So you think you want to row in college!

Links, advice and info to help the process:

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And finally:

Some helpful advice from the rowing coaches at Trinity College!

Make Contact!

In order for a coach to help you with admission they need to know as much about you as possible.  This includes your abilities as a scholar, athlete, and citizen of your community.  Getting your name to collegiate coaches is important as it is often hard for collegiate coaches to know EVERY potential recruit out there nationally or internationally.   If they don't know anything about you they cannot recruit you.  Emails, phone calls, letters, and visits are all recommended means of making contact and each has their own strengths and weaknesses.  Depending on when you start, your geographical location, your budget, and your desire to attend the college you need to have a plan of how to approach the schools in which you are interested.

 
 

Advantages

Disadvantages

Emails

  • Free & easy to use
  • Both you and the coach have a record of contact
  • Potentially impersonal especially if sent as a mass email
  • Easy to get lost in the crowd
Phone
Calls
  • Allows you to be articulate
  • Better for getting to know the coach
  • Can be difficult to get a hold of a coach
  • You may be speaking to an answering machine
Letters
  • Allows you to really present your accomplishments
  • Letters show you are serious about the College
  • Time consuming
  • Must be error-free to make a good impression
Visits
  • Gives you a feel for the school
  • Allows you to meet the coach face to face
  • Very time consuming
  • Difficult to schedule

Email Tips

  1. Do your research and find out the name of the coach to whom you are writing, recent results from the school's season, and the name of the school itself.

  2. Use these details in the body of your e-mail to show that you have done your homework.

  3. When writing about yourself follow the number one rule - BE HONEST!

  4. List the information that the coach will definitely want to know. These include your height, weight, GPA, SAT/ACT scores, 2000m time and 6000m time. If you don't have this information then you should get it as soon as possible.

  5. List the information that YOU want the coach to know about you. This includes your rowing experience in practices and in races, community service, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles.

  6. Be formal in your approach - there's nothing worse than a first e-mail that says "Hey Coach, what's up?"

  7. At the end of your e-mail introduction say what you will do next. Many recruits write "I would appreciate more information about your program." This does not help. What do you REALLY want to know about the program? Ask specific questions and then say "I would like to follow up with you by early next week" or give some times that would be convenient for the coach to call.

  8. Remember that college coaches are reading and writing hundreds of e-mails a week from potential recruits. As long as what you write is clear your accomplishments will speak for themselves.