Mens LW College Recruiting

Question
Hi:
My son is a rising Junior, 5'10", 155 lbs, with a 2K PR of 6:39.  He qualified for Nationals in the LW4 and 8 and his 8 did extremely well.  My question is: should he only concentrate on LW teams in regards to college recruiting or does he, as he insists he does, have a shot at being recruited by a HW team as well?  And if you know of a comprehensive list of college crew teams, I would love to know about it!  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Anna: To give your son some perspective, his 2K puts him in the Top 5-7% for lightweight rowers between 16 and 18. Among heavyweights, his time is in the Top-20%.  That's still quite good, but he has to understand that in a Top-caliber crew program like Harvard or Stanford, he's going to have a tough time against equally experienced and talented rowers weight 210 pounds.

Your son has a shot to row Varsity Heavyweight at a Dad Vail school (e.g., Purdue, Temple, Georgetown) or a lower caliber Eastern Sprints Association school like Rutgers or Syracuse. He should ultimately decide on a school that offers him the best scholarship, whether that is a lightweight or heavyweight crew program.

The following link has a comprehensive list of College programs:

http://www.row2k.com/links/links.cfm?cat=1

Regards/AP