2011 RoRys, Part One – Outstanding Programs, Coaches and Athletes at the Junior Level


RR is coming up on its first birthday, but before we get to all that, it's time for the first annual RoRys – our picks for the most outstanding performances and influential people in our sport for the 2010-2011 season. Since we cover three tiers of racing on RR, the RoRys will be a three-day event. We are going to give out RoRys for the Junior, Collegiate, and Elite levels, and today's RoRys go to the top Junior programs, coaches, and athletes, with two special categories for 'Race of the Year,' and 'Breakout Performance of the Year.' And so, the RoRys go to...


RoRys for Programs of the Year

Marin Men
Accomplished goal of winning M8+ and LM8+ in the same year, first time since Newport AC did it in 2009, only the second time it has been done. Undefeated the throughout the entire season, from the Fall through the Spring and sent a couple guys to the Junior National Team. Deep, talented and very well-coached program. Also, we believe that this is the first time that a team has won both the Charles and Youth Nationals in the same season.

Connecticut Boat Club Women  
Undefeated in the W8+ for the last two years, except for the final at the 2011 Youth Nationals, where they picked up a Bronze medal, after the Grinalds sisters had doubled up in the pair -- an event that CBC won for the second year in a row. In addition to the win in the 2- and bronze in the 8+, CBC also finished 8th in the 4+ and finished 9th in the 4x at Youth Nationals to showcase their depth. Though they don't have more people than every other team in the country, they have high quality girls from top to bottom, and they were well represented on Junior National Team. Great coach in Liz Trond who will be sending a large majority of her rowers to top Division I rowing programs.


RoRys for Coaches of the Year

Women's Coach of the Year: Sandy Armstrong, MRA
The Marin W8+ was excellent -- managed racing and regatta very well at Youth Nationals. Armstrong is running a fantastic program. Though they didn't win against CBC in San Diego or in the heat on the first day of Youth Nationals, they won when it counted most, proving that what matters is not who wins most, but who wins last. Very impressive performance and showed great preparation by the coach. Clearly a very driven, focused, technically sound crew. Sandy also went on to coach the Junior National Team W8+ this Summer in Eton.

Men's Coach of the Year: Graham Willoughby, MRA
First time Marin has won the M8+, and only the second time on record that the same program has won both the heavy and lightweight eights at Youth Nationals. Marin absolutely dominated the entire season and proved they were on a mission to after coming up short in 2010.


RoRy for Race of the Year

Marin Men – Head of the Charles 2010 
Yes, Marin again. The Marin youth men's eight started in 69th place, and took first in the event by eight seconds, ahead of two-time defending champion Eton College and Everett, who started 1st and 3rd respectively. Marin also set a new course record in the process. Fantastic performance from a talented young coxswain to navigate the narrow river, making a key move going through Eliot Bridge, where he dropped out stroke and six to better his angle in order to overtake an opposing crew and provide his rowers with the best line possible through to the finish.


RoRy for Breakthrough Performance of the Year

James Madison, Paul Allbright
James Madison High School Girl's Varsity 8+ led by 23 year old coach Paul Allbright, in just the 9th year of the program's existence. What may be most impressive is that this was only the 4th 2000 meter race this scholastic program had ever undertaken, having raced 1500 meters all year on the scholastic circuit. After finishing only 5th at Scholastic Nationals, it was a huge breakthrough for this young program, whose most talented rowers were just Freshmen and Sophomores. Look out for big things from James Madison in the next two years as we expect them to be in serious contention to win it all in 2012 after only graduating stroke seat Katie Lawless from the 2011 boat.


RoRys for Athletes of the Year

Female Athlete of the Year: Mia Croonquist, Vashon Island
Immense talent in only her 2nd year of rowing after starting as an 8th grader. She finished 2nd in the JW4x at the 2011 Youth Nationals and then went on to become a Junior World Champion in JW4- in Eton. She has gone 7:07 on the erg for 2k, is 6 feet tall and is only 14 years old! She will be taking this year away from rowing and will be attending boarding school in Kona, Hawaii. Kudos to former Washington National Champion oarsman Steve Full, who was Mia's high school coach at Vashon Island Rowing Club for developing such a top talent. Full is now the women's frosh coach at Georgetown.

Male Athlete of the Year: Zach Hershberger, Los Gatos
Massive talent from Los Gatos, CA who became a Junior World Champion in his first year rowing (2010), winning a gold medal at the JM8+ at World's and rowed in a Los Gatos 8 that placed 3rd at Youth Nationals in 2010. This year he went under 6:10 for 2k on the erg and finished 5th at the Junior World Championships in the JM8+. He will be 'taking his talents' up north to Seattle to row for Mike Callahan and Luke McGee's Washington Huskies.

Congratulations to all the RoRy winners at the Junior level. Tomorrow we will hand out the RoRys for intercollegiate rowing, with the RoRys for elite rowing to come on Friday -- check back to see who takes home top honors!

-RR

Trending posts this month

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Read more

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...
Read more

Winter Workouts: Why Do Rowers Fear the Erg?

Image
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
Read more

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? At Marin Rowing Association, Culture is Key

Image
Hands in after training  My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am.  It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey.  Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity.  Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles .  The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
Read more

So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now?

Image
Warwick rowers are all in again this year (Photo courtesy of Warwick Boat Club)  The phenomenon started four years ago with the Warwick Rowing men's squad. Then, the following year, the Warwick women's team joined the fray. Now, Newcastle University's men and women are back on the naked calendar train. So, the question is, have rowing and naked calendars become a thing? The above video features the 2014-2015 Warwick women's squad—the third edition of the calendar , and, from the looks of it, the raciest. However, perhaps not so racy as that of the 2014-2015 Warwick men (see below). But raciness aside, all four of these teams have chosen worthy charities and have gone "the full monty" to make sure that those causes have received considerable contributions. The Warwick women contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support —a cause for which Warwick reports it has donated some £5,000. The Warwick men? Sport Allies —a charity that combats homophobia in spor...
Read more