I started rowing when I went to Harvard
College. Rowed for four years competing as a Lightweight rower.
In my senior year I rowed in a boat that was undefeated, won the
Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges championship, and participated
in the Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames, England. We won
the gold medal.
Rowed for the Union Boat Club of Boston
in the spring and summer of 1960 and competed in the Olympic trials
on Lake Onondaga, Syracuse, NY. I earned a Masters degree in Psychology
at Wesleyan University and then went on active duty in the U. S.
Navy. Spent 5.5 years on active duty then went to the Amos Tuck
School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College where I
earned an MBA. Owens Corning hired me out of graduate school and
that’s what brought me to Toledo. When my younger son went to St. John’s, he decided to go
out for crew. I was an enthusiastic parent and spectator during
his freshman year. At the beginning of his sophomore year (1990)
the then coach resigned. The St. John’s program, only four
years old was without a coach. Someone asked if anyone knew anything
about rowing. In a moment of mental aberration, which I will never
regret, I raised my hand. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
When I started out I got immeasurable help from a rower by the
name of Shane O’Neill, the first recipient of the “Etes
Vous Pret” Award, given to that rower who, in the eyes of
the coaching staff, exemplifies the spirit of rowing.
Currently I am an Account Executive for BusinessVoice, an agency
specializing in point of entry marketing. My wife, Gail, affectionately
known as “The Warden” or Mrs. Gail by the rowers, is
the coordinator of the SJJ rowing program.
SJJ has been to the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston several
times, finishing one year only one tenth of a percentage point
out of an automatic acceptance to the next year’s regatta.
Another year SJJ was the third fastest American high school in
our race of fifty-one entries. Still another year SJJ was less
than a minute (out of an elapsed time of 15 minutes) out of first
place. In all cases SJJ was racing against a few other high schools
and mostly college freshmen.
Typically SJJ has close to fifty rowers in the fall and around
thirty-five in the spring losing some to lacrosse, some to senior
project, and some to love.
New rowers should contact the captain of the crew. The administration
of St. John’s Jesuit High School will know who that is. Of
course, prospective rowers may contact me at 419-536-7831 or rmcelroy@businessvoice.com. |
