Planning to row in college?
A Necessary Preparation GuideSpecial thanks to Christy Sander, class of 1999, for contributing this extremely helpful and informative chapter to our guide. It is a necessity for all those wishing to continue with post secondary athletics.
(this will apply to division II and III as well)
This is just a guide to get started, and some of the basic rules. If you are serious about wanting to become a recruited athlete for collegiate athletics, you must read all guidelines at:
www.ncaa.org
You become a "prospective student-athlete" when you begin ninth grade. From ninth grade until twelfth grade, there are several steps from being a "prospective student-athlete" to becoming a "recruited prospective athlete." Back to the top
After Sept. 1 of your junior year, you may only receive certain printed materials from a college that is recruiting you. These can be from coaches, faculty members, and students, but not from boosters. (No alumni, boosters, or representatives of a college's athletic interests can be involved in your recruiting.) There is a complete list of appropriate materials on the website, under the heading, "Division I Recruiting: Printed Materials."
A college coach may only contact you once before July 1 in the summer before senior year. "Contact" is any face-to-face meeting between the coach and you or your parents, when the conversation is more than the word "hello." Any face-to-face meeting that occurs at your high school, is prearranged, or occurs at a practice or competition is "contact," regardless of conversation.
After July 1, summer before senior year
This is when telephone calls become permitted.
Junior year:
Sept. 1 - July 1
Back to the top
The three times are:
Senior Year:
Register with the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse as soon as possible.
The purpose of the Clearinghouse is to make sure your test scores and grades make you eligible. Each division has different academic standards. (Because of S.I.'s athletic policies, we are all eligible in this aspect.) For crew, many of the schools that are Division I, (besides U of W and Cal), are on the East Coast. Not many coaches get out here, so it is up to you to send your resume to any colleges in which you think you may be interested (see: "how to make a resume"). If you are planning visits, call the coaches and try to establish contact through telephone, e-mail, or both. If you do not get a hold of the coach, just show up at the boathouse. It works a good part of the time. The best times to hang around a boathouse, if you hope to meet a coach, are 3-5 in the afternoon on weekdays, or 7-10 on all days except Sunday.
If you paid for your own transportation to visit a school, and you are paying your own meals, this is considered an "unofficial" visit.
You become a "recruited prospective student-athlete" when a coach does any one of these things:
"Official Visits":
You can only go on five "official" (expense-paid) visits. Only one "official" visit is permitted per college. This applies even if you are being recruited for more than one sport. You cannot have an official visit unless you have given the college your high-school transcript (it can be a photocopy) and a score from a PSAT, SAT, or ACT taken on a national testing date, taken under testing conditions. (Division I schools may use the Eligibility Clearinghouse to verify your credentials.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I get coaches' attention?
A: After July 1, send your resume (and a note to the coach) to any and all colleges that have crew programs. (These should be schools you would want to attend, of course.) Find the names and addresses of the coaches through the internet, or the college's admissions office, or their information operator.
Q: I'm going to be visiting schools A and B in four weeks. What should I do?
If you have not sent your resume, send one immediately, with a note to the coach. Send it to the freshman coach. If there is no specific freshman coach, just an assistant coach, send it to the head coach.
Call and/or e-mail the coach(es). I would recommend starting with e-mail, because coaches usually hold very odd hours. Often their offices are not near the boathouse, so that is something to keep in mind. In the e-mail, list the "top six" from your resume.
Hopefully, the coach e-mailed you, faxed you, or called you. They want to set up a meeting on the date you said you would be on campus. (Remember, they can only call you once a week, but you may call them all you want. If you have questions, they may not be able to return any phone calls.) You are set. Remember, unless they are paying, this is an "unofficial visit."
Q: I sent resumes to some colleges, and a few want me to visit in the fall. What now?
If this happens to you, you are in good shape. Many schools do not have the funds to provide transportation (i.e. airfare) to rowers unless their 2k erg score is very good.
At this point, remember you can only go on five official visits -- ever. Prioritize, and figure out the schools in which you are the most interested. In some schools, being a recruit can give an advantage in the admissions office. In others, it could mean scholarship. Call or write the coaches, promptly. They are probably dealing with hundreds or prospective recruits. You want to be a recruit, and you do not want them to forget about you.
Q: I am going to visit college A, but I have not set up a time to meet the coach.What should I do?
Go to the boathouse armed with your resume. You should know the names of both the head and freshmen coaches, since you have sent them a letter already and tried to e-mail and/or call them.
Ask anyone if he or she knows where these coaches are. Just the act of tracking down the coaches and presenting yourself confidently will impress the coaches. Give them your resume, shake hands, and act confident in your abilities. The head coach will either hand you off to the freshman coach, or, if he or she is not busy, might give you a tour of the boathouse. This depends on the program. In most programs, the head coach does not even talk to prospective recruits until the freshman coach has met the prospectives, given them a tour, and decided if this kid would do well as a rower in their program. You will not mind this because head coaches are usually very intense and intimidating (to a high school rower), and the freshman coaches are less so. If you are interested in the program, and they are interested in you, you will meet the head coach. Don't worry. All coaches are just people. Some a little more driven than others, but all friendly. You have to realize, though, that these coaches are training some of the best collegiate rowers in the country. They are busy, and for them to give a lot of time to a recruit is rare.
Q: I am going on my first "official" visit. What is going to happen?
It depends on if you have already seen the boathouse, or if you have toured the campus before. If you have not yet had an interview with the admissions office, make sure you schedule one. (You should get dressed up for your interview.)
You will probably spend the night in the dorm. Bring a sleeping bag unless you know for certain you will be sleeping in a bed with sheets. (It is unlikely this will happen.) Bring a sweater or jacket, even if it will not be cold on your visit. The coach probably scheduled for you to watch a practice, so you will be with the coach in the launch. It is always cold in the launch. Boathouse tours are a good time to ask all the questions you need to know, like what is the season, (Do they go away for spring training? Do they travel much for away races? How long can they stay on the water? When do they get back on the water after winter?), or what is practice like, (What times are practices held? How flexible is the schedule? What is the fall season like? Are there morning practices?), or what kind of team it is. (How many boats do they field? How about for freshmen? How many walk-ons do they get, usually? Do the experienced freshmen practice with varsity in the fall?) Some things you should recognize are:
Q: No schools have responded to my letters. I cannot visit the schools, so there is no chance in them meeting me in person to see what a great athlete I am. What should I do?
Coaches cannot see every prospective recruit that sends a resume, so they usually use erg scores as a dividing factor. Also, height could rule you out. If you are a great rower, consider sending a video. This is difficult to do, because you need eight other people, but Jen might have some clips of you from last season for some reason or another.
Ask you Varsity Coach to call the coach. No one is a better advocate for how well you row than your coach.
Also, work on your erg score. Test yourself, try to get it to something that will make them take notice. Do not misrepresent your scores, though. Besides this being wrong, you will be starting a very important relationship with a lie. It will come back to hurt you, and could cost you recruitment, or admission to the school.
If all else fails, get the GPA and SAT scores so high that you will be accepted without the coaches' help. Then you can walk on in September, and surprise them all with your experience.
If you have more questions, please contact your Varsity Coach.