Jack McDonough '16 Recruiting Profile

I began with rowing in 6th grade and developed a passion for it almost immediately. Speed, quickness and my size have allowed me to excel at rowing. I've always had a very competitive side to me, which is why crew is such an exciting sport. Being neck and neck with another boat in an intense race is what inspires me to get better and become the best I can be. The indescribable feeling of winning a race after so much hard work is like no other, which is why I have come back season after season. I also love being apart of a boat with other athletes that have the same passion as I do. This is one of the best parts of my experience as a rower. Last year, I was chosen captain of my Jr. Varsity club team. I really enjoyed this experience as I have always seen myself as a leader and like to take charge and set the tone for my boat and team. In this role I learned a lot about what needs to be done to become both a better rower and a better leader. Connecting with my teammates, motivating my boat and its rowers, and hard work on and off the water are all aspects of rowing that I have been focusing on during my years at Greenwich Crew. This spring I moved up to the Varsity team where I am improving my erg times after the off-season. After my years of rowing during the spring and playing football in the fall, I have decided to focus my efforts exclusively on crew going forward. I think its time for me to focus on the sport I truly love and put all of my focus on rowing. My interests in courses at Greenwich High School have always been focused toward the engineering and technology fields. Courses like video production, transportation technology and electronic music have all been my favorite classes at school. They have been challenging and require hard work, but have always been very fulfilling. I have been taking more honors courses and have been improving my grades at a very good rate since freshman year. I have a very good mindset and worth ethic for both crew and my academics that has allowed me excel in both fields. I know there is more improvement to come as I move forward and I plan on achieving great things in the final years of my high school and Greenwich Crew career.