Luke Walton is a US Olympian, alumnus of the Cambridge Boat Race and founder of Rower Academy who specialises in helping athletes get recruited to US Universities for rowing. https://roweracademy.com/

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Timestamps

02:00 Luke got started in rowing by flipping an open water single in San Diego RC.

05:50 Rower Academy helps young people navigate the US college recruiting process successfully. To improve your 2k; the mental game and strategy.

07:30 The Rowing community taught me a lot. How we became men and women - life lessons in rowing.

09:30 How I quit swimming - my parents asked how it made me feel when I had the conversation with my coach

13:00 The 3 rowing numbers that matter in getting recruited. GPA, SAT / ACT and Erg score for 2k as low as possible. This gives you opportunities to have conversations with coaches.

16:30 The 3 Rowing Numbers video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d-i6PxjMFA

18:00 The next academic year is a crisis and an opportunity. Priorities for rowers during Covid19. Find motivation within yourself to move forward.

20:00 Hangups athletes face. At the start of the Sophomore or Junior year you should get started. It’s a long process. The concept of recruiting is new and attention and timeline needs awareness. The pressure cooker creates hang-ups.

22:50 Excuses for athletes. Always focus on external factors. If they complain about fairness consider lack of preparation. The journey is unique. It’s yours. But you aren’t the first athlete to go through recruitment. Loosen your grip and focus on process over outcome.

25:00 The one thing they can ask is did I do my best on that day?

27:30 How did I go to the Olympics? Because I decided to.

29:30 Teaching the mindset of opportunity. What can you control, today? Opportunity comes out of movement and doing. You can over-think rowing. This One Stroke,

33:20 Rowing is the greatest sport. Rowers are better people. How to make life skills. Ego check in rowing. We come from a position of we AND us.

37:00 Rowing is great for experiencing adversity before you meet the real world.

38:40 Rowing is a safe space to develop skills

49:00 Steve Gladstone’s coaching method - he has 3 pillars Crushing power; Impeccable technique and Great Morale.