I am a 15-year-old female (16 in a few months) and just moved to North Carolina this past summer. Moving here has been extremely difficult for me, as I moved from somewhere completely urbanized (Chicagoland) to a hinky dinky (but slowly developing) town in NC. I’ve struggled with a lot of anxiety and self-confidence issues in terms of joining sports and other extracurriculars since seventh/eighth grade when I first tried basketball and almost everyone on my team called me terrible, wouldn’t invite me to things, etc etc. I even sat alone at the back of the bus while my 10 other teammates sat together in the front. But we’re going to move on from that.
Lately, I’ve started to seriously begin thinking about college, and while my academics are above average, I realized that I’m literally going to have NOTHING on my app if I don’t whip myself into some kind of shape soon. I hope to begin volunteering this summer and get involved with a club or two next year. I did have orchestra going for me, but that faded out after I discovered that my new school did not have one. A few weeks ago, though, I found something that could get me back out there: rowing. A plus of being in NC is the nice weather and access to multiple bodies of water that are great for crew. I’ve found a program I’m starting at in a few weeks for the Spring season and was wondering if I had even a slight chance to be recruited to row in college. I don’t have an erg score to share yet, but I can estimate, knowing myself, that my 2k is going to be about 8 minutes, give or take 10-15 seconds. I haven’t made concrete decisions of where I want to go to school, but as of right now, my list is (from safety -ish’s/schools I’d be cool going to up to my top choices):
UIowa
UNC Chapel Hill (The school is wonderful and gorgeous, but I’m in Chapel Hill almost every day :/)
UMich- Ann Arbor
BU
UCLA
UWashington
USC
Does anyone have input on whether I’m still in the running to get recruited by any of these schools? I’m 6’1 and about 165 (I want to get down to a solid 155-57 and stay that way). I’m really trying to get a fresh start, so be honest and help me out here!
Since you haven’t started rowing yet, it would be tough for anyone to assess your chances. If your question is whether starting to row at 15 is too late to be recruited, the answer is that it is not too late. We know girls who were recruited with a year of rowing experience as seniors after switching sports (one from volleyball, one from basketball). Your height will be a big plus.
Since you have a few weeks until your rowing program starts, I would encourage you to run and work out now so you have a strong start to the spring season.
The schools you’ve listed at top programs. You might have a much better chance of being recruited to another program at a lower ranked program in D1 or a D2/D3 program. Keep your options open.
they definitely are, and I know I should keep options open, but they’re mostly ranked by academics, not by rowing. If I don’t get recruited then I plan to just walk on.
Not to sound like a jerk, but maybe you are jumping the gun a bit? Row for a season or maybe two, then you will have a better idea as to whether you are good enough and as importantly enjoy the sport enough, to row in college
Has your club there graduated recruited rowers? If so which schools, and how good were those girls?
Your height is a genetic blessing. Please don’t worry too much about your weight- collegiate female rowers can be 210- it is strength, commitment and technique that matter.
Not jerky at all. Rowing is in my family already- I had a brother who was recruited to Cal but he was a bit of a wild card stat wise so I just wanted to get a head start and see where I might be on the collegiate track.
No advice on rowing, just commiserating with you on the move. Years ago, i had a similar experience when my family moved from a very metropolitan area where the schools had a lot of great academic and EC programs to a small town where the schools were not very good, and it seemed to be about 10 years behind where we had come from. It was a very difficult move for me and I never felt at home there. It is great that you are looking ahead and finding a way to keep busy and try something new. I say go for it- give it a try for a season to see how your stats hold up and then go from there. It sounds like your family has a lot of experience with rowing so that support will help you. Best of luck!!!
Most of the program’s you listed are power house women’s programs so be aware while you are not too late to pick up rowing you will need to see if the sport resonates with you as @Ohiodad51 pointed out.
Rowing is one of the most demanding sports and, at the collegiate level, will require most of your time. On the positive side you will have your instant “tribe” in your teammates and be in the best shape ever.
I’d continue to train until you join your team and see what your 2k is before you try to determine where you fall in the collegiate recruiting sphere. Collegiate rowing for women is filled with wonderful recruiting possibilities across division lines.
Good luck! And welcome to the wonderful world of free speed
Why not hop on an erg and do a trial 2k? If your brother’s a rower, you’ve probably got an erg or know how to get on one. If nothing else, you’ll have a baseline, and erging will get you in shape for the season.
If you start rowing, love it and can’t imagine your college experience without it then I say you have a chance. With your brother a Cal recruit - and I imagine he is rowing there - he is a good resource for you. If you join a club you will also have a chance to make a bunch of friends and it will make your move to NC an easier one. Good luck to you.
