We are taking our next Sparks Camper Meet Up to Head of the Hooch on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Head of the Charles proved to be its’ own adventure for our staff and past campers. The already competitive atmosphere, combined with...

High school rowers are phased with a number of challenges throughout the fall and spring season. From the pressure to perform on erg assessments to club challenges of fundraising for equipment, these challenges all have one thing in common. They...

Over the course of the past several months, the Sparks research team has examined the complex relationship between international recruiting and college rowing performance. In our October 26 article, titled The Significance of International...

Last summer University of San Diego women’s rowing hired two national team athletes, head coach, Sarah Trowbridge, and assistant, Stesha Carle. Having trained with both these women I have a deep admiration of their intense determination, and...

Through several months spent exploring the role of numerous factors in college rowing performance, the most telling and significant variable examined by the Sparks team continues to be international recruiting, especially among IRA heavyweight...

A look at international athletes and retention in the world of collegiate rowing

Coxing advisory standards are meant to support coxswains and their parents in managing their expectations as they pursue the recruiting process. Coxswains are recruited on a number of factors. It is possible for a coxswain of lesser...

A Word on Causation and Correlation Correlation need not imply causation. Chances are, you’ve heard this expression before, especially if you’ve ever taken an introductory statistics class. This cliché, unlike many...

Steve Gladstone reads a newpaper at the Henley Royal Regatta. Photo Credit: Betsy Carothers On October 23rd, Sparks Consulting published the first in a series of articles examining the link between various factors and college rowing team...

It is no secret that top collegiate rowing teams like to recruit internationally. By broadening the pool of recruited athletes, teams can theoretically achieve greater roster depth, more effective internal competition, and ultimately more...

College sports are big business. According to Navigate, a firm that measures market investment in sports and entertainment, the NCAA’s top 25 athletic programs are projected to grow by 116% over the next ten years. In contrast,...

Q. What percentage of graduating high school players actually earn Division I scholarships? A. Certainly this varies according to sport, but for many young athletes and their families, the dream of playing college sports is very different...