RowCollege

3 Critical Steps for a Successful College-Coach Contact at Your Race Site

This is the time of year when high-school regatta sites are filled with rowers, parents, fans—and usually a good number of college-rowing coaches. Those coaches are there to recruit.

There is nothing wrong with that. In fact it can be quite exciting to be someone who is recruited and to have a coach there to watch you race. However, there are a few steps you should take, important ones, to make a possible contact with a college-coach at a race site successful.

Step 1: Know these rules.

The NCAA, which governs all DI, DII, and DIII institutions has set some very specific recruiting rules that college-coaches must follow. And this holds especially true whenever you might contact a college-coach off-campus. Although recruiting rules vary somewhat in the different divisions, there are a few basic ones that you need to know that apply to all divisions:

• If you are a senior, a college-coach cannot have any contact with you at a site where you are racing until your coach has released you. Meaning—no contact until your racing is over and your coach has given you permission to connect with the college-coach.
• If you are not yet a senior you may not have in-person contact with a college-coach except on the campus of the coach's school.
• These rules apply also to your parents/guardians.

Step 2: Tell your coach.

Let your coach know that a college program is interested in you, and tell coach that they may be there to observe and contact you. This helps your coach prepare for a possible contact, and also brings your coach into the process which is usually very helpful.

Step 3: Stay focused.

Don't get distracted by the college coach either observing you, or connecting with your after your racing. You are there to race, being distracted will only take away from your performance and not work in your favor.

It can be exciting to be recruited. These simple steps can help a contact at your race site work better. If you would like more information about recruiting and the NCAA rules, this site should help.

image by zanaca

Interviewing? Be Prepared.

Have an upcoming Admission's interview? Be prepared to get—and to ask—questions.

Often recruits think that the interview process is designed specifically for the college to ask questions of applicants—to help screen them. Well, that is part of what happens. The other part is the applicant getting info about the school.

This is where it pays to be prepared.

Certainly brochures, videos, class visits, and tours help you get information. But don't miss out on the best way to get info that can really help with your decision—ask questions. Many of them. To everyone. The answers are important, and possibly just as important are the way your questions are received.

And one place where you should expect to get good answers (to good questions) is from the interviewer. To be an interviewer he or she should know a great deal about the school. So find out. Ask about the social environment, job placement, retention rate, graduation rate, the safety on campus . . . the list is long. [Here is an article that might prompt some questions to ask.]

Questions and answers are best when they are relevant—so do some studying. Brush up on the specifics of the school where you are interviewing. Trade notes with your parent/s about questions they need answers to. Make a list, and bring it out when the time is right.

Questions are a great way to learn, but don't be dismayed by an "I don't know," response. When followed by, "but I will find out," an "I don't know" might just mean that you are dealing with an honest person.

And that is a great trait to have at an institution of higher learning.

Related posts:

• YOU need to get your name out there.
• Preparing for an interview? Try this.

YOU Need to Get Your Name Out There!

Staring at the phone, hoping it will ring?

Waiting for a some college rowing coach to discover you?

Bummed because you're not getting emails, letters, and text messages from schools wanting to have you come row for them?

Get over it—and get to work.

If you are interested in rowing in college, and possibly get recognized for your abilities—maybe even receive athletic-related aid, you need to work at it. Unless you've got talent galore, are setting the rowing world on fire, or have a high school coach who is promoting the heck out of you, more than likely few if any collegiate coaches know about you. So you need to do some work and get your name out there.

How?

First off, college rowing coaches do recruit. They recruit a lot, and the bigger the program, the more recruiting they do. I cannot speak for other coaches, but from my experiences most, if not all, of those coaches will be receptive to getting a name of an interested rower.

How can you do that—get your name in front of that coach? Here are two things you can do to help yourself:

• Enlist the aid of your high school coach. He or she may be able to open doors for you (but once the door is open it will be up to you to shine).
• Send an email directly to the coach at your school of interest. Email addresses can be found easily on the web. A simple email is best. Here is an example.

Second, if you've never rowed before, don't let that stop you:

• a very significant number of collegiate rowers have never rowed before college (meaning  they are walk-ons)
• the competition for most teams is intense, and a lot of that intensity comes from rowers who just learned in college.

It boils down to this . . . if you want to row in college, help yourself out, and approach the program at the school you are interested in. It is not hard to do.

It is admirable that you want to row in college, but you need to be wholeheartedly involved in the process, or else you might not be pleased with the results.

Related posts:

• Does it Matter What They Row?
• When to Tell a Coach, No Thanks, Not Interested
• Should You Care What Drives the Rowing Program You Are Considering?
• Flavors of Rowing-Pick Yours

Use Thanksgiving Break to Your Advantage

If you're like most high school seniors, school will be getting out this Tuesday . . .  possibly Wednesday, and then you've got four or five days off until school starts up again. Maybe you'll be traveling, visiting relatives, or having friends and family over during the break.

