UVA Rowing Coach on recruiting, erg scores and scholarships

Athletic Recruits
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<p>I had a nice conversation yesterday with Kevin Sauer, head rowing coach of the 2012 NCAA Champion UVA Cavaliers. Here are a couple excerpts that I thought might interest some of the folks here:</p>

<p>Are there certain benchmarks based on erg scores, where if you’re hitting this mark you’re in the realm of 100% and if you’re hitting that you might qualify for 50%?
It’s not so much erg scores, as much as what you’ve done while you’re here. I mean there are some kids that come in as a full scholarship because they’re very, very talented and a lot of schools are after them. But there are others who come in on a percentage or nothing at all, and earn their way to get some financial help as they go through their careers. I had 2 kids in the 2009 Varsity 8 that started at zero and ended up at full by their senior year. So again it’s not a specific benchmark because you can have a great erg score and still not be able to move the boat. It’s back to character, being a good teammate and a good boat mover more than a certain erg.</p>

<p>That said, the erg score is very quantitative and easy to assess, and those other important factors are a harder to quantify. The erg does tell you that at least she’s got a lot of power and probably endurance and toughness, so if we can teach her how to row, she’s probably going to be pretty good. But you can have kids who are great rowers, great erg scores but they’re just not good teammates. They just don’t have what it takes, character-wise, to be an asset to the team.</p>

<p>What’s your philosophy about weight in a boat? Is there a benefit to be a lighter rower with a good erg, compared to a heavier rower with a better erg score? Is there a tradeoff?
At some point, there is. You have to consider the fact of power per pound. There are lot of smaller people who create really good scores for their weight, but in the end, you need horsepower. Even if you’re 130 lbs and have a 7:40 erg, that’s pretty good, but a 7:40 erg no matter how much you weigh is not going to create the kind of horsepower that you need to succeed at the Division 1 Varsity 8 level.</p>

<p>There’s room for kids that size in an open weight boat, but they’re usually pretty fast. So you have to balance that.</p>

<p>Sometimes that comes out in a seat race – you switch a rower in a boat and see what difference it makes. Of course you’re trying to control a lot of variables – so it’s not perfect.</p>

<p>the rest is up at tier1athletics(dot)org</p>

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<p>Just to clarify - this is the women’s rowing program</p>

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<p>Varska - great interview and great website. Thanks for taking the time to do this!</p>

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<p>yea…go get some more for us…hurry. We need it asap :)</p>

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<p>Haha, thank you imafan for the question suggestions. Stalkermama, part II coming up tomorrow am, after a nice Father’s Day breakfast :-)</p>

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<p>what is coming up tomorrow? a different coach? or more of what you have on your website? Thanks again!!! love it</p>

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<p>More questions with Coach Sauer - he’s an interesting guy with a ton of experience.</p>

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<p>The rest of the interview is up now - fave quote, </p>

<p>"There are a lot of kids that come out freshman year and walk-on, and some don’t really know the sport – they think it’s a canoe club. And maybe they’re expecting we’re just going to go on trips over the weekend and they find out, ‘whoa – it’s not like that at all.”</p>

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<p>Really enjoyed reading your interview blog, varska.</p>

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<p>great interview varska (and oops, i thought ur PM ? was about being new to the sport itself, sorry for bein gunhelpful!)</p>

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<p>By coincidence my D is with Coach Sauer now at his rowing camp.</p>

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</p>

<p>Ouch.</p>

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<p>Ouch is right…he is talking about my daughter right there…</p>

<p>Mark, Hows the camp going?</p>

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<p>Sorry, I have no idea.
I have to admit I have not heard from my D since I dropped her off.
No news is good news I guess.</p>

<p>I can report on her thoughts after camp is over.</p>

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<p>UPDATE: D liked the camp very much.</p>

<p>The level of ability of campers seemed pretty much very evenly matched … there were a couple of new rowers, but there were (AFAIK) no future Olympic superstars. There were enough rowers to fill three 8’s.</p>

<p>The girls stayed at a private boarding school close to campus. And D said the food for the most part was very good. They also had very nice weather.</p>

<p>The coaches were good, she said, and the (female rowing) counselors very friendly.</p>

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<p>Thats great! Mine is still at her camp…then Nationals in NJ. Some of the colleges stopped by…to see the rowers. Did she learn a lot? I know its really hard work!</p>

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<p>Great post, and love your site. I have been doing a bunch of research for my daughter lately, and trying to navigate the waters (no pun intended).</p>

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<p>Thank you - glad you found it helpful</p>

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<p>Does anyone know what height or times the coach is looking for at UVA?</p>

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<p>They are a top team so expect he is most interested in the fastest erg times out there for a given recruiting class. But, read the interviews–he knows it is not all about erg time. He has a big team and UVa has tough academic standards, so if you fit the academic standards for the school, email the coach.</p>