers on a team! My daughter is a rower, not a lightweight rower, but I helped a friend with recruiting for her lightweight daughter. I am not claiming any expertise, just speaking from my experiences with my daughter’s and my friend’s daughter’s recruiting process. And I can speak knowledgeably about the BU lightweight team, Boston University in case of confusion. BU lightweights are not “one team” with the openweight team. They have their own coaches, their own practice times and schedule, their own separate page on the BU athletics website. The lightweight team is a completely whole and separate entity unto itself. Athletically, the lightweight team and the openweight team comingle about as much as the men’s and women’s teams do. Now socially is an entirely different story, lol. </p>

<p>This statement that you made is incorrect,</p>

<p>“There is always only one “team.” Our high school only has one team. But we have LW rowers and LW boats. Bucknell recruits lightweights, has LW rowers and LW boats.”</p>

<p>Yes, it is true that Bucknell has LW rowers and LW boats, but they do not have a lightweight team nor do they recruit specifically for lightweight. They do not “happen to have a lightweight team”, as you state. Not semantics, just the facts.</p>

<p>Regarding misinformation here on CC, it is important to remember that we are all just parents trying to help other parents and athletes. The cast of players changes as kids move into their programs and the board is dominated by a new set of parents, complete with a new set of “pseudo-experts”. Yes, there is misinformation, but take this board for what it is, a place for “laypeople” to share their experiences and what they have learned with other “laypeople” who are in the process. There are no experts here! If one is looking for an expert, one should hire an expert and pay for their expertise. </p>

<p>There is plenty of helpful and valuable information here, but there is a fair amount of misinformation also. There are a lot of opinions stated as fact. Parents and athletes should do their own research and not take anything posted on an internet board as the Gospel Truth. But many good people have spent a lot of time here, both publically and behind the scenes, helping and supporting perfect strangers through the recruiting maze. And this board has always been a positive place to come. The complexion has changed lately and many of the old-timers don’t come around too often, I believe because of it. I hope that the next cast of characters changes that because this board can be an invaluable resource for parents and athletes if we remember that our purpose here is to help others who are going through the recruiting process.</p>