Great. Enjoy the time off from school. Some of it that is—but not all. It is time to do some work, and this would be a great opportunity to dedicate time to your college search.

If you're reading this, you want to row in college. Super. Finding the right place for you is going to take focus, time, and energy. It won't just happen, you will need to make it happen.

Yes, I know, often an athlete will go off to some college having put less time into the selection process than he would in picking his mySpace theme. And that person will love the coach, team, school, and will live happily ever after. Ya, ya, ya. That happens once in a blue moon (which if you didn't know, doesn't happen very often).

More likely the experienced high-school rower who is loving her college rowing experience worked hard to make it happen. And if you want to increase the chance of you living happily ever after in the collegiate rowing world, you need to work at it. So be productive during this break time.

How? A few suggestions:

• email a college coach
• research on the web a collegiate team you are considering
• make a master list of form deadlines, such as applications, financial aid, NCAA forms (if this applies to you)
  
• plan your college visits, picking dates that work for you and your family
• go over your Spring calendar, putting in your races, breaks, and college interviews
• sort that huge pile of correspondence, brochures, and letters from colleges (that is probably sitting on your bed room floor)

This break might also be a convenient time to talk to your parents about your search, and compare thoughts.

Don't let this time slip away. Eat some food and have some fun. But do focus on your search It will be a good investment.

Equipment. Does it Matter What They Row?

During the past few weeks of recruiting I've been asked several times what type of rowing equipment we use in our program. That certainly is a reasonable question, and I think that it should be asked by someone who is considering investing four years of their time rowing with us.

However, the question does not go far enough.

Asking this question, most people are thinking only about shells and boats. I can understand why . . . there certainly are preconceived ideas many people have about which shells are better/faster—just like there are about cars. But is the answer to "What equipment do you use" really going to be a deal breaker for you?

I  suggest you find out more. Dig deeper with a question like this . . . "I'd like to know what type of shells and oars your team uses, and could you also tell me:

• how many ergometers you have and if they are in good shape,
• is your trailer very old,
• does the team have access to workout equipment such as weights and tanks,
• and, do team members have access to an Athletic Trainer?"

Seem odd to be asking these? Why?

They are all things that will play importantly in your rowing at one time or another. Shouldn't you know the answer before you sign up.

Remember, rowing is a very equipment intensive sport. Only some of that equipment is shells and oars.

Preparing for an Interview? Try this.

As you search and interview for that special college rowing program, you will often be asked what you've accomplished with your rowing. You will also certainly get these type of questions about your academics.

This simple exercise might help you prepare your answers.

Do You Need to Interview in the Admissions Office?

Going to the campus of the college you are considering and having an interview can be very important part of your college application process. The interview is an excellent way to highlight areas about you that go beyond your test scores, college admission essay, and application materials.

However, do you need to interview in the Admissions Office? Are there other ways to get an interview? That all depends.

My school requires an interview on campus in the Admissions Office, however, like other schools they make exceptions. For example, a visit to campus and meeting with the rowing coach is a suitable substitute for a visit to the Admissions Office. And at some schools interviewing with selected alumni or other college reps in your hometown or close by to home, especially when distance from campus is an issue, can be substituted.

Yet, if you are considering either of these two options there are two questions I would prompt you to ask:

1. If I don't have an interview in the school's Admissions Office, does that count against me in the admissions process?, and
   
2. Will interviewing with a rowing coach or a rowing alumni give me answers to the questions I need answers to?

The college's Admissions Office is the best source for an answer to question #1, and if you think that you might be a borderline candidate then make sure you do contact the Admissions Office for their answer.

For question #2, you and your parents/guardians are the ones who can best answer it. This is especially true if you think you will require financial aid to attend the school. In some instances, such as in NCAA Division III member institutions, rowing coaches are not permitted to be involved in the financial aid process at all, and therefore may not even know details that you might need.

So, sorry to tell you that there is no straightforward answer—it depends on you and your situation. However, before you do decide to interview make sure that you have connected with the Admission's Office to get their outlook.

After all, in the end they are the ones who will be making the final decision about your application.

3 Questions You Really Need to Ask a Coach

When you visit a college one of your main goals should be to get information. One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions.

In the process of your visit, if you are meeting with a coach, there are three important questions to ask.

To the point, here they are:

1. How long do you plan on being here as a coach?
2. If I were to come to this school, and row for your team, how do you see my role on the team?
3. What can you and the rowing program here at school XYZ do to help me get where I want to go in my future?

Not earth-shattering questions, but nonetheless, one's whose answers are important, for obvious reasons.

As a coach, when I am asked questions like it indicates to me that the recruit is thinking about his or her future and the big picture.

Nervous or fearful to ask these questions to the coach you are thinking of rowing for?

Well . . . you could have your folks do it for you, but . . . if this is a person that you are considering to coach you for four years, wouldn't you want to have a relationship with him or her in which you could ask questions?

You might find the reaction to these questions as meaningful as the responses.