Sports
Row Homes: Malvern, EA, Springside Have An Oar Up On The Competition
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| Malvern Prep is one of three local schools that has an indoor rowing tank on its campus. The tank gives the Friars an edge, as they can practice all year round, in all kinds of weather. It also provides the younger rowers on the team with a transition from dry land to the roaring Schuylkill River. (Rob Reed/The Bulletin) |
By Brendan F. Quinn, The Bulletin
Malvern — From the outside, the Melton Rowing Center at Malvern Prep looks quite ordinary. Boring, even. The cream-colored stucco, red brick base and dull, gray roof offer a muted exterior to the roar of 16 oars working inside as one.
Peeking through the large windows on the Northwest side of the building, it’s quite a sight to behold.
Woosh.
Woosh.
Woosh.
Two mirrored tanks filled with 3,000 gallons of water are outfitted with a mock boat. While most area crew teams are confined to training either on rowing ergs or in the Schuylkill River, Malvern Prep enjoys the benefits of its magnificent rowing tank.
There is a reason why the Friars have been invited to the Henley Regatta on four separate occasions since 2003. The program began in 1988 and basically operated as a glorified junior varsity program. Then in 1999, construction began on the Melton Center. In 2001, it opened its doors. Malvern has never looked back.
Despite being smaller in numbers than many programs, the Friars have become a nationally regarded sculling power.
The rowing tank is the unsung hero.
“It helps the boys to advance, very much so technically,” said coach Craig Hoffman, who’s steered the program since 1998. “Crew is a sport in the United States where 95 percent of the kids don’t start until after the eighth grade. So we’re able to accelerate their development.”
In your average crew program, a novice rower begins working on an erg. Then, in one fell swoop, he or she lands in a boat. There is no transition. They have to learn proper technique from a coach screaming in a bullhorn from a motorboat cruising alongside the shell.
Rowing tanks offer a segue from erg to water. A freshman that would normally be bug-eyed and nerve-ridden, is suddenly focused and unruffled.
“You can do everything before going and dropping them in the water,” explained Episcopal head coach Molly Konopka, who is enjoying the benefits of a sparkling new tank that came along with EA’s newly built campus in Newtown Square. “When we got the novices in a boat for the first time, they knew exactly what we were talking about. That’s big.”
For a program that has performed admirably in recent years, the rowing tank at Episcopal is a major asset. Just like at Malvern and Springside — the third and final local school with an on-campus tank — EA is able to train at the highest level when the winter chill puts other teams on the shelf, or deck, in this case.
“The kids really enjoy using the tank,” Konopka said. “There isn’t the stress on the body that you have in an erg and it’s really like being in a boat. It’s the closest thing to rowing on the water without actually being on the water.”
At Malvern, sophomore Pat Donohue is in his second year on the crew team. When he looks back on his introduction to the sport, the rowing tank stands out as a major factor in his speedy development.
“For our novices, it’s definitely a good thing that they get a head start before it gets warm enough for us to go outside,” Donohue said. “During the winter, for the varsity guys, it’s definitely a refresher.”
Senior Mike Donohue, Pat’s older brother, believes that while the tank at Malvern is a major resource, it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
“Honestly, it still comes down to the coaching you get in the tanks,” said the elder Donohue, a member of the Friars’ varsity quad. “Anyone can have tanks, but it’s more about the coaches drilling you and working on technique all the time. The coaches are able to make sure we’re in the best technical shape possible before we get in the water.”
According to Hoffman, at the high school level, rowing tanks are most prominent among the prep schools that dot New England. Major collegiate programs such a Princeton, Brown and Yale have tanks with full-on moving water to simulate the actual rowing experience even more.
Hoffman first saw a rowing tank when visiting Connecticut College years before he ever arrived at Malvern. It left a lasting impression, to say the least.
“In my wildest dreams, did I ever think that we would have a facility like this? No,” he said, peering over the Malvern tank that checked in at over $100,000.
Konopka can’t help but laugh when she sees puzzled onlookers passing by the new tank at Episcopal.
“People walk by and stop because they’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
And therein lies the easily overlooked benefit of these rowing tanks. Crew is a sport that dwells outside the gates of most high schools. Having a presence on campus is nearly impossible. It’s not like the river is going to come to the programs. The programs have to pack their bags (and boats) and go to the river.
“It would be pretty easy for a student to go to Episcopal and never actually know what crew looks like,” noted Konopka. “Now we can draw kids in.”
Hoffman couldn’t agree more. For years, Malvern crew resided in trailers in Upper Merion — out of sight, out of mind. But the Melton Center changed that drastically.
Though the building might not stand out, what occurs inside is certainly worth checking in on.
