Motivated Big Green Work Hard in the Winter

Heavyweight Rowing New Zealand Winter Training

4/7/2023 10:56:00 AM | Men's Heavyweight Rowing, Peak Performance

Dartmouth heavyweight rowers trained in California, Texas and New Zealand

By: Justin Lafleur

Over the winter, numerous members of the Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing team spent their off-terms training at a high level.

Juniors at Dartmouth may take winter term off as part of the D-Plan that includes a "sophomore summer" in which they take classes on campus. Click here to learn more.

The D-Plan opens the door to endless possibilities.

Let's delve into what the Big Green were up to this winter, catching up with one student-athlete from each location.

As legendary college basketball coach John Wooden said, "The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching."

California Rowing Club – Oakland, Calif.
Juniors Billy Bender and Jacob Hudgins spent their winters at the California Rowing Club under coach Mike Teti. CRC is a National Team Training Center focusing on the development of small boat skills.

Teti, who coached the US Olympic Men's Eight in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2020, coached the Olympic Champion and world record setting 2004 Men's Eight, in which current Dartmouth head coach Wyatt Allen was a member.

Allen reached out to Teti about Bender and Hudgins, which helped lead to the opportunity.

"We went out and trained with those guys," said Bender. "It's mostly senior U.S. team athletes, but they like to have a couple development guys as well."

Bender and Hudgins were at the club from January to March, then competed at Winter Speed Order in Sarasota, Florida.

Heavyweight Rowing in California Hudgins Bender Edmundson Bub Teti — Hudgins and Bender with Caleb Edmundson '21, Oliver Bub '20 and Coach Mike Teti

"Speed Order is how they start selection for the World Cup and World Championships," said Bender. "It's in pairs and singles. Jacob and I were both in pairs, but we weren't together. It's an open invitation, so anybody can show up, and then the top three finishers in the pairs and singles get automatic invitations to the first selection camp."

Racing went extremely well for Bender.

"I was in the pair with Oliver Bub, who was a Dartmouth '20," said Bender. "He was an alternate at worlds last year. We complemented each other and it went really well."

How well?

They earned bronze and an invitation to the selection camp.

"But I actually can't go because it's in April and I'd miss school," said Bender.

The entire winter was transformative for Bender, reaffirming his ability to compete against the best of the best.

He now has realistic Olympic aspirations.

"It changes the equation a little bit looking at world championships this year and potentially the Olympics next year, knowing I can compete with these guys," said Bender. "If they kicked the crap out of me every single day, I'd know I wasn't at that level yet. Now that I know I'm at least competitive, there's a clear path forward."

That path didn't come without a lot of hard work.

"We had doubles every day, except Wednesday afternoons off and Saturdays entirely off," he said. "In the morning, we would do somewhere between 18 and 22 KM in the pair or single."

Bender also put in significant time on the erg.
Billy Bender Winter Training Heavyweight Rowing

Billy Bender Winter Training Heavyweight Rowing

"The cool thing about the California Rowing Club is it's very flexible," said Bender. "At Dartmouth, we go out in eights, and we need to have everyone practice, all 45 guys together… just the nature of the sport because we're on big boats.

"At CRC, you're rowing pairs and people have jobs," he continued. "The morning was all together, but in the afternoon, you could go down early or late. Depending on how you're feeling, you could do the workout at a different time. There was more trust and flexibility because everyone is elite."

Bender now knows he can count himself in the elite category.

"I had been following all these national team guys on Instagram and I watched the race in Tokyo," he said. "It was like meeting your heroes.

"But they're just people. They have good days and bad days, like anybody else."

Bender's experience in California should pay dividends in the near term (Dartmouth) and long term (post-graduation).

"Dartmouth will probably be easier now, at least feel easier, compared to what we were doing, because we did so much volume and were in small boats," said Bender. "Doing 20K in a pair and 20K in an eight are very different things.

"Mike [Teti] coached Wyatt, has so much respect for Wyatt and they work together really well," Bender continued. "We're doing all the right things at Dartmouth. It's always interesting to see other people's approaches to training and practice. I have a lot of confidence in the guys here. They crushed it on the erg this winter and this spring is going to be really fun.

"Wyatt believes in karma. If you train the right way, hopefully the racing results back it up."

So far, so good for the Big Green, who already swept their first race of the spring (beating Holy Cross and MIT last weekend).

West End Rowing Club – Auckland, New Zealand
This winter, juniors Felix Rawlinson, Colin Glew and Teddy Danziger headed to Auckland, New Zealand and the West End Rowing Club, one of the top clubs in the country.

The club's coach is former Dartmouth lightweight rower Nick Dawe '10.

"[Nick] reached out to us and said we should get out there," said Rawlinson. "We all scrambled to find jobs in Auckland while on our off-terms. Teddy and Colin were working at two different companies, and I was doing cancer research at the University of Auckland. In the mornings and evenings, we would go to the club and train with the team."

Rawlinson, Glew and Danzinger arrived early enough to race in the New Zealand Club National Championships.

