On Friday January 17, 2014, Row New York was lucky enough to have the US National Rowing team attend practice with our rowers. In addition to rowing with, coxing and cheering on our athletes, the team participated in a Q&A to answer some questions our athletes had about the sport, college and fitting in.
Row New Yorker: What was the transition between rowing in high school to rowing in college?
US National Team Member: Every time you move up it’s a totally different level. It is a big jump from high school to college. I think that the coaches and other rowers have higher expectations for all of the athletes. In my opinion, anytime you move up you should absorb as much as you can – things like writing down the terms the coaches use and paying attention to what they focus on are things you should keep on the front of your mind.
Row New Yorker: What is the hardest workout you’ve had on the water and the erg?
US National Team Member: On the water I would say it was the time we had to do seat racing in pairs – we did three 4ks over the course of 1.5 days. We were in pairs and were in a strong headwind so it was taking us like 18 minutes per 4k and we did them practice after practice after practice with a different partner each time. It was pretty intense.
On the erg it was probably a 2x6k. We had to do a 6k open and then our next 6k had to beat our previous time. That was a pretty hard workout.
Row New Yorker: What do you think about during really long pieces?
US National Team Member: I think it really depends on the workout – sometimes you have to concentrate really hard on your technique every stroke – core tight, shoulders relaxed – go go go! And other days you can zone out and just get a workout done. There’s no one good magic answer that will make meters fly by. It’s usually a combination of random thoughts and self-encouragement.
Row New Yorker: Do you think that practice takes up all your time in college or do you get to do different things?
US National Team Member: There’s definitely balance in college. I think that you’re teammates become your best friends, and you will spend a lot of time with them outside of practice but there’s always lots to do outside of rowing. I was in a lot of clubs in college in addition to rowing – I never felt like I was missing out on other experiences.
Row New Yorker: When did you realize that rowing was your passion?
US National Team Member: I started rowing at the end of my junior year of high school, and I felt great after my first week of rowing. Honestly, I fell in love with the sport on the first day. I was out on the water and I thought, “Gosh, this is beautiful”. I knew on day one – it was great!
There were definitely highs and lows to our rowing careers, but it’s the kind of thing that you don’t even really ever think about walking away from. That thought never crosses my mind. That’s how I know I have a passion for this. There wasn’t one moment in my head that I knew- there was always in the back of my head in high school and then in college that said “Hey, maybe I can make the Olympic team” and I worked to accomplish it.
Row New Yorker: When you guys are doing really intense work and you start losing yourself, how do you gain the strength to keep going?
National Team Member: I think doing that takes a long time to perfect, and I think we’re all still working on it but the essence is that you need to literally just turn the thoughts in your brain off. Turn off that little voice that says, “My legs hurt and I can’t do this”. Also, if you’re starting to fade, make sure to be super optimistic with yourself – turn those thoughts into something really optimistic. “I can’t do this” needs to become “I can do this!” Break it down to whatever you need to do to finish it, but take your brain out of the equation.
I would also say that if you don’t have the energy, use the energy of the people around you. You can look around and say “So and so is not quitting”, “So and so is really going for it”. Don’t let yourself do anything less than what everyone else is doing. Feed off of everyone else going hard and pulling hard. That’s what really helps me.
Row New Yorker: What do you eat? Do you have a specific diet?
National Team Member: At the training center there’s nothing that the entire team is on – a diet or anything like that – you just need to figure out what works for you and do it. It’s really important to remember that you’re in high school and your bodies are changing, and they’re going to keep changing in college. Because of this I wouldn’t ever think about a certain weight. Do make sure you fuel your body for the workout though – don’t ever cut out carbs. If you don’t have carbs to burn you’re going to not do well. Also, try to eat as many fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed foods as possible. I know you guys hear it all the time, but they really are so vital to a healthy body.
Row New Yorker: What were your 2k scores to get into college?
National Team Member: It’s really a whole range. You can get recruited to college with an 8:15, and you can get recruited to college being sub-7:00 (girls splits). I don’t think there’s one magic split. You just have to find the college that works for you. On that point, there are also a million other factors outside of your 2k score that you need to consider such as your major, the distance from home, and a whole load of other factors.
I think a big part that goes along with the 2ks is to show your dedication to the sport – coaches really love the athletes that are going to stay with them for 4 years and really add to the program. So even right now if you don’t have the best 2k but they see that you have potential and you show them you will work really hard, you will have a good shot.
Row New Yorker: Was there ever a moment you considered quitting the sport?
National Team Member: Honestly, yes. After my freshman year I wasn’t sure I was going to quit entirely, but I got really burnt out. So I took that summer off from rowing, and I came back after the summer totally rejuvenated with a passion for rowing. That next year I came in and dropped a ton of time and that was the year that I started thinking to myself “Maybe I can make the U-23 team!” You will have those moments, and it’s not fun to have those moments, but if you need a break, take a break. I’m so glad I stuck with it because it turned out to be the thing that I love most in my life. Just because there was a moment I wasn’t loving it didn’t mean that I was done with it.
Row New York would like to thank all of the US Rowing National Team members that were kind enough to visit!