“It gives us a home and you can’t underestimate the importance of that,” Hoffman said. “Rowing, since it’s an off-campus sport, most of the programs will row out of a boathouse with a deep history, but it’s not theirs. You’re a guest in someone else’s boathouse. This gives us a home.”
Woosh.
Brendan F. Quinn can be reached at bquinn@thebulletin.us
Peeking through the large windows on the Northwest side of the building, it’s quite a sight to behold.
Woosh.
Woosh.
Woosh.
Two mirrored tanks filled with 3,000 gallons of water are outfitted with a mock boat. While most area crew teams are confined to training either on rowing ergs or in the Schuylkill River, Malvern Prep enjoys the benefits of its magnificent rowing tank.
There is a reason why the Friars have been invited to the Henley Regatta on four separate occasions since 2003. The program began in 1988 and basically operated as a glorified junior varsity program. Then in 1999, construction began on the Melton Center. In 2001, it opened its doors. Malvern has never looked back.
Despite being smaller in numbers than many programs, the Friars have become a nationally regarded sculling power.
The rowing tank is the unsung hero.
“It helps the boys to advance, very much so technically,” said coach Craig Hoffman, who’s steered the program since 1998. “Crew is a sport in the United States where 95 percent of the kids don’t start until after the eighth grade. So we’re able to accelerate their development.”
In your average crew program, a novice rower begins working on an erg. Then, in one fell swoop, he or she lands in a boat. There is no transition. They have to learn proper technique from a coach screaming in a bullhorn from a motorboat cruising alongside the shell.
Rowing tanks offer a segue from erg to water. A freshman that would normally be bug-eyed and nerve-ridden, is suddenly focused and unruffled.
“You can do everything before going and dropping them in the water,” explained Episcopal head coach Molly Konopka, who is enjoying the benefits of a sparkling new tank that came along with EA’s newly built campus in Newtown Square. “When we got the novices in a boat for the first time, they knew exactly what we were talking about. That’s big.”
For a program that has performed admirably in recent years, the rowing tank at Episcopal is a major asset. Just like at Malvern and Springside — the third and final local school with an on-campus tank — EA is able to train at the highest level when the winter chill puts other teams on the shelf, or deck, in this case.
“The kids really enjoy using the tank,” Konopka said. “There isn’t the stress on the body that you have in an erg and it’s really like being in a boat. It’s the closest thing to rowing on the water without actually being on the water.”
At Malvern, sophomore Pat Donohue is in his second year on the crew team. When he looks back on his introduction to the sport, the rowing tank stands out as a major factor in his speedy development.
“For our novices, it’s definitely a good thing that they get a head start before it gets warm enough for us to go outside,” Donohue said. “During the winter, for the varsity guys, it’s definitely a refresher.”
Senior Mike Donohue, Pat’s older brother, believes that while the tank at Malvern is a major resource, it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
“Honestly, it still comes down to the coaching you get in the tanks,” said the elder Donohue, a member of the Friars’ varsity quad. “Anyone can have tanks, but it’s more about the coaches drilling you and working on technique all the time. The coaches are able to make sure we’re in the best technical shape possible before we get in the water.”
According to Hoffman, at the high school level, rowing tanks are most prominent among the prep schools that dot New England. Major collegiate programs such a Princeton, Brown and Yale have tanks with full-on moving water to simulate the actual rowing experience even more.
Hoffman first saw a rowing tank when visiting Connecticut College years before he ever arrived at Malvern. It left a lasting impression, to say the least.
“In my wildest dreams, did I ever think that we would have a facility like this? No,” he said, peering over the Malvern tank that checked in at over $100,000.
Konopka can’t help but laugh when she sees puzzled onlookers passing by the new tank at Episcopal.
“People walk by and stop because they’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
And therein lies the easily overlooked benefit of these rowing tanks. Crew is a sport that dwells outside the gates of most high schools. Having a presence on campus is nearly impossible. It’s not like the river is going to come to the programs. The programs have to pack their bags (and boats) and go to the river.
“It would be pretty easy for a student to go to Episcopal and never actually know what crew looks like,” noted Konopka. “Now we can draw kids in.”
Hoffman couldn’t agree more. For years, Malvern crew resided in trailers in Upper Merion — out of sight, out of mind. But the Melton Center changed that drastically.
Though the building might not stand out, what occurs inside is certainly worth checking in on.
“It gives us a home and you can’t underestimate the importance of that,” Hoffman said. “Rowing, since it’s an off-campus sport, most of the programs will row out of a boathouse with a deep history, but it’s not theirs. You’re a guest in someone else’s boathouse. This gives us a home.”
Woosh.
Brendan F. Quinn can be reached at bquinn@thebulletin.us
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