This week I sat down with John "Jack" Heise '14 and John "Big John" Strizich '14 to discuss the heavyweight crew team's upcoming spring season.
When did you originally start rowing crew?
JS: I first got into crew freshman year of high school when I realized I had no coordination or agility to speak of. Any sport with a ball wasn't going to work, so crew seemed like the logical alternative.
JH: I started my freshman year of high school at Deerfield Academy. You have to do a sport every season there, and I didn't have a spring sport. I played football in the fall, wrestled in the winter, but didn't know what I wanted to do in the spring. I had no interest in lacrosse and thought crew seemed interesting. I ended up liking it and stuck with it. I rowed with my current teammate Hunter Dray '12 at Deerfield and two guys on the lightweight team, Chase Weidner '14 and Nash Larmoyeux '15.
With the river frozen, how do you train in the winter?
JH: Since it's generally pretty cold in the winter and the river is frozen, all of our training is inside. We do a lot of time on the erg and focus more on lifting and generally increasing our strength. Ideally, we would be on the water, but that's just not an option. Because this winter has been so mild, we're actually going to get back on the water this week as long as the frozen river keeps melting. That will end up being really beneficial for us because erging and rowing in the indoor tank are very different than being on water. Getting an early start back on the Connecticut should prepare us well for a good spring season.
JS: Winter training for crew is rough. We do our hardest work in the winter.
How does the spring season differ from the fall?
JH: The fall and spring seasons are fairly different. The fall races are much longer and are mostly six [kilometers], while the spring races are two [kilometers]. The training for the spring season is much more sprint-based, so we do shorter, more intense pieces. I like the spring season a lot better than the fall, but having the different types of races gives us some variety. I think the shorter spring races are more exciting and generally they are bigger than the races in the fall.
Big John, you're a pretty tall guy. How much of an advantage does being tall give you in crew?
JS: Being tall gives you some advantage in crew. If you are taller, you have a longer stroke, which means your blade is in the water longer, and you have more of an opportunity to move the boat. I think my biggest advantage, however, is not my height but my excellent physical fitness.
I hear you are also quite the dancer as evidenced by your recent rise to fame as a YouTube star [in a promotional video for the Staccato step group]. What do you have to say to your fans?
JS: Dancing has given me the opportunity to express myself in a way I never thought possible. I just want to thank everyone, especially the brothers of Chi Heorot fraternity for supporting me in this endeavor.
Rowing seems like a sport that can get very repetitive. How do you keep it interesting?
JH: Rowing can definitely get repetitive, but the guys on the team really keep it interesting. I enjoy going to practice and being around them, and I think working hard with people that are your good friends motivates us to work hard and perform well.
What's something that people would be surprised to learn about you?
JH: I lived in Montevideo, Uruguay for a month after my junior year of high school.
JS: I was a Boy Scout and became an Eagle Scout.
One final question, do you like websites?
JH: Yes. As a team, we spend a lot of time on the ethostreams.
