Ski beat me to it.
@CC4life - Here’s a great thread for you to read when you have the time : http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1564851-choosing-a-bs-because-of-a-sport-%C2%97-pro-con-p1.html
I’ll just add that your Oakland coach will be more important to college coaches when it comes to recruitment anyway, so you’ll be totally fine at Loomis if you keep racing during the summer with your club and train there when you’re home for breaks.
Your goal should be good seat placement in fast summer boats leading up to Club Nats junior year - which should be achievable if you talk to your club coach and continue to train while you’re at Loomis.
Just a warning- I always had to fend off BS contact sport coaches with a stick to avoid injuries with my kids . They’d see their size and say We’d love to have your son play football or lacrosse …
Yeah- no. Are you completely insane? So, I’m sure you know this, but stay away from contact sports and stick with sports that will compliment your rowing. I’d also encourage you to checkout the Loomis club rowing program for fun - who knows- a Cinderella boat with some real talent might emerge ! You never know!! ![]()
My kids had full-on BS rowing programs ( Fall Head racing , HOCR, Crash B’s and Spring- which sometimes included Youth Nats depending on the year/ school / boat ), but their club coaches were always still very much in the picture, and they would email insane pieces for them to do in their " free time "- which they did. Sometimes the kids would send back videos for their club coaches to review and critique. It was always ongoing… no matter what.
At fall head races, K2 raced his club single ( which my SD and K1 weren’t allowed to do at their BSs ) . I’d load his single on the club trailer and he’d travel with his BS team and meet us there to race or we’d throw the boat on top of my car and go off on our own to other races, too. It was absolutely crazy, but a lot of fun.
Club singles usually raced in the morning and BS boats usually raced in the afternoon , so it usually worked out well - even when there was an unholy schedule change ( which was announced once when he was out on the water! ) or a sudden seat change that put his races back to back. He made it work though - even when he had to literally throw his single on a sling, change his club uni to his BS uni behind a tree, and run like hell across the venue to help carry the BS boat down to the water - with only seconds to spare. Initially -the BS coach freaked out a little bit when he cut it close, but our club coach calmly told him - Watch- he’ll be on time and stronger and faster for your race … and he always was - so before the head racing season ended, the BS coach would either make him stroke in a BS 4 or put him in the engine room for an 8. Good times… and I give K2 a ton of credit for managing those two coaches and worlds at the same time. It wasn’t easy- for me either!
All BS athletic centers have ergs so stay in touch with your club coach and have him send you weekly workouts and pieces to do . Tell him/ her that you’d like to row in college and stay on his/her radar while you’re at Loomis. If a student has a club coach ( especially a good one from Oakland Strokes ), you don’t need to worry. All college coaches usually bypass the BS coaches anyway and talk to the club coach. If they do talk to the BS coach- it’s more of a courtesy call.
Rowers don’t really physically explode or move real water until college. College coaches are looking for HS kids with experience and technical skill- first and foremost. A great time always helps ( of course ), but college coaches know they’ll beat it down when you get there. By college sophomore year- my boys were either hovering at 6:00 or sub 6:00- so they had 20 seconds of BS lethargy beaten out of them pretty fast , and the only thing that saved them was their club mentality and training .
Right now- work toward enhancing your summer rowing resumé and get your time down somewhere in the 6:20 range for future college rowing fairs. The big one - as you know- is held at Club Nats. That’s also when rowers are invited to some late summer elite athlete “gatherings” which is a thing - and a good thing to attend before you get invited for official visits in Fall - senior year. So move mountains and go if you’re invited!
The more exposure to a college rowing program - the better - especially if you’re handing them your life.
So- work hard and get into a fast club boat during the summer before senior year and be seen! Work closely with your club coach and target the college programs you want to shoot for. You can also start following those college teams on Row2k now, so you get a feel for their programs and boats leading up to admissions .
You can also skip all of this and try to walk on at college, if you wish , but if rowing is your passion- it’s all very doable while you’re at Loomis.
If you have the will - you’ll definitely find the way. Sometimes a less direct path with a little added adversity is more meaningful, rewarding and fun anyway!
Good luck, @CC4life !! Go Pelicans!! Yay!!