Is it possible for me to row crew at the D1 Level

Bumpypup
Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:50:56 +0000

Both my son and I felt that things were changing in the world of recruited rowers. One of the schools he was seriously looking at went from 8 slots to 4. 2 ED and 2 RD. Another school’s requirements seemed to get stricter as we went along in the process and it seemed a surprise to the head coach. Also it seems in rowing, it is possible for walk ons to have success in a relatively short time. The lightweight men’s coach where I work actually stands outside the science center at the start of the year and stops tall, fit looking students and asks them to join the rowing team. Unsettling for our boys who have devoted countless hours in this sport.
That being said, we found all of the coaches to be straightforward, good guys/girl. I felt that there was definitely less need to be artful than what is portrayed here on cc. My son did all of the talking to all of the coaches from the beginning to the end. Remember, everything up to the official visit invite is going to be them casting a wide net though.
I think committing happened after his third official which was the first week of October. It was between two schools by then and was a little nerve wracking. He was told he would get a likely but didn’t but he was accepted ED just the same. He will be a freshman at Cornell in the fall.
Don’t worry about having sent in your son’s initial scores. Statistically all kids improve with their second try but a tutor for the critical reading or some practice testing would probably help a lot.