My son is interested in potentially transferring to a prep school for crew next year. His goal is to eventually get recruited for college. He has expressed interest in visiting Deerfield, Choate and Taft for now. We are just starting the process, so have some time to visit campuses and feel the vibe and learn more. I am interested to hear from those who have first hand knowledge and experience being a student athlete, balance responsibilties, student (academic) support on campus. Any feedback appreciated!
Paging @choatiemom who knows a thing or 2 about rowing at choate
1 Like
Our son rowed all four years at Choate and ended up at the top of the varsity roster but was not recruited for college rowing, although he did row at West Point for two years.
He graduated from Choate in 2015 (wow, ten years ago!), so I have no perspective on the current state of Choate’s program, but I can provide some general information about his experience with crew that probably hasn’t changed:
-
Crew is relentless and has no off season: Rowers are on the ergs year-round, regattas in the fall, training all winter, racing in the spring, more training all summer. There is no letup. Crew is a sport you love or hate; there is no in between.
-
Balance: Rowing is not for the disorganized. Crew can take up a large part of every academic day and some weekends. Rowers are often on the water during the early AMs and on the ergs after class until dinner. Between crew, classes, and homework, our son experienced very little actual free time during the academic day, so organization and time management were crucial.
-
Academic support: Choate offers all the academic support a student needs (teacher/advisor availability, study groups, test prep, peer tutoring, workshops, etc.), but students need to use these resources and understand that there is no stigma in asking for help. Choate emphasizes its support network and teaches students how to use it but also expects them to advocate for themselves when required. Some categorize Choate as a sink-or-swim school, but I would say, instead, that Choate teaches students how to swim so they don’t sink.
For our son, crew was the best thing he got out of Choate. I’ve posted his story several times on this forum. I’m happy to answer any specific questions you have either here or via PM where my dated experience might still be relevant.
4 Likes
I can’t speak to the prep school angle at all, but I did think it’s worth addressing this part - “transferring to a prep school for crew… recruit[ing]” would generally not make a ton of sense. Coming from a boarding school doesn’t confer you any advantage with college rowing coaches. Height, weight, 2k erg time, GPA, (possibly) test scores - those are what matters. The coaches use the first three (and personal qualities, videos, etc.) to decide who they want to recruit, and GPA (with rigor) and test scores to evaluate who will be able to make it through admissions at their school. It doesn’t matter to them if you’re coming from Deerfield or Deer Field HS in Bupkis, KY.
Now, if you think going to prep school will help your son either improve his erg time or his GPA - that could be a different question.
5 Likes
I would also add that because Choate doesn’t have a boathouse, you have to factor in transportation time to and from the water for each practice which further eats into the academic day.
2 Likes
And I would add that unless there’s a special prep school policy for crew, the deadline to apply for next school year at these schools is next Wednesday.
3 Likes
This would be for Fall 2026. We are just d
starting out our research.
1 Like
We ruled Choate out because of the commute to the water. There are several reasons we like the idea of boarding school, and less travel time is one of them. But I do think it looks like a fantastic school.
Curious if you looked at Kent, St. Andrew’s or Hotchkiss? All three are worth a look for a rower.
We ruled out Andover because of size, but if you like Choate (bigger school), Andover has a terrific coach. He’s the brother of the Deerfield coaches. And their grandfather coached at St. Andrew’s for decades.
Agree with the above comments about it being both consuming and intense. The body construction comments are also very true when it comes to recruiting. But you probably already realize that.
Our eldest rowed for Marin (very competitive California club) and it was 9 months per year. I think the boarding school experience will be equally demanding, but will not limit the kids to a single sport. And the academics will be more rigorous than most other schools.
Our youngest just really wants a tight community. He can’t get that at the clubs in our current city. The kids are just too spread out across town. So boarding it will be, he hopes. Maybe our kids will be teammates or competitors?
Curious why you are waiting one more year to transfer?
If you are looking for a bit less time commitment and considering other schools lville rowing allows 1 season as only upperclassmen can do it 2 seasons. Lville still values multi-session athletes. There are optional workouts during other seasons. Of course if you are looking to be recruited erg times matter. You do need to do short travel to the boathouse which is at Mercer lake where the National team trains. Students are recruited every year for rowing. The school has a bunch of new coaches and boats, focusing more on the sport.
An easier admit, with – I think – still a strong rowing program is The Salisbury School.
4 Likes
I don’t have a rower but I know that Deerfield has a very successful rowing program for both men and women. They row on the Connecticut River which is about a 10 minute drive from campus. The athletic building on campus has an impressive tank room.
The crew vibe is tight (they spend a lot of time together), and I know that in the last few years, they are also one of the few prep schools to travel to Henley in the UK. Note that Youth National Champs in Florida and Henley are always after spring term finishes, so if your kid is in one of the qualifying boats, be prepared for lots of extra summer travel. The team travels to Florida during spring break for training too.
This year Deerfield has roughly 15-20 rowers continuing to row in college including Dartmouth, Georgetown, BC, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Tufts, USC, UVA and Yale. I think this year might have a few more recruits than usual, but the schools are not atypical.
Of the three mentioned schools, only Deerfield currently has a competitive men’s rowing team - generally a Top 3 team (often the top team) among New England schools (Exeter, Andover, Kent, Belmont Hill are the most common other ones), and somewhat competitive on the youth national level (once clubs and other schools are included). Choate and Taft have not been competitive for years.
2 Likes
NEIRA results for 2024 are at: https://neirarowing.org/documents/2024NEIRAResults.pdf (final results are on the second-to-last page for boys)
Also worth noting that some schools, generally the smaller ones, train and compete in fours rather than eights (except at specific regattas).
I would also recommend checking out St. Paul’s School. They have great rowing, including great coaches, a boathouse within jogging distance of campus, good water. They even have indoor tanks, which is very rare for high schools. They row eights, even though they are about 540 students. If I were looking for a rowing school, SPS would be top of my list.
The other school is Groton, also with a good coach (who’s been there since the 1980s). They have a boathouse within walking distance of campus. They row on a very narrow river which can be a pain, but it means there aren’t many waves like you might find rowing at Taft. Groton rows 4s.
Brooks has rowing (4+) and are a little less competitive than the schools you mentioned. The only thing is that they row on a larger lake which gets waves with wind. But their boathouse is also on campus. Kent has a great place to row with a boathouse on campus. The only thing is that there are a lot of PG students that go there and row, taking up spots on the first boat (at least they did a decade ago). But it’s worth a look.
Exeter has a good program and nice boathouse on campus. The only thing is that their river has tidal influence, and they can’t row when the tide is too low. But they make adjustments for that.
Belmont Hill School rows on the Charles. That’s a bus ride every day, but it might be worth it to row on the Charles.
Finally, I might be making too big of an issue about the bus ride that most schools require. A lot of friendships grow on that bus ride, so maybe it isn’t all bad.
1 Like
We have student going to Kent this coming school year (Fall 2025)
4 Likes
Taft has an intense rowing program as well. It seems to be similar to choate’s. No off season, there is fall and winter crew as well as the obvious spring season. The current coach is excellent, and a former Brown rower himself, which lends good insight into the college recruitment process for the athletes. No boat house however, meaning rowers head off campus to go row. Taft this year is looking hyper-competitive with a few D1 rowers on the team as well.
1 Like