Loyola Academy Rowing Association

Spring 2012 Registration forms, waivers and payment options are now posted. Please be sure to complete the Parent and Rower Information Form located on the Spring 2012 Registration page and print and return the other necessary forms and waivers.

Forms can be returned and any questions answered at our Parent Meetings on February 7.

Please join us for LARA's Spring Open House at the Dammrich Rowing Center on Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 9:30 AM.

This is a great opportunity to see the Loyola Boat House and facilities, meet the coaches and learn more about the Loyola Academy Rowing Association.

LARA Crew teams row out of the Dammrich Rowing Center in Skokie. The center is located on the idyllic waters of the North Shore Channel, a 10 mile sheltered waterway connected to Wilmette Harbor and Lake Michigan on the North and to the Chicago River at Goose Island on the South.

The Dammrich Rowing Center houses LARA’s coaching offices, its’ fleet of 4 and 8 person shells, support boats and equipment. The center provides a modern erg room, weight room, exercise equipment and two state-of-the-art indoor sweep water tanks for off the water training.

Other Chicago-area crew teams utilize the facility including Northwestern University, North Park University and New Trier High School.

Dammrich Rowing Center :: 3220 Oakton St. :: Skokie, Illinois 60076 :: On Google Maps

There is a mandatory Parent Meeting on Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30 PM at Loyola Academy in the Theater on the 2nd Floor. Varsity students need not attend.

· Sign up and Payment for the Spring Season will be collected at this time

· Measurement for uniforms for team members

· An information session will be presented to explain practices, regattas and other key upcoming Spring events

There is a mandatory Parent Meeting on Tuesday, February 7 at 6:15 PM at Loyola Academy in the Theater on the 2nd Floor.

· Sign up and Payment for the Spring Season will be collected at this time

· Measurement for uniforms for team members

· An information session will be presented to explain practices, regattas and other key upcoming Spring events

-------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the Spring 2012 Loyola Academy rowing season!

We are excited to have another great turnout this season and we are pleased to offer a full schedule of training and nationally competitive regattas. With over 100 rowers and coxswains, the growth and success of the Loyola Academy Rowing Team is evident.

As the Director of Rowing, my goals for this program are three fold, that:

1. Each student athlete understands the importance of service to the community and each other.

We accomplish this through our in house service program, "Rowers for Others". This summer for a second year, we partnered with St. Joseph's Services, a charitable organization serving the Humboldt Park and Austin communities, to provide a Learn to Row day for children in these impoverished areas. Our rowers paired with over 50 children in St. Joseph's summer camp, giving them the experience of learning the skill of rowing and socializing with them at a BBQ – it was a great day.

Our rowers also collected donations to help fund the community programs so generously provided by St. Joseph's. In the past we have raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Fund and volunteered at a Franciscan Soup Kitchen. Sharing the Jesuit mission of service to others is an important part of our program.

2. Each rower understands that academics are a top priority along with service.

We boast one of the best team GPA's within the Loyola Community. I will not hesitate to sit an athlete if I feel that their grades are not where they need to be. We work very closely with Loyola Academy administration to make sure that our rowers are academically eligible to participate.

3. We row competitively.

Although this is a club sport due to the expenses associated with the team, this is not a hobby. This is a competitive sport and our athletes will be trained at a level few high school students reach. The goal for me and this coaching staff is to train our student athletes to compete for Midwest and National Championships. Loyola Academy Rowing is on the verge of becoming a perennial national powerhouse and I am going to see that it gets there.

Loyola Academy Rowing Association, LARA, is the product of cooperation among volunteers. The generosity and effort of our parents (and the indispensable Mr. Tim Kane, our Faculty Moderator) make this experience possible. From parents who have the inclination and ability to volunteer their time, we receive support that allows the entire crew to travel, race in matching uniforms, be fed at the Regattas, and raise money for the tools and equipment that is so important to building nationally competitive crews. Without the logistical and financial support of the parents and the Board, LARA could not function.

We are thrilled to introduce one of the finest Scholastic coaching staffs in the country. The staff boasts an impressive resume of Collegiate and Scholastic National Championships, as well as degrees from America's top universities and colleges. Each of the coaches is well qualified to communicate the different aspects of rowing – from land training, to the water, through complex racing strategies. The coaches will instill the physiology, techniques, tradition, and the work ethic that has sustained rowing for centuries.

Highly motivated and successful people are synonymous with rowing worldwide. Our goal is to produce a spiritually-based, scholastically superior athlete who can compete at the highest level both academically and athletically. While coaches receive a small stipend to cover their costs, we appreciate that our crew parents receive nothing more than a thank you. It takes hundreds of hours of work to coach, supervise, and organize our crew experience. The people who fill these demanding roles do it because they want to contribute to an activity that benefits young people in so many ways. My staff and I can attest to how all the hard work pays off and ask you to consider where you might be able to help.

I am looking forward to another great season, building on our great tradition of success in the community and classroom – as well as on the water.

This year we once again look forward to the challenge of winning a Scholastic National Championship. The 2011 spring season ended with our Men's Second Varsity Eight winning the Midwest Championship and finishing a close second at the National Championships. The Men's 3V took 1st at the Midwest Championship. The Women's Junior Varsity 8 won the Midwest Championship and went on to a sixth place finish in the country at the Scholastic National Championship.

With continued interest, investment and support from the Loyola Academy community and so much regional growth, LARA is poised to become a national institution that provides an unparalleled testing ground for young people. I hope to get the opportunity to meet everyone and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

WELCOME and WELCOME BACK!

Sincerely,

Matthew P. Baldino '93

Director of Rowing
Head Varsity Women's Coach
Loyola Academy
-------------------------------------------------------