always sitting out

Question
This is my first year on a competitive masters rowing team.  I am very frustrated because every time there is an odd number of rowers and someone needs to ride in the coach's launch and be switched in halfway through the practice, I am always that person.  I am one of the least experienced people on the team, and I wonder if that's why this keeps happening.  On the other hand, I am in great shape, strong, dedicated and feel that I need as much practice as possible so that my technique can catch up to everyone else's.  PLUS, I pay just as much money as everyone else to be on this team.  I think this is terribly unfair...am I missing something?  What do you suggest I do?

Answer
Hi Anon: That sucks.  However, you can't take this personally.  Consider the following:

1) You are on a competitive crew.  They are looking at racing this summer with the group of rowers that make the boat go fastest.  Many of the rowers you are with have years of experience.  Race experience goes a long way in crew.  

2) You are only a first-year novice.  There's a lot to learn in that first year.  A similar experience happened to me in my novice year, when the summer club excluded me out of the racing eight.  I was pissed and I quit the club.  But in reality, I had too many bad habits at the time and was simply not as good as the other 8 rowers.  I quit that club and went to a different club.  [The pisser of the story is that new club did the same thing to me the next year, so I went back to the old club, made the eight, which went on to make the finals of the Men's Nationals]

3) Paying a membership does not automatically give you the right to compete in races.  It's one thing if the club won't give you access to equipment or won't allow you to row at all.  But this is just like any competitive sport.

I think you need to do the following:

1) Ask the coach point-blank on what technical errors are holding you back from being a regular member of the competitie boat.  Then work on correcting those errors on the ergometer on your own time.

2) Ask if you can row with a different boat.  Maybe there's a club 4 in need of another rower, or a guy is looking for a double scull partner.  Maybe your club has a single shell or gig and you can row anytime you want for as long as you want.  I heard a story of a rower who was left out of the eight, rowed a single instead, and became a world-class single sculler.

3) If you find your status with this club entenable, join a different club that is less competitive and more social in nature.

Regards/AP