Should You Care What Drives the Rowing Program You Are Considering?
Sport teams—any and all of them—are driven by something. There is a driving force that pushes all teams in a specific direction.
For instance, youth soccer teams (for kids 5 to 7 years of age) may be driven by such forces as: parents looking to expose their child to sports, kids wanting to learn soccer, a coach wanting to give kids an environment to grow in, to name a few.
Often this force, or forces, can be positive. Other times destructive.
A coach who is building a college rowing program because she believes in the benefits of the sport for the overall development of the athlete is demonstrating a positive driving force. Another coach who is relentlessly pushing his athletes to work and get faster to settle a grudge from a race lost long ago to school XYZ is pushing people with a negative driving force.
Why should you care? What difference could it possibly make to you what force is driving a rowing program you are considering?
Well . . . would you rather ride in a car with driver who is going to drive safely, or one who drives like a maniac? Would you rather see a doctor who knows what the heck she is doing, or one who is making it up as she goes along? And that pizza you just got at the restaurant . . . wouldn't you rather eat the one made by the fellow who made it with love and the best ingredients?
You should care because rowing in college is a big investment of time and energy, and the impact of the program, teammates and coach/coaches on you can be very significant. It can be greatly positive, or wickedly negative . . . depending in large part on the flavor of the driving force.
Yes, you should care. But how do you find out what the driving force is and if it is positive or negative?
Stay tuned.
