PEA Sends Three To Junior National Team

Exeter’s crew teams finished off the 2012-2013 year on a high note, with boys’ first boat and girls’ first and second boats taking gold at the New England championships. For many athletes, however, that was just a warm-up. Over the summer, students participate in training camps and tournaments across the country, ranging from more recreational rowing to serious competitions. Three of Exeter’s top members were graced with the opportunity to train with the Junior National team.Senior coxswains Nikhil Chuchra and Jessica Michaels, along with upper rower Benj Cohen, participated in a one day Identification Camp held at various locations across the country in February and March and consisted of an erg and water evaluation. The three also sent in their stats, times and performances and were invited to work with the Junior National Team over the summer.Michaels was placed in the Selection Camp for athletes born in 1995 or later. The Junior National team, which competes at worlds, is formed from this group, along with the Worlds Development team, for athletes born in 1995 or later.Chuchra and Cohen participated in the HP camp, for athletes born in 1996 or earlier, from which boys could be selected for the Junior National team, Worlds Development team, Canada Mexico America team (CANAMEX) or Club Nationals team. Girls could be selected for the Worlds Development team, CANAMEX team, or Club Nationals team from this level.Michaels competed with four other coxswains for a spot on the Junior Nationals team, three of whom are headed to college this fall. Amanda Rutherford, who scored the position, also held it the year before. Michaels, however, had the second highest amount of rower votes for the coxing position, which ranked her first, nationally, for her recruiting class.“The training was very intense,” Michaels said. “Unlike at Exeter, when you still have classes and clubs to attend, it was two weeks of pure crew. We had morning practice that started at five am (usually, the times changed), we would get back, eat, sleep, go back out for a three-hour session, come back, eat and sleep.“I think, personally, the training will help me work with my new team in college next year and possibly into under-23 national teams if I get the opportunity,” Michaels added. “In terms of Exeter, the experience really pushed me to adapt and be flexible with my coxing (while staying true to my style and voice). Working alongside the coaches, the top coxswains and rowers in the country also gave me deeper insights into the rowing technique and calls. I think coming back to Exeter, along with Nikhil and Benj, we can bring back the experience and offer ideas and drills that we learned at camp.”Chuchra qualified for the US High Performance team, which competed at Club Nationals. According to the US Rowing Juniors website, “The top finish for the US HP team came from the Men’s 8+ of the HP team with a Silver medal finish in the JrA 8+. While the Junior Women’s HP team failed to advance to the A Final in the JrA 8+, they turned around posted a strong race in the Intermediate Women’s 8+ coming in 5th.”Cohen was selected for the Worlds Development team, which traveled to Banyoles, Spain to train in small boats and work for next year’s season. He won the seat-racing matrix, making him the third best starboard rower at the HP camp--one spot away from the Junior Nationals team this year.The US Junior Nationals team came away from the World Rowing Junior Championship with two medals -- a gold for Women’s 4- and a silver for Women’s 4x. The championship took place from August 7-11 in Trakai, Lithuania.The Junior Nationals training program, and others like it, can be instrumental for a serious high school athlete.“The rowers who have trained at the national level while in high school and returned for upper or senior year have a better sense of just how far they can push the limits of racing and how to pace themselves better on land and on the water,” Sally Morris, Exeter’s girls’ varsity crew coach, said.“[Recently] a current Division I rower told me a story about how her personal best erg time came from watching a rower with national experience as she prepared for erging. The cox’ns learn different drills and different calls that work across the board and are not particular to Exeter’s usual repertoire. They also realize how competitive they must be to be an excellent cox’n at the collegiate and national level, and they bring back a professionalism which they pass on to the younger cox’ns here.”Tyler Caldwell, the boys’ varsity coach, said that summer training programs allow athletes more time to learn and develop.“At Exeter, the rowers have to develop quickly within the ten weeks or so before NEIRAs and the spring always goes by so fast,” Caldwell said. “Learning how to row is not a process you want to rush, however, so rowing in the summer allows the athlete extra time and space to grow.”“I think it is a great opportunity for a student-athlete to participate in a summer program, whether this program is the junior national team or a club in the athlete’s hometown, because the student-athlete can encounter a different coaching style and meet a new group of rowers,” he added. “It’s great when our rowers participate in summer programs because they return to campus with new ideas for technical drills and new workouts.”