The 2K erg score opens a recruit's file. What top programs publish and what coaches say shows how selection actually works once the threshold is cleared.

What happens beyond erg scores are where recruiting outcomes are actually decided, and it runs on qualities most families never think to develop

Strength training produces a real but modest improvement in rowing performance, it is safe for adolescents when supervised properly, and it earns its place in a training week without ever displacing the aerobic work that actually drives boat speed.

International athletes fill many seats at top US college rowing programs. What coaches say drives it, and what their development models mean for US families.