I’m a coxswain, and I’m wondering if this is even a thing. Any information on the subject would be helpful.
I spoke with Kevin Sauer, the longtime coach at UVA and asked him that question, this was his response:
How about the Coxswains, are there scholarships available or are they generally walk-ons?
"Well, it’s very hard to assess a coxswain, there aren’t any quantitative measures there. But you listen to coaches and listen to tapes, that type of thing and hopefully you come up with some indications that this kids is going to be pretty good in college. There are times when you can give them some aid (financial) but a lot of times, here at UVA it may just be a matter of helping them get into school, which is pretty valuable. And then if we’re able to help them financially as well, that’s pretty attractive.
But we tend to lean more on the side of the rowers, helping them a little bit more than the coxswains. But we have helped some coxswains in the past as well"
Hi, coxswain recruiting is definitely a thing! Definitely get in touch with coaches and ask. I’m sure they will tell you what they need from you to get the process started. Last summer during one of my son’s unofficial visits somewhere (I don’t remember which school it was–might have been Penn? harvard?) the coach begged the rowers to send any and all coxswains their way, as they were going to be short handed. Good luck!