Local Moms Help Rowers Navigate Path to College
By TENLEY WOODMANIf you're a high school athlete who racks up scores in basketball, hockey and football, chances are good you're in the sights of college recruiters. But what about the kids who row?
Boston-based businesswomen Gail Silberstein, a practicing real estate lawyer, and Maura Glandorf, a retired CPA, saw a niche market and started Rower's Edge consulting.
Silberstein and Glandorf, mothers of Division I coxswains and rowers, discovered the need for a rowing-specific recruitment plan by listening to parents new to the sport.
"It was sort of a natural. All the parents had questions," said Glandorf, a West Roxbury resident. Glandorf and Silberstein lecture on Rowing 101 for families new to Community Rowing Inc. in Brighton.
"The parents' questions are: 'How do I get my kid into college?' 'Will this get my kid into the college?' 'How do we do this?'" Glandorf said.
The Rower's Edge launched in spring. Many of rowing's powerhouses are also members of the academic elite: Harvard, Yale, University of Virginia and Princeton. But Title IX funding has made rowing a sport on the rise across American campuses, including Michigan State University, University of Iowa and West Coast schools.
Both Glandorf and Silberstein said they see part of their role as helping keep parents' and students' goals in check.
"We want people to go in eyes-wide-open," Silberstein said.
"What do we offer that parents can't do? This is unfamiliar territory, as applying to colleges is unfamiliar territory. People become stuck and not sure on how to take a step, or if they are taking the wrong steps," Silberstein said.
Their fees range from $2,000 to $3,000, and include guidance on contacting coaches, presenting an athletic resume and filing deadline-sensitive materials.
The process can start as early as sophomore year or as late as the first semester of senior year.
"One of the things we focus on, depending on when we start working with the kid, is: How do you get noticed by the coaches?" Silberstein said. "How do you contact coaches? How do you present yourself? One of the things we've learned over the years is college coaches get multiple (correspondence from students). You have to be careful in contacting. If you constantly contact them with meaningless information, they will ignore you."
BOSTON HERALD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008