<p>So I've heard that Crew is a pretty big walk-on sport. What kind of people usually make the team? Don't you have to be tall? Strong? Anyway, if there are any collegiate rowers on this board, could you maybe tell me a little more about the sport? Thanks.</p>
<p>Both of my sons are rowing crew for the first time in their lives. At one school it is an NCAA sport, at the other it is a club sport. Both are doing well and loving it! There are heavy- and light- weight teams. I believe you must be under 165 for light weight. My sons are 5-11, 170. Upper body strength is a great plus, as is some natural athletic ability, but here is a quote from a Georgetown crew captain from the GU website:</p>
<p>"Never accept that you can't be good if you don't work hard enough. Crew is a sport that is about 95% effort and 5% talent. We have a lot of guys on the team that were recruited. They rowed in high school; they've done well. Then we have half the boat that were just guys who came to Georgetown with no experience and in two to three years were able to become good enough rowers to make the varsity boat and compete with the guys who were recruited. It's just about consistent effort, especially with lightweight rowing you've got the weight limit so you're limited to guys who are 165lbs or lower. There are so many guys around here that are 6ft tall about 165lbs and that's kind of the ideal lightweight rower physique. I would say to them: make sure you realize that crew is a sport that anybody can excel in as long as they are willing to put in the effort. It's not a sport where you need to be born talented to play. It's not like basketball. My old coach used to always compare rowing and basketball. In basketball some guys just have it the moment they step out on the court. In rowing, you have to work harder than the next guy and that's the way you're going to beat them. So it's tough but it also means that anyone can achieve whatever they want in rowing, you just have to work hard." </p>
<p>If you're interested, give it a go! What have you got to lose? Good luck!</p>
<p>It depends on how much you weigh</p>
<p>If you're under 165, you stand a good chance of making the lightweight team. If you're like 180 and flabby, you might have a difficult time competing with 200 pounds of muscle. It's always worth a shot, it's a great sport mentally and physically, and you'll get in shape very quickly if you do manage to make the freshman team.</p>
<p>Edit: For the record, most rowers are pretty tall. 5'10 and below would be a disadvantage throughout your career, while 6'2 and above would be looked at as a positive factor. I'm still in high school, but I'm most likely going to be rowing/recruited for rowing for college, I know a fair deal about rowing and college rowing.</p>
<p>if it's a club team you can definitely walk on. They probably have a novice team of first year rowers.</p>
<p>If it's an NCAA squad... well, can you walk onto the soccer team if you've never played soccer? No.</p>
<p>I'm on the crew now. I'm so behind everyone else. My split is ~15 seconds higher than most other people =.</p>
<p>And something happened today at practice that made me feel really bad/inferior. But I'll show the coach!!</p>
<p>I disagree with soccerguy315. I met with the Cornell rowing coach to talk during the mandator class of 2009 swim tests, and he was asking anyone who looked fit and strong to try out for the team. If Cornell, a top 5 or 10 rowing team in the country is asking random people to try out, I promise you almost any other team would accept walk ons.</p>
<p>Georgetown sends out information about the Crew team to all incoming freshmen. A meeting is held during the first few days of school and if you are interested you go. From there you start learning and practicing and then do time trials. It is hard work and survival of the fittest definitely comes into play. My son is a freshman novice heavyweight, never rowed prior to this month, and will be on the water for several events this fall. </p>
<p>Perhaps at soccerguy315's school only recruited athletes are allowed- it's not that way everywhere.</p>
<p>There's rowing for women, right? Can anyone tell me anything about that, or is it all the same?</p>
<p>Yes there is rowing for women. My D was a walk on to crew this year. She never did it before and she loves it!</p>
<p>the Cornell coach was looking to increase his pool of potential rowers. His team should be full of recruited athletes. Getting strong people to tryout and getting strong people to be in a boat... that's a pretty big jump. Sure he might find a person or two, but the majority of those people will fail miserably. Most of them probably can't even row straight.</p>
<p>my school only has a club rowing team</p>
<p>but, if there is a novice team, then of course they will take people who have never rowed before. That is not the same as a person walking on to a top varsity boat.</p>
