Youth Program Overview

General
We serve between 10 and 20 youth aged 12-18 (8th grade – 12th grade) with one head coach and volunteer assistant coaches.  We practice 4-5 times per week, mostly at 5:30pm, at one of three locations discussed below. Our year is divided into four seasons, with the spring and the fall being the busiest competitively. We participate in competitions approximately 6- 8 times per year. Beginners (novices) are typically brought on in the beginning of one of the 4 seasons.
Our program is geared for youth of all ages and abilities, and everyone learns both types of rowing: sweep and sculling. A swim test is required, and 45-90 minutes of vigorous exercise is part of every session.  There is always a coach in a nearby safety launch when youth are on the water. During the winter session, youth switch to training indoors on ergs and with weight training. Occasionally, a land practice is conducted by the youth captains.

Head Coach
Rachel Hillman joined DMR as Head Coach for the youth program in 2025. Hillman is a 2020 graduate of Truman State University with a major in exercise science and minors in biology and psychology. She is also very adept in weightlifting instruction.

Assistant Coaches

Frank Levy and McKinzie Crowley continue to volunteer their time as assistant coaches for the DMR Youth program. Levy, who rowed on the lightweight men’s team at Yale, is passionate about teaching the lifelong sport of rowing to youth and adults alike. Crowley rowed with the DMR Youth team before attending the University of Iowa, where she was a coxswain on the Iowa women’s crew team. Since returning to Des Moines, Crowley has worked with the EoS Fitness marketing team.

Coaching Philosophy
The top priorities of this program are safety, fun, exposure to all aspects of the sport of rowing and skill development. Some participants go on to row in college, but it is not the expectation. We do our best to accommodate various schedules and maintain flexibility around other youth activities, as nearly all of the youth are very busy outside of rowing. As a growing competitive team, it is also our objective to reward dedication, hard work, and attendance. Who gets to row in which boat for practices and races is a balance of these factors along with other constraints including boat availability, skill levels, regatta event schedules, fairness, and competitive aspirations.  Coaches will do their best to place each youth in at least two events at each regatta unless there are unique circumstances which would be discussed with the youth prior to the regatta. 

Signing Up
Sign up for Youth Learn to Row events is through Event Brite.

When joining the Youth team, the registration platform for Des Moines Rowing is iCrew. All youth members and their parents/guardians must create iCrew accounts for payment and organization. If you have already signed up on iCrew, please use your account to login, go to the Club Home tab and scroll down to the Registration Profiles to register. Registration profiles are updated at the end of March each year, so please be sure you are registering for the correct year. Questions? Contact [email protected] for assistance.

Communication
We use three main channels of communication. Most importantly is GroupMe. After registering, please download the app and you will be invited into the chats (there is one for youth only, and a second for youth, parents/guardians, and coaches.) The second channel is email, using the addresses registered in iCrew. The third channel is within a shared Google sign-up calendar (you will receive this link once you’ve registered), which is how athletes let coaches & captains know the practices and regattas they will attend.

Locations

