“In my second year, I considered leaving. It just wasn’t the place I thought it would be.”
A student athlete who recently decided to leave her position as a recruited athlete in the US reflects on her time as a full-time rower and student.
The reality for most athletes recruited from the UK is not always as it seems. Often, their actual experiences do not match the dream they were initially sold. Though this life changing decision works out for some, it may not work out for others, to the bewilderment of many who had known them before.
At the start of Freshman year, the athlete went in feeling positive, open-minded, and optimistic.
One semester in and home seemed far away, whilst illness and injury had been a common theme in her life.
Two semesters in, and no improvement to her rowing had been made, nor had she felt able to settle with a consistent group of friends.
Three semesters in and she had it all figured out, despite her remarkable capabilities and potential as a rower, it seemed like it was never going to be made possible to progress on such a large team.
Four semesters in, she decided to give it one last shot but still nothing changed, and the decision was made to return to home grounds.
“I wanted to continue progressing my rowing after a good junior season,” she said. And this university seemed like the best place to do this. But, rowing is like a completely different sport in US universities; to progress on a large university team such as this one was a constant battle. Every day, training was a fight against one of her teammates to claim a seat in a boat rather than being settled in a line up and working together to achieve a common goal.
For this athlete, it just wasn’t the same as her junior season, which had been outstanding. She went from being one of the best junior scullers in the UK to being in one of the worst boats at her university.
In her words: “It was just such a flip and so frustrating.”
The hierarchy
Being there for four semesters, she was able to observe the system which rowing on an intercollegiate team revolves around. There is a hierarchy of boats, and everyone is aiming for the top which is the 1st Varsity eight with the 2nd Varsity eight coming in just below. Depending on the programme, these two boats will train together with the programme’s head coach. Then there is the fours group, which consists of an A and B four. Again, this group trains together with one of the assistant coaches.
Just below these is the 3rd and 4th Varsity eight who train with another coach entirely. This particular student athlete found herself stuck circulating in this group, despite possessing years more experience and capability than her counterparts. In this entire time, no change was made to the 1st and 2nd Varsity eight group.
It became apparent that “there are 1v people, and they will just always just be the 1v people”, making it difficult to escape the lower groups and move upwards.
At the beginning of any recruiting journey, the coaches will tell a story, paint a picture for an optimistic student-athlete’s future and will “make it sound like it’s the best possible choice you could make.” They sell this all-in-one package like a five-star cruise, except in some cases it isn’t five stars but rather two or three.
In order to be considered for recruitment, one must “pull a big 2k,” yet this athlete soon found this checkpoint for recruiting flawed. After she achieved a 2k PB and was pleased with her achievement, she told the coaches who responded with “that’s fine, but your 2k doesn’t matter.”
To this athlete, it felt impossible to improve because although she was receiving small coaching tips, it was never easy to make changes in a boat so unset and uncomfortable and because she could not improve so she could not move up, creating a cycle of disappointment.
Of course, the athlete acknowledges: “There are many people who have gone out to the US and had a great time because the coaches have regarded them highly.”
It must be noted that if an athlete enters a programme like this one with a good capability to row sweep, their journey on the programme will look entirely different. The training will not only be more consistent on a daily basis, but it is much easier to improve because the quality of coaching and rowing is much more dedicated in the 1st and 2nd varsity eight. People who are able to slot into the top groups right away will certainly experience a more pleasant journey because it is more like the experience that the coach described in the first place.
In these particular groups, it is natural that athletes will migrate towards friendships with people they train with every day. Although this works out for some, it can be incredibly isolating to others who are struggling to make any sort of progression within the inconsistency of the boats that they are in. The social groups formed can therefore be largely based on a coaches’ initial or constant line up causing a sense of dissociation for the athletes who are struggling to develop in the lower groups.
The race
Line ups for racing are decided through various means but most predominantly seat racing. Typically, seat racing is where different combinations of people are tried in the numerous boat line ups to deduce which combination is the fastest. For this student athlete and many others on programmes like this, the seat racing seems unfair.
It is carried out almost every intensity practice during the spring racing season. In this process, two boat line ups will row side by side for a piece and the coach will judge the distance between the two at the end of the piece. Then, the boats will get pulled together and two people will swap boats and seats with each other; they will race side by side again. The distance between the two boats will be assessed by the coach and a winner will be decided.
However, there are so many factors influencing this kind of seat racing: the seven other people’s effort levels in the boat; the wind and channel line; bends in the course; the cox’s steering; and many more. So even if a result of a seat race is made apparent, it could lack validity, putting all athletes at a disadvantage because the right combination may not be found.
Unless one is familiar with the US style of racing, then intercollegiate ‘meets’ will feel very “unofficial and anti-climactic” according to this student athlete. Private racing between schools is set up like pieces on a typical practice day and does not appear like an actual race day besides from the odd cheer and extra food provided. This is unlike UK racing which is almost always large open events, apart from the boat race fixture series. This makes it less atmospheric and exciting.
As well as this, the race day takes just over an hour and there is not much variety or categories to watch.
“You can only be your own cheerleader for so long,” the athlete said, especially when you are not a team or coach favourite.
The decision
When she contemplated leaving the school, a few people suggested she quit rowing and get the degree, but this was not an option having had rowing as a main reason for attending. Instead, it seemed to be the best option to exit this environment in order “to find a love for rowing again” and get back on track for her aspirations to be a world class rower.
For those considering the rowing recruiting process for US universities, “it is important to consider what you value as an athlete” and “to ask the right questions.” For instance, if you enjoy weights as part of your training, ask the coaches if this is something the team regards as important and if they do it often. Deliberate whether sweep is something you want to do full time because sculling will most likely not be an option.
Decide if this is truly the path you want to take.
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