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LINCROFT – Last month, Christian Brothers Academy’s Crew Team graduated the most successful senior class of rowers in the team’s 10-year history, both competitively and academically.
Leading the group were the team’s three co-captains, Jack Smallwood, Kevin Hayes and Mike Guadagno, who will each attend Ivy League schools in the fall.
The team captains demonstrated consistent academic, athletic, and leadership achievement that has become the earmark of the team’s reputation, resulting in success in the classroom as well as on the water.
Hayes and Smallwood have been accepted at the University of Pennsylvania, while Guadagno will be rowing for Dartmouth. CBA previously sent rowers to the Ivy League schools, including Cornell University, Harvard University and Dartmouth College, but this is the first time head coach Scott Belford has sent multiple oarsmen to these prestigious schools in the same year.
“Over the years, CBA’s rowing program has developed a reputation for excellence on and off the water,” Belford said. “The students who try out for the crew team want to be part of a championship team. They quickly discover that they are challenged academically as well as athletically. The culture of Christian Brothers Academy expects excellence from its students, spiritually, academically and athletically. Our student-athletes have never failed to impress me in their commitment to strive to exceed our expectations. Our athletes regard the responsibilities of the ‘Academy Man’ seriously, and represent Christian Brothers Academy well in their conduct on and off the water.”
Rowing is considered to be one of the most challenging sports when it comes to overall commitment by the athlete. CBA is no exception. The team routinely practices six days a week and students choose to include extra, optional morning workouts as well as training on their own. With the addition of new indoor rowing tanks this year, an opportunity unique for high school rowers in New Jersey, athletes can improve their technique year-round.
“Before I found rowing, I was a serious wrestler,” Hayes said. “I immediately came to realize that rowing presented the same athletic intensity and challenge as wrestling, but also offered an additional challenge that comes from being a part of a team whose performance is directly impacted by my contribution. The brotherhood that you make with your teammates is one of the most rewarding parts that come out of rowing. There are, of course, the championship races. But the overall experience of working with my brothers to achieve the goals we set for ourselves is what I’ll remember most.”
Following the team’s most successful year, which included multiple state and regional championships, two Stotesbury Cup medals, a gold and silver, and a National title, it is not surprising to find that the co-captains, as well as many of the other senior rowers, found multiple colleges courting them.
Despite the huge commitment to the sport, the captains felt that the sacrifices they made over the course of their high school tenure were well offset by the skills and experiences they gained and the collegiate opportunities it offered.
“It is definitely a year-round commitment. It’s every day of the week,” Guadagno said. “You have to give up a lot of little things in life if you really want to go far in this sport … You need to have a work ethic that, for me, I didn’t start out with. But it definitely grows on you throughout the years. You look up to the kids that are already going through it and you see how they manage it and you have to learn from that.”
For young men and women interested in pursuing a rowing career, each of the co-captains agree that starting rowing early will improve your chances of competing at a high level and being noticed by college programs.
“Look for local clubs in the area and see if they have outreach days or learn to row programs,” Smallwood said. “Find a friend or someone who knows rowing and ask questions and learn how to get involved …Training outside of the season is very important.”
