If you’re a parent of a high school rower, this article is for you.

Most parents I talk to genuinely want to help. But in rowing, how you help can either support your athlete’s growth or quietly add pressure that increases stress and actually slows them down.

This is especially true when it comes to:

• Making the team’s top boat
• Improving erg scores
• Getting recruited to row in college

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to support your rower without overstepping or micromanaging, and in a way that helps them get faster, more confident, and more resilient.

About Me

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Kristin Hedstrom, an eight-time U.S. National Team rower and Olympian for Team USA, now an online erg coach and recruiting advisor for junior rowers.

Since 2013, I’ve worked with high school rowers and their families across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. I make these videos and write these articles so parents and athletes have clear, trustworthy guidance in a sport that’s often confusing, and so athletes can reach their full potential.

I rowed at Community Rowing Inc. in Boston, one of the most competitive junior programs in the country, before being recruited to Georgetown University. I later transferred to the University of Wisconsin, where I won two national championships, and went on to represent Team USA at the U23 level, Senior National Team, World Championships, World Cups, and the Olympic Games.

What My Parents Did Right

 

My parents had no background in rowing before I joined the sport, yet they were deeply supportive throughout the ups and downs of my 15-year career.

They showed up. They helped with logistics. They made sure I was fueled. They stood on riverbanks in sun, rain, sleet, and snow. When I needed help, they stepped in.

But they also gave me space to take responsibility for my training and trusted me to make decisions about my career.

That balance - support without control - is where athletes truly thrive.

So let’s talk about what that looks like in practice.

1. Support Your Rower, Don’t Pressure Them

Support and pressure often sound similar, but they feel very different from an athlete’s perspective.

For most parents, being supportive starts with learning the sport. Rowing has its own language and culture, and the physical feeling of rowing is difficult to explain if you’ve never done it.

Learning the basics, such as:

• Sweeping vs. sculling
• Fours vs. quads
• What a “piece,” “split,” and “rate” are
• What “weigh enough” means

…goes a long way in helping your rower feel understood.

Understanding how workouts are structured allows you to ask better questions like:

• “How did that workout feel?”
• “What were you working on today?”
• “What are you learning right now?”

Pressure, on the other hand, looks like:

• Constantly asking about erg scores and splits
• Tracking workouts when your athlete isn’t
• Comparing them to teammates
• Turning every conversation into feedback

Rowers already put enormous pressure on themselves. Your role is to provide emotional safety, not urgency.

When athletes feel supported instead of judged, they train better and race better.

2. Be Involved, But Don’t Micromanage

Parents should absolutely be involved in their child’s rowing career. But the goal of involvement is independence, not control.

Healthy involvement includes:

• Helping with logistics and scheduling
• Driving to practice
• Supporting recovery, sleep, and consistency
• Showing up at races

Giving space means:

• Letting your athlete email college coaches themselves
• Letting them talk directly with their coach about goals
• Allowing them to manage training logs and erg results
• Letting them solve small problems on their own
• Understanding that regattas are their job - you’re there to support

This independence matters in recruiting. College coaches want athletes who take ownership of their development.

Advocating for yourself is a learned skill. Your job is to help your athlete build it, not do it for them.

When I was in high school, my parents stayed firmly in their lane. They handled logistics and fueling and support, but my training and progress were my responsibility. That balance taught me ownership, resilience, and self-belief - skills that helped me far beyond rowing.

3. If Your Athlete Isn’t Getting Faster, Seek Outside Support

This is where many parents hesitate.

If your athlete is working hard but not improving, that does not mean:

• They aren’t tough enough
• They don’t want it badly enough
• They’re failing

More often, it means they haven’t been taught:

• How to set realistic goals
• How to pace an erg test
• How to approach seat racing
• How to break through mental blocks
• How to adjust training during school stress or growth spurts

Most clubs simply don’t have the bandwidth to teach these skills to every athlete, and that’s no one’s fault.

Just like students get tutors or SAT prep, getting outside support for rowing and erging can completely change an athlete’s trajectory. I’ve seen it hundreds of times.

It’s not a weakness. It’s a strategic decision that often reduces stress for both parents and athletes.

4. Nutrition Is a Parent Superpower

You don’t need to be a nutrition expert, but parents usually control access to food.

That makes fueling one of the highest-impact ways you can support your rower.

One practical approach:

• Sit down once a week and plan breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and pre-/post-practice snacks
• Decide which days you’ll eat out and which meals you’ll cook
• Make the grocery list and shop before the week starts

Meals don’t need to be fancy. Simple, repeatable options like overnight oats or a basic smoothie work perfectly.

Rowers train a lot. Under-fueling leads to stalled erg scores, mood swings, burnout, and increased injury risk.

If you focus on one thing as a parent, make it consistent fueling.

5. Believe in Your Child

When I started rowing, I wasn’t a standout athlete. I found the sport late and wasn’t breaking records.

My parents were competitive people, but in rowing they kept their expectations low and their belief high. They took a “shoot for the moon and see where you land” approach, which allowed me to grow without fear.

They understood there would be ups and downs. Losses were learning days. They stayed calm, open-minded, and supportive.

Belief is powerful.

Calm, confident parents create calm, confident athletes, and those are the athletes who perform best under pressure.

Final Thoughts for Rowing Parents

If you’re thinking, “I want to support my athlete the right way, but I’m not always sure how,” you’re not alone.

Ultimately, fast high school rowers are built through:

• Support without pressure
• Independence and ownership
• Long term development
• A strong mindset

This is exactly what I help families navigate - training plans, erg pacing, race strategy, mindset, and development without unnecessary stress.

If this article helped you, consider subscribing to my channel and sharing it with another rowing parent who could benefit from it.