DOES THIS GUY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
TACKLING ROWING'S OPEN TRYOUTS
UW Athletic Communications staffer Ross LaDue takes a shot at making the Badgers' men's rowing team by going through the open tryout process the squad uses to find walk-ons.
I assume he was half joking, but the walk-on tryouts were still a month away and I like to con- sider myself somewhat of an athletic person, so I responded with, "Sure, why not?" Wisconsin rowing prides itself on the quality and quantity of its walk-on student-athletes, so I knew I was going to be a perfect addition. While I wasn't a student and I doubt I have any NCAA eligibility, the coaches and I devised a plan for me to attend the walk-on tryouts with the rest of the student-athlete hopefuls. First order of business was an informational meeting for interested walk-ons, which was hosted by Simon. The meeting was pretty stan- dard, staff introductions, paper work, etc. Simon talked about how Wisconsin has had former walk-ons become captains and leaders, even some who have gone on to reach the Olympics, all of whom had never rowed before attending UW.
Naturally after hearing that, I already start-
ed mentally preparing to join the U.S. rowing squad in London for the upcoming Olympics. It was the obvious progression of events: Get a job at Wisconsin, be discovered as a diamond-in- the-rough rower and be in London within a year participating in the Olympic Games. Rowing couldn't be that hard, right? After the informational meeting, we were sent
on our way, but not without first signing up for a practice time. As there were so many people in- terested in trying out, they couldn't fit everyone in the building during just one or two different practice sessions, so we had to sign up for an al- lotted practice time.
With all the paperwork in order, the next or- der of business was to pass a swimming test. "A swimming test," I thought quizzically. "We're going to be in a boat. I have no desire to actually be in the water."
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