I learned to row a boat way before I ever heard of or touched an erg… My first strokes I took were on the River Seine in Fontainebleau, France. The club coach’s name was and still is Jean Pierre Leroux. He was the Olympic coach of Anne Marden who won the silver medal at the Seoul Olympics in the single scull for the United States. I learned a lot from Jean Pierre. He was part of my Elite Rowing Coach Family Tree.
Around the time I took my first strokes, Concept2 started production of their Model B and slowly their machines were being imported to Europe with the aid of Thierry Louvet a former rower who competed with Boston University.
I still remember to this day rowing my very first 20 minute piece on that infamous black Concept2 Model B in the living room of our assistant coach Michel Colard who became a French National Team Coach. At the age of 14, those 20 minutes felt brutally long, simply never ending.
Very quickly the erg became a tool to identify rowing talent worldwide. I remember doing my first 5 minute test in Choisy Le Roi, it was grueling, but thanks to great coaching I tested very well and ended up first in my category.
Every since, the erg score became part of my junior rowing identity. This form of identifying rowing talent has not changed a bit, especially in collegiate rowing here in the United States of America.
The Erg Score has become the SAT of Rowing. The ERG score is the major part in the recruiting process of junior high school rowers. Collegiate coaches look carefully at the erg score history to learn more about the high school rower’s potential during their four years of collegiate rowing.
Elite Coaching helped me get recruited to Brown University. I was never the strongest or the tallest, but I was the best coached, the best prepared. I set a junior indoor rowing world record, stayed undefeated with Brown University and went on to winning Olympic gold and silver in the men’s single scull. Now, I coach high school rowers and enable them to get recruited to college which is a life changing experience for them.
I love rowing, but the ERG is part of the equation to success in getting recruited to college.
Get in touch with me, you can text me directly to 1-949-400-7630.
The window of opportunity to get recruited is extremely small. Elite Coaching is a competitive advantage.
Xeno