Extras from IRAs: The Other Huskies -- Northeastern University Men's Program on the Rise

While the UW 'Dawgs' may be dominant, they're not the only Huskies on the block. The Northeastern University Huskies had a breakout regular season this year, spurred by a very strong sophomore class and backed by what may be an even more talented frosh squad, which posted a bronze medal finish at the 2012 IRA national championships. Under the guidance of head coach John Pojednic, as well as associate head coach Ted Benford, NU posted sweeps of Georgetown, Boston University, and Penn during the 2012 campaign. Following the racing in Camden, I spoke with Coach Pojednic about the recent developments for the Northeastern squad, this year's results, and what to expect in the years to come.

RR: As a head coach, how encouraging is it to see the freshman class perform so well at the IRA?

John Pojednic: Next year will be my thirteenth as head coach, and this is the first point where I feel we've had some real momentum going forward. About 75% of our team is made up of freshmen and sophomores right now, and anytime in the past where we've had a grand final performance it's typically been the case that the whole boat graduates, and that's that–it takes us another three years to get back. So this is the first time that I feel like we really have some traction. And it's no accident–we're fortunate to have a lot going for us right now. We've put a lot of great resources and people in place to help us bring really good athletes here, and to help us build a strong team.

To tell you the truth, I am really happy with how all of our crews raced here. Obviously, we wouldn't have aspired to be in the third level final with the varsity, but there are six sophomores in the boat, and I think, in the end, they showed how fast they could go [the NU varsity won the third final in a time of 5:32.953]. I think we've put s strong foundation in place this year–we're really looking forward to the next couple years here.

RR: One of the real leaders of the squad seems to be former junior world champion Justin Jones (who stroked the NU varsity eight this season), is that right?

JP: I think that's fair to say. What's remarkable about those guys, that sophomore class, is that they came in here at a time when our team was really thin, and medaled at Sprints. They were kind of like the foundation of the team as freshmen, and this year they were building on that again. The first time those guys have been to the IRA was this year, and they're in the varsity eight event–they're just a little inexperienced, but Justin and that whole class have done a fantastic job in being the first layer of bricks in what we're trying to build. I think they're going to feel like they have a lot more guys behind them next season, and I think our younger guys and our great class we have coming in are really going to have some good guys to look up to.

It's kind of a perfect storm of good stuff for us at the moment, with the classes we have coming in, and the change in the freshman rule [the IRA Stewards have decided to change the rule regarding freshmen, allowing first-year students to race in varsity boats beginning next season]. I certainly value freshman rowing, but now it will be our choice in terms of where we put guys for our program. It gives us more flexibility in terms of how we want to run our team, and we want our athletes and coaches to be able to work together, and set lineups based on athletic ability, not age. So, we'll see what it all does, but we are certainly very encouraged by a lot of the things that have unfolded this year.

Thanks very much to Coach Pojednic. For more on the Northeastern program, please visit the official website of the Huskies. 

-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

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 up before 4:30am. So, wh
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

Video Of The Week: Holland Beker 2013

Image
This week's video comes to us from the Bosbaan, where the 2013 Holland Beker saw truly elite, international competition over the weekend. Perhaps the most outstanding racing came in the women's single, where the A Final closely mirrored a world championship or Olympic final in recent years—the lineup included two-time Olympic champ Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, Kim Crow of Australia, New Zealand's Emma Twigg , reigning Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic, another two-time Olympic champion (albeit in the women's eight) in Eleanor Logan , and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist (also in the eight) Chantal Achterberg of Holland.  As it turned out, the final was a wire-to-wire victory for Kim Crow, who looks to be on top form and may be the athlete to beat in this event for the foreseeable future, holding off both Karsten and Twigg in the closing stretch, with Knapkova finishing fourth. Elle Logan had another solid race in a great field, finishing just ove
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