<p>Do it as a club sport.</p>
<p>Son of good friend walked onto ECAC team last year never having rowed before. I considered him an athletic kid, but never imagined him as a rower. (he played another sport in HS - started varsity by his senior year, but not recruited to play in college). He is now completely ripped and looks like he has <5% body fat. Decades ago, I was recruited to row once I got to college because of my height - spent a month or two in the weightroom in the winter - it wasn’t my thing.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen around here and as others have said or alluded to, body type is really important in rowing and sometimes matters more than experience. A HS senior we know was spotted in a weight room while training for a different sport and offered a full scholarship to one of the top rowing programs in the country, having never rowed a day in her life (but is an excellent athlete in other sports)! She accepted and will be rowing there next year!</p>
<p>Sortsnutz,
Full rowing scholarships are hard to come by even with LOTS of rowing experience and are usually reserved for the rowers with international rowing experience (JRNT, etc).</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>I will also admit to being skeptical.</p>
<p>Whenever I hear the words “offered a full (rowing) scholarship to one of the top (usually ‘Ivy’) rowing programs in the country,” my detection meter starts to go off.</p>
<p>Interesting topic. My son filled out an athlete recruiting form for soccer- I don’t remember which school but believe it might have been Western Washington Univ. Anyway, he ended up getting a letter from the Rowing Coach asking if he would consider coming up to try out for the rowing team. We were a little surprised, but I would guess that it must be hard to find Rowing recruits. I thought it sounded interesting but S says he will stick with soccer…</p>
<p>Another way to try rowing is to attend a summer camp. My daughter rowed in HS and went to a camp at Rutgers. There were kids there without rowing experience.</p>
<p>I skimmed this thread quickly, but one of the bad things about college crew is that they often practice in the wee hours of the morning. At the Rutgers camp, one of the amusing stories was that the rowers would catch a ride on the “drunk” buses down to the boathouse because the buses ran most of the night.</p>
<p>^^^I know people are skeptical but it is true/official - girl in our area just signed NLI/ received scholarship to row at one of country’s top rowing programs without ever having rowed before! Body type and athleticism clinched the deal.</p>
<p>Another option to try out the sport is a week-long camp at a college. Many colleges with top rowing programs sponsor them, and often accept kids with no experience. It isn’t a lot of time or exposure, but it would be a start. If he likes it, and there are no clubs around your location, he could at least get advice on how best to prepare. Google college rowing camp and find something close to you. For a beginner, I don’t think the team matters as much as the exposure.</p>
<p>I’ve got a girl rower being recruited and she’s rowed in HS for a school team. But still most top colleges base their recruiting on erg time, not past experience. And the girls teams often recruit strong athletes from other sports based primarily on their erg times.</p>
<p>[Rowing</a> links on the web - Rowing and Sculling for Rowers and Scullers - row2k.com](<a href=“Rowing Links | row2k.com”>Rowing Links | row2k.com) This link will take you to a list of most rowing clubs in the country. See if any are listed near you. Rowing is an awesome sport and I hope your son was able to start! If not the season is still young so hopefully you can get him out there for Spring racing! </p>
<p>Another thing to remember is that if this has to do with getting into college, mens rowing is not a sport that receives scholarships. That being said, there are still many opportunities to help get accepted into the school.</p>
<p>very good point! The boys on our HS team who have decent erg times and want to row in college are not getting a lot of attention. Women’s rowing is an NCAA sport while mens is not. Since there are 85 DI women’s rowing programs and DD has good (not great) erg time but great academics, she has gotten a lot of interest and offers for OVs. Maybe boys get OVs and slots but the most I’ve heard is “grey push” type support for applications.</p>
<p>Another disadvantage for the men: they may not go by NCAA rules limiting practice. Seems like kids from our HS team that are rowing in college have the boys rowing and working out far more hours than the girls. Thus, the kids I’ve seen go on to row in college stay with it if they are female, but quit for the most part if they are male. Obviously, men’s teams continue so they don’t all quit, but it can be really hard especially when/if the school does early morning practices.</p>
<p>A different perspective: In my son’s experience (rowing at a prep school), rowing not being an NCAA sport hasn’t been a real disadvantage. Many of the top rowing programs are located at schools that give out academic rather than athletic scholarships, so the NCAA is simply a hoop that boys don’t need to jump through. My kid’s male friends seem to be getting about as many OV’s as his female friends, and when he was at camp this summer (right after July 1), rising seniors (from public as well as private schools) were getting lots of calls–admittedly, those guys all have strong erg times. </p>
<p>It is true definitely that the varsity rowing programs are more limited, but we’re looking at that as an advantage rather than disadvantage, as it helps to narrow the field down to manageable options. </p>
<p>I also know a kid who has never rowed but is a great nordic skier who has been promised a letter of rec. from a top school that doesn’t do likelies if he can produce a decent erg.</p>
<p>Yes, don’t think that male rowers don’t get recruited.</p>
<p>They absolutely do.</p>
<p>Coaches of mens teams want to win just as much as anybody else.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This was already discussed in the beginning.</p>
<p>See the first page of this thread.</p>
<p>The development camps produce a completely different recruiting result, in my opinion. If you are at a camp (male or female) as a rising Senior on July 1, you will have visibility to and contact with a ton of coaches.</p>
<p>For someone not at a private school or powerhouse club team, that may be the best way to get attention. But non-rowers will have to be exceptional atheletes otherwise to get attention, I would think since they would not qualify for the development camps.</p>
<p>I’m NOT an expert, though, so just my thoughts from a public high school rowing team (albeit one that fields boats to place nationally) perspective.</p>
<p>^^^^ It may depend.</p>
<p>I personally know one male rower who got noticed and recruited (where he actually wound up going) at one of the summer week-long camps.</p>
<p>And I know a couple of female college coaches who have said very, very little, if any, recruiting happens at the summer camps.</p>
<p>My daughter went to SEJ this past summer. A coach she met there made a call to another coach after knowing my daughter was i very interested in that school. Not sure what would have happened without that connection. She is going to row there next yr.</p>
<p>GolfFather,</p>
<p>I don’t understand the point of telling me what has been addressed. Sorry, I was just sharing in sight. Rowing is one of the best things that has ever happened to me so sorry that I got excited and wanted to help. All I’ve seen on this thread from you are critical things about what people have to say. Just stop.</p>