<p>Does anyone know which boarding school ranks highest in regatta crew? Are there a few schools that are consistently regarded as being in the top three or five? Also, how can you get involved in crew before starting high school if your school doesn't offer it? Thanks!</p>
<p>Selecting schools on the basis of an extracurricular activity that you have not even tried seems like misplaced priorities…</p>
<p>I’m not asking for myself. I’m not a middle school student. I just don’t know that much about crew and I’m curious how people get started in it and which schools have the best teams.</p>
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<p>try contacting a rowing club
[Rowing</a> and Sculling Clubs Around the World.](<a href=“http://www.bhfinder.com/]Rowing”>http://www.bhfinder.com/)</p>
<p>Thanks! Looking forward to learning more about this sport that I keep reading about. :)</p>
<p>NEIRA results for the last two years:</p>
<p>[HS/Scholastic:</a> NEIRA, May 28, 2011](<a href=“HS/Scholastic: NEIRA, May 28, 2011 | Rowing Regatta Results on row2k.com”>HS/Scholastic: NEIRA, May 28, 2011 | Rowing Regatta Results on row2k.com)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.neirarowing.org/documents/2012NEIRA.pdf[/url]”>http://www.neirarowing.org/documents/2012NEIRA.pdf</a></p>
<p>Some of the stronger boarding school crew programs in the Northeast include PA, PE, St. Paul’s, Deerfield, Brooks, Choate, Middlesex, Groton and Kent (not in rank order).</p>
<p>@coconutcake: As we are learning, crew is one sport you can start freshman year with no experience and become varsity-competitive if you want to work at it. Most middle schools do not have rowing teams and most kids are not club rowers, so they row for the first time as freshman at high schools that have teams. Even schools with winning programs like Choate’s have novices in the boats first year and many of those novices go on to become JV/varsity team rowers as their skills/times improve. Unlike the more common sports, like football, basketball and soccer, you don’t have to have played the sport since birth. Can you imagine a five-year-old trying to row a boat? ;)</p>
<p>Joining a rowing club would be great fun and great experience if you have the desire and opportunity, but rowing is about strength, and time spent on an ergometer (“ERG” or rowing machine) will help you exercise the right muscles for crew. Our son did novice crew his first year, ERG’d his butt off all summer, and made the JV team this year. Prior to Choate, his only sport was chess. :)</p>
<p>Thank you, Sue22 and ChoatieMom! I find it fascinating that you can start it freshman year and become good enough for college recruitment within four years, but it makes sense. Like you said, ChoatieMom, it’s not like you can have a bunch of five year olds rowing a boat!</p>
<p>I did some Googling and found a few Learn to Row programs at various rowing clubs around the country starting as young as 8, which sounds like a great way for a kid to get a little experience and a sense of whether or not that is something that they might like to pursue in boarding school. </p>
<p>Thanks for the rowing machine tip as well!</p>
<p>Coconutcake, I would recommend investing in a Concept 2 rower. Great machines made in America for about $1000. It is a rowing ergonometer that is pretty much the gold standard. Concept 2 has an online database of times by age and gender. I am old and just row for fun and know very little. My 2k times are in the 7:40 range which are about average. Unfortunately, the database list kids in a range from 13 to 18 years old and it is difficult to compare a 13 year old to an older teen but it looks like 7:15-7:30 would be a great time for a 14 year old boy and anything under 8:00 would be quite good. </p>
<p>[Online</a> World Ranking from Concept2.com](<a href=“http://log.concept2.com/rankings.asp]Online”>Concept2 Logbook | Search Rankings)</p>
<p>Yep, I recommend the Concept 2 as well, but we found a brand new one on Craigs list for $500.00, so shop around.</p>
<p>This is good to know, thank you! I think my gym has a few rowing machines. I’ll check and see if they’re the same brand.</p>
<p>Kent has a very strong crew program</p>
<p>I would say perhaps some of the strongest boarding schools with crew teams are St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, PA); St. Andrews School (Middletown, DE); St. Alban’s (Washington, D.C.); Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, NH); Phillips Andover Prep (Andover, MA); and The Belmont Hill School (Belmont, MA). I could ramble on and on about how specific crew programs match up against one another since I myself am I rower. I will be at Head of the Charles this year too. If you have any questions about rowing programs, feel free to message me!</p>
<p>Kent and Andover have the 2 strongest crew programs. Andover’s is particularly strong, and our crew coach is a legend.</p>
<p>Belmont Hill does have a very strong crew program but OP should be aware it offers only 5 -day boarding, not a full program.</p>
<p>Deerfield has been very good lately:</p>
<p>[2012</a> National Champions! Deerfield 4+ Crew](<a href=“http://deerfield.edu/2012/06/champions-deerfield-4-crew/]2012”>http://deerfield.edu/2012/06/champions-deerfield-4-crew/)</p>
<p>[2011</a> Boys Crew Finishes Up Strong](<a href=“http://deerfield.edu/2011/06/boys-crew-finishes-up-strong/]2011”>http://deerfield.edu/2011/06/boys-crew-finishes-up-strong/)</p>
<p>Be sure to read about Claire Collins, a ninth grader, who just started rowing this year:
[Deerfield</a> Rowing Moves to the World Stage](<a href=“http://deerfield.edu/2012/07/deerfield-rowing-moves-to-the-world-stage/]Deerfield”>http://deerfield.edu/2012/07/deerfield-rowing-moves-to-the-world-stage/)</p>
<p>[Claire</a> Collins Takes Silver; DA Rowers Place Fourth Overall Deerfield Academy](<a href=“http://deerfield.edu/2012/08/claire-collins-takes-silver-deerfield-olympic-rowers-place-fourth-overall/]Claire”>http://deerfield.edu/2012/08/claire-collins-takes-silver-deerfield-olympic-rowers-place-fourth-overall/)</p>
<p>[Caputo</a> 14 Selected Male Junior Rower of the Year](<a href=“http://deerfield.edu/2012/09/caputo-14-selected-male-junior-rower-of-the-year/]Caputo”>http://deerfield.edu/2012/09/caputo-14-selected-male-junior-rower-of-the-year/)</p>
<p>To answer the OP’s two questions –
Kent is the top, hands down, for regatta crew, for boys.
To get into crew before attending high school, you should go on a training regimen of running, endurance training, etc. Most respected programs will not accept kids under 14/15. You can also start familiarizing yourself with an erg machine, although why one would invest in one before they got on the water to see if they actually like crew, is beyond me.</p>
<p>St. Paul’s School new boys coach is the former U.S. Rowing Junior coach. My kid is filled with envy.</p>
<p>I would add Tabor to the list of strong boarding school programs, particularly for boys, along with Kent, Andover, Exeter, Deerfield. SPS hasn’t done much under the new coach. For girls, SPS, Exeter, Tabor, Kent, and Groton are consistently strong.</p>
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<p>Since I recommended buying one, let me respond.</p>
<p>Physical fitness and technique development are two reasons for my recommendation. Some people find the repetitive motion of rowing to be relaxing-I do. What if the OP does not live in an area with a club or team to actually get on water? An alternative to purchasing an ERG or joining a club would be to use a rower at the local gym to start. I presume the OP’s child has an interest in the sport and when my kid has an interest in say golf or in another activity that requires equipment, it is beyond me that a parent (assuming they have the means) would not purchase say a used set of clubs and as someone posted, used ERGs can be purchased on e-Bay for $500 or so dollars, which in the overall scheme of BS is a trivial investment that could be flipped easily if the child did not continue with the sport.</p>
<p>Depending upon the OP’s location and her child’s age, there are summer camps with a focus on crew. This might be the best intro.</p>