"The three of us raced in a four and we won, which is really cool," said Rawlinson. "We also went into the eight, raced with some New Zealand guys and won that as well."

While in New Zealand, Rawlinson found the need for internal motivation.
Heavyweight Rowing New Zealand Winter Training

"They definitely don't train quite as often," he said. "We had to do a lot of sessions in the mornings by ourselves, an hour or more on the erg by ourselves. It taught us to self-motivate and really work hard when no one's watching."

Just like the Wooden quote described.

Rawlinson also grew an appreciation for what the Big Green have at Dartmouth, in both facilities, boats and rowing machines.

"The club was very small," he said. "When we came back to Dartmouth, we were all grateful for five eights across.

"It has definitely given us at Dartmouth a bit of a competitive edge."

The Big Green have an advantage in terms of world-class facilities, and also the opportunity to row on the water during the winter for those in their off-terms.

"A lot of schools are erging for the whole winter season where we've actually been on the water racing in fours, racing in eights, racing in pairs… and multiple times per day," said Rawlinson.

Now that he's back at Dartmouth, Rawlinson couldn't be more appreciative of Dartmouth, and also the experience in New Zealand.

"The facilities at Dartmouth are the best in the world, along with the depth of the team and number of guys we have," he said. "A big issue in the eight in New Zealand was we didn't have enough good people to bring it together. Here, it's five eights with really committed, really fit teammates."

The commitment of the Big Green is unmatched. The fact that so many took their off-terms to row is a perfect example.
Heavyweight Rowing New Zealand Winter Training

"It says a lot about the standard and team culture," said Rawlinson. "Wyatt always stresses that culture trumps talent and it probably doesn't resonate any truer than in an off-term. We could have just worked at home where we wouldn't have gotten that much training benefit, but we actively sought out places where we could improve and learn new skills that will make us faster.

"There's a culture here to be competing for medals," Rawlinson continued. "We owe it to our predecessors and we owe it to ourselves to give it our all."

Rawlinson's growth from his time in New Zealand will help those around him at Dartmouth. Personally, it's also already impacting his future.

"The research was very transformative," he said. "It has made me consider a PhD. I'll be going into medicine and research much more than I thought before.

"Overall, it was a really fun visit," Rawlinson continued. "It was a great way to spend our off-terms and come back very fit and ready for the spring."

Texas Rowing Center – Austin, Texas
Fifth-years Cooper Harrison and Christian Franck headed to Texas this winter, specifically the Texas Rowing Center.

TRC is another national team training center focused mostly on sculling.

"In college rowing, we're sweeping with one oar," said Harrison. "In sculling, you're using two oars. We rowed in single sculls, so just one person in each boat, and training with this group of athletes who are aspiring to make the Olympics.

"They were training about six hours a day… super intense and really good rowers, so it was an opportunity for us to get to train with them," Harrison continued. "Rowing the single is not something we really get to do in college."

Harrison and Franck did some weight training and rowing on the rowing machine, but were on the water the majority of the time.

"The lake goes right through the city of Austin," said Harrison. "It's awesome because there's no motorized boat traffic, so it's a great place to row. It's beautiful and the temperature was awesome.

"It's pretty hard to beat."

While enjoying the setting, Harrison was also improving in very tangible ways.

"Racing against the other people who are part of the high-performance group, Christian and I definitely made improvements catching up to them," he said. "I think we closed that gap a little bit and definitely have seen improvements on the water.
Heavyweight Rowing Texas Winter Training

Heavyweight Rowing Texas Winter Training

"We also did some erg testing; we did a 2K test and I got a personal best," Harrison continued. "I also saw improvements fitness wise, which is great."

Getting time on the water, regardless of location, is valuable.

"At Dartmouth, we get a lot less water time than some other teams," said Harrison. "But the D-Plan is one of the advantages that we have, that we're able to take the winter term off and row somewhere. The pure water time is always advantageous."

This winter, Harrison was able to focus solely on rowing.

"This was the first time I really didn't do anything besides rowing," he said. "I wasn't working this term, just because this is my last season and I wanted to see how much improvement I could make over three months."

Working hard when no one's watching has become a staple for not only Harrison, but also the Big Green.

Remember what Wooden said?

"The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching."

"During COVID, we were all spread out," said Harrison. "The attitude of everyone was to keep working hard so we're ready when things are back to normal. The group worked very hard during that period, and we saw a lot of success when everything came back to normal (finishing fifth at nationals last year) because we stayed motivated."

Speaking of motivation, something became apparent to Harrison this winter.

"You come to appreciate how big of an impact being with the bigger team can have in terms of motivation, with everyone working towards the same goal," he said. "It's hard to replicate 40 to 50 of us in the boathouse on a winter day erging together.

"But we have a good culture of checking in with our teammates and talking with friends, making sure that we're pushing each other, even if off campus, and staying fit," Harrison continued.

"And we know everyone at Dartmouth was pushing hard during the winter."

Now it's time for the hard work to pay off during the spring season, which began last weekend.

But the best is yet to come.