For many high school rowers, the biggest obstacle standing between them and their collegiate dreams isn’t physical—it’s mental.
At Rower Academy, we constantly encourage our athletes to operate out of a space of opportunity and potential rather than a space of fear. That fear usually boils down to one thing: a fear of failure. In the life of a high school rower, this anxiety manifests most intensely in two specific arenas: the 2,000-meter erg test and the college recruiting process.
When you let fear into the boat, you lose your rhythm. This article explores how to flip the script on self-doubt, stop the cycle of over-analysis, and finally deem yourself worthy of the success you have worked so hard to achieve.
The Trap of “Paralysis Through Analysis”
We see it happen time and time again. An athlete with incredible potential freezes up. They have a bad 2k, or a series of bad 2ks, they stall out, plateau, or even regress. They get into their head, question everything, point to every possible thing as a “reason” for the failures, and start making sweeping generalizations like, “I will never be good at the 2k.”
We call this “paralysis through analysis.”
It starts when you overthink every stroke, every split, and every communication. You start questioning your worth. You wonder if you are good enough for a certain university or if a coach is truly interested in you. This mental spiral leads to negative self-talk, and inevitably, your performance begins to decline.
When you are paralyzed by the fear of “what if,” you stop trusting your training. You convince yourself that you aren’t worthy of a college coaches’ attention, even when the data says otherwise. This mindset is a heavy anchor to drag down the racecourse. To move fast, you have to cut it loose.
Flipping the Script: “What If You Do?”
How do we break this paralysis? We change the question.
Most athletes operate from a defensive crouch, asking themselves, “What if I fail? What if I don’t PR? What if the coach says no?”
We challenge you to flip that question on its head. Ask yourself: “What if I do?”
- What if you do crush your 2k?
- What if that coach does say yes?
- What if you are exactly the athlete they are looking for?
When you shift your perspective from fear to opportunity, the pressure transforms into excitement. A 2k test is no longer a judgment day; it becomes an opportunity to display your fitness. A call with a coach isn’t an interrogation; it’s a chance to express who you are as a young adult.
Deeming Yourself Worthy
One of the most surprising disconnects we see in young athletes is the gap between their actual ability/potential and what they believe they deserve.
You might hold a solid 2k score and have an inbox full of emails from interested coaches, yet you still feel like an imposter. You are waiting for the other shoe to drop. You worry that the success will be cut off at any moment because, deep down, you haven’t accepted that you earned it.
You need to recognize the disconnect. That Personal Record (PR) didn’t happen by accident. It happened because you showed up to practice every day. Those coaches aren’t emailing you by mistake. They are contacting you because your hard work caught their eye.
It is about deeming ourselves worthy of the things we want. It is okay to feel that you deserve success when you have put in the work to achieve it.
The 2k Test: A Celebration of Hard Work
Fear often turns the 2k test into a monster. But if you reframe your mindset, the erg becomes a tool for validation.
Think of a PR not as a hurdle you have to jump, but as a representative result of all the training you have already done. The test is simply the moment you get to cash in the check you have been writing all season with your sweat and discipline.
When you view a test as an opportunity to express your fitness rather than a potential failure, you remove the emotional weight. You free yourself to row to your fullest potential, not because you are scared of being slow, but because you are excited to see how fast you can go.
Consistency Amidst the Chaos
As the recruiting process intensifies, it is easy to feel like you need to change everything. You might think you need a new magical training plan or a completely different personality to impress coaches.
The truth is much simpler: Nothing has really changed.
Getting recruited comes down to doing exactly what you have been doing to get to this point. You are just looking to refine the process.
- Keep training to get faster.
- Keep communicating clearly.
- Keep showing up.
The fact that you are having conversations with coaches means you have already proven your potential. You don’t need to become a different person; you just need to be a consistent one.
Conclusion: Pursue Your Potential
The recruiting journey is long, and the 2k tests are painful. But they are also incredible opportunities.
Don’t let the fear of failure rob you of the joy of the pursuit. Recognize the work you have done. Accept that you are worthy of the results that follow. When you stop analyzing every potential negative outcome and start operating out of a space of opportunity, you unlock your true speed.
You have earned the right to be here. Now, go take the next stroke.