Thinking about Sailing in College? Check Out These 10 Tips Straight from College Coaches.

Created on Wednesday, 08 August 2012 16:05

By Maggie Lumkes

 

Photo courtesy of Franny Kupersmith

With an abundance of schools and sailing programs to choose from, many junior sailors don’t know what to expect at the college level, or how to find the right school for them. Below are ten tips from some of the most successful coaches in the field that will hopefully help guide young sailors through the search.

1. Sail anything and everything! Learn from other sailors as much as possible.  Always be open to learning: there is something that everyone can teach you, you just need to be open to it.  Don't pass up a sailing opportunity because it's not a 420.

-John Vandemoer, Stanford University

2. Prepare to be a team player! The most valued members of a team are those who are versatile and are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. As depth in college sailing grows at the national level, it is also growing at the team level. In order to rise to the top of your team, your dedication to it and its success, no matter what your own personal role is, must be genuine.

-Nick Ewenson, University of Rhode Island

3. Go check out schools in person and find a college that is right for you! Don't take anyone's word for what a college is "like" or how "good" a school it is. Do your own research. A lot of schools have competitive sailing teams; you need to choose the school that is right for you.

-Bill Ward, St. Mary’s College of Maryland

4. Fitness has become a huge factor, not only in college sailing, but across the whole sport.  Be in the best shape possible - hit the gym; have a routine.   Being fit leads to being able to make better decisions, having more options, and racing faster.  To get in shape, seek help from others, take a CrossFit class, contact Annapolis Sailing Fitness and other coaches and trainers so you're using the right technique and following a plan.

-John Vandemoer, Stanford University

5. Prepare to balance many aspects of life! Get organized because sailing in college at the top level may be one of the most time-consuming things you can do. Between practices, workouts, team meetings, and weekend competition (including the travel time), your time gets gobbled up quickly. In order to thrive on campus and on the racecourse, the best student-athletes are highly organized, willing to sacrifice, and can balance all of what college throws at them. Don't worry, it’s really fun, and completely worth it.

-Nick Ewenson, University of Rhode Island

6.  Sail at the highest level available to you. Even if you go to a tough national event and finish in the middle of the pack, you will be a better sailor long-term and college coaches will be more interested in that result than beating up everyone in your local fleet. Sailing in high school is not mandatory, but is preferable. Coaches know, however, that not everyone has access to it.

-Bill Ward, St. Mary’s College of Maryland & Amanda Callahan, Roger Williams University

7. Try to do some team racing. If you have any sailors or coaches from your club or area who have raced in college, ask them for help with some team racing basics. You can also ask them for some help with college style boat handling in the summer before you get to college. That will make the first couple of weeks a little easier.

-Amanda Callahan, Roger Williams University

8. Contact coaches – but don't feel bad if you email them over the summer and they don't get back to you right away. They might be out of the office doing some sailing of their own!

-Amanda Callahan, Roger Williams University

9. In opening conversations with coaches, be specific and ask the tough questions to narrow your search. The response you will receive to "Tell me about your sailing program," will likely be generic, and will only include what the coach really wants you to hear. On the surface, many programs operate very similarly so you need to be prepared in order to discover how life is different from team to team. What is important to you?

-Nick Ewenson, University of Rhode Island

10. Don't be shy; show off your love of the sport! As a coach I'm always looking for sailors who just love the sport.  They want to be on the water whenever possible and they want to compete and get better.  Show it off! Don't do a regatta because it will look good for college coaches; sail a regatta because you need to, because you need to be on the water battling for your goals.

-John Vandemoer, Stanford University

If you are starting your search, be sure to visit www.collegesailing.org.  Once you have a list of schools that interest you, check out their specific athletics page for more information on that particular school’s program.

Thank you to all of the coaches that contributed to this article.  To look at their team websites click on the links below,

Stanford University

Roger Williams University

University of Rhode Island

St. Mary’s College of Maryland