[gatotom]

When my youngest son started his 4 yrs by the bay, he never rowed a day in his life but he always did leg sports, cc, track and alpine skiing. By the end of his plebe yr he was ranked 2nd in his class in rowing which is impressive since the first boat is all recruited, good legs and lungs are the key.

Going into the second yr, he strained his patellar tendon and rowing was over that fast, the risk of permanent injury outweighted the reward.

The rewards the team would get by winning a race would be the jerseys of the team they beat, he has a collection from harvard, yale, princeton.

The position in the boat has great importance and terms like crabbing will be in your vocabulary.

As they say from parents of children, the more they do the less they have time for trouble. You have but one chance in your life to be great in a sport, don't waste the opportunity because it will be over before you know it. You never want to say, "I wish I woulda, coulda, shoulda".