THINKING ABOUT ROWING IN COLLEGE?
in
Varsity rower Anna-Linnea Rödegard and her mom, Liana Rödegard, attended an informative presentation this past summer (2009) about collegiate rowing and the college application process. The workshop, held at Jack London Aquatic Center (JLAC), was privately run by Bruce Beall and cost $50.00 per family. The following is Liana’s report – Editor
The Morning Session was for students (and their guardians) who were not going to be seniors. The second floor of JLAC was about half-full; my guestimate is that there were 50 people attending the morning session from all over the Bay Area. My daughter and I were the only people from BHS attending.
Per NCAA rules, coaches can only start recruiting kids after July 1st of the summer before their senior year. The afternoon session for those going into their senior year included coaches who gave overviews of their programs and then met athletes and their guardians individually. According to Tony Elkan, a senior dad, there were about 150 people and a dozen or so coaches participating in the afternoon session.
Our morning session gave an overview of NCAA rules and terms, scholarships and financial aid, and how to start the process of sorting through colleges that have rowing programs. There is a lot of information and a definite strategy to applying to the many different colleges with varieties of crew programs running the gamut from club rowing through NCAA Divisions I – III. Basically, if you already know you want to row in college, you can initiate "unofficial visits" to the schools and meet with coaches before your senior year, to see if the school is a good fit. If you really like a school and its rowing program or coach, Bruce advises you to let them know by contacting coaches directly via email. The financial aid portion of the presentation is too complicated to summarize but basically there is a formula followed for each school's financial aid package.
Bruce Beall really knows his stuff: He competed in the 1984 Olympics and then coached for a total of 18 years at Cal, U of WA, Boston U, Harvard, and MIT, among numerous other crew credentials.
For more information, contact Bruce Beall directly via email: bbeall73@msn.com
::