<p>soccerguy315-Not all of the recruited rowers go immediately to the Varsity boats. I assume you were a recruited soccer player for W&M. Do you and all of the other recruited soccer players start every game? I certainly am not an expert on any sport, but I think even the average individual knows that even heavily recruited athletes sometimes sit on the bench--maybe even get red-shirted for a year.</p>
<p>The original poster merely asked if crew was a big walk on sport--it didn't sound like he was looking for a spot in the #1 varsity boat--maybe he is looking for something new to try. Perhaps, soccerguy315, you should back off with the insinuation that if you are not recruited for a sport you are worthless, and have no chance to ever participate.</p>
<p>Soccerguy, I'm on a top-25 division 1 team and we have quite a lot of walk-ons. The truth is a lot of people haver physiologies and personalities that would make them fabulous for rowing but went to a high school that didn't have a crew team. Crew teams are quite expensive for a school to field and most graduates of public high schools will not have the chance to row before college. It's not nearly as easy a sport to gain access to as soccer or basketball where recruited players often start playing as six-year-olds.</p>
<p>Yes, some of our walk-ons quit. Most will not make the first varsity boat their freshman year. But they can compete for it and some will make it their sophomore year. And guess what? Most of our recruited rowers are not in the first varsity boat yet either as freshmen. And some recruits, who chose this school partially because of the crew team, have quit as well. Crew is probably one of hte biggest walk-on sports at the college level.</p>
<p>redsquared - I am not a college athlete. So please do not say that I am saying non recruited people are worthless, give me a break. And if you wish to know why this is my name if I'm not a college soccer player, it's because I have played soccer for 13+ years, reffed soccer for something like 6 years, and have coached youth soccer.</p>
<p>Keep assuming though, it will get you far in life.</p>
<p>I was sharing my experience and perceptions. Because I acknowledge that I don't know everything, I will refer you to eireann's post since s/he rows for a top program.</p>
<p>My point was at a top rowing program, walking on (not being recruited in this case, not not getting a scholarship) will put you at the bottom of the barrell, and while your chances of working up to the top level are not the best, they do exist.</p>
<p>soccerguy315--and dashing any hope of someone with a desire to try something new(be it sports or anything else) will make you a very lonely person--good luck with that attitude. </p>
<p>Your basic point is correct--being a walk-on is not the easiest thing to do, but it can be done. Your tone certainly came across as negative. If I hurt your feelings, I apologize.</p>
<p>eireann--Thank you for the insightful post. Voices of true experience will be very helpful to those who have an interest.</p>
<p>aznsensazm-good luck if you decide to pursue crew. If you have an interest in something, you will never know the outcome until you give it a try.</p>
<p>just do it man, it will only benefit you. If you put in hard work and have discipline you'll succeed. Im a freshman on a club team and I rowed before if your on a club it really doesn't matter. It'll get you in shape and even if its a varsity sport you still have a good shot if you show determination and will/ Just work your ass off it doesnt matter right now its only fall most novices are learning just like you. you have all winter to get in shape and technique comes with time.</p>
<p>"If you put in hard work and have discipline you'll succeed. "</p>
<p>It's hard to wake up at 4am for me!!</p>
<p>"dashing any hope of someone with a desire"</p>
<p>right</p>
<p>you get used to it you will have to alter your sleeping patterns a little bit which helps a lot. It really is better to get practice out of the way in the morning rather than interupting your da when you can catch up on some sleep</p>
<p>yeah I'm 6'1'' 185 lbs. I played fball and basketball in high school. but it's like, summer after senior year it'll be pretty hard to stay in shape. but i guesst that's just a discipline thing. I looked at some rosters and there's like 6'4'' o.O - 6'7'' guys on teams. Of course, there are some lower 6'0'' - 6'3'' guys too but that's kinda creepy that they're all so tall. I'm still growing, and I think I might ceiling out at 6'2'' which would be nice, but anyway, thanks for the advice.</p>
Lots of schools keep a novice crew. Freshmen, walk-ons, whatever. I think chances of actually racing depend on how good the school is. D1 schools / Ivy League probably won’t have you in a varsity boat. It isn’t for everyone --even the athletes who are good at everything may still fail at it. I was just reading another thread and some schools are so laid back – my daughter’s high school would leave them in the dust. They are just incredibly driven and INTENSE. Crew is a mental sport. Coxswains are crazy too. Schools that have clubs compete at high levels (like Head of the Charles) but take everyone, so that’s always an option.