Job Responsibilities
My responsibilities included managing my training program to
maximize my oxygen uptake and specific muscle endurance. I
wrote the program for myself and my boatmate which succeeded in
getting us on the US National Team in 2002 and 2003. It
involved 9-11 workout sessions per week of 2-3 hours per day.
We coordinated our schedules and travel (all over the US and
western Europe), purchased or rented boats, and procured housing.
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Job Requirements
World-class oarsmen generally have a bachelor's degree from one
of the following institutions: The University of Washington,
Wisconsin, Cal-Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, or Bates.
If you're not in one of those schools, however, don't dispair!
National Team Head Coach Mike Teti doesn't discriminate, and he
travels the nation looking for talent that might be squirreled
away in Ohio, Texas, Bucknell, and plenty of other schools.
My degree was in Mechanical Engineering, and that background was
helpful when it came to understanding the mechanics of the
rowing motion and rigging. An ME degree is not necessary,
however, as there were plenty of people on the team who held
more liberal degrees such as history or communications.
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Uppers
The best part of my job was beating people on the water who thought too little
of my ability. I loved breaking lesser crews. Even at the international level,
there is a moment in the race when you know for certain that you are going to
defeat a particular crew. That moment is why people row.
The travel was also fun.
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Downers
World-class rowing is really hard work. You don't get to think
much, you just work your butt off. Oarsmen generally don't have
permanent housing, and they don't get paid enough to feed
themselves. Most of them hold meanial jobs to make ends meet.
The National Team is located in Princeton, NJ, so if you want to
live anywhere else, you have to be prepared to travel a lot. I
drove across the US ten times in pursuit of the Olympics.
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Lifestyle
The lifestyle is laid-back. You have to be comfortable with the notion that you
might not know today if you are making the trip to Sydney in three days. There's
a lot of sleeping on couches and in your car (I'd recommend a station wagon).
During 2004, I realized that things weren't going well in Princeton one morning,
and the next day I was in Georgia.
As for diversity, there is one (1) African-American man, the imitable Aquil
Abdullah. He's the first Black National Single Sculls Champion in US history.
He is also the first Black member of a US Olympic Rowing Team. He also plays the
sax and appears on G-Love's 2001 album.
The dress code is spandex. Head to toe spandex. I also recommend visors.
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Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with performance. If you perform
well, you can make up to $650 every month! Health insurance is
also provided for some athletes.
If you train in Princeton, you should be provided with a boat.
Otherwise, expect to pay about $6000 for one of your own.
Nobody does this for the money. It's one of the last true
amature sport
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Advice to Jobseekers
New to the world of rowing? Better be sure that you're worth a
damn on the water. No excuses like "ergs don't float."
Everyone on the national team can crack 6:00. In 2000, we had
20 guys under 6:00 and seven of them went to Sydney. Are you a
woman? Make sure that you're either 6' tall or that you can
squat 250 pounds. If your erg isn't below 6:50 you aren't going
to make it.
Go to the talent ID camps that Teti holds around the country.
That's a great way to assess your ability.
Lightweight? Just quit now. Lightweight rowing is hell.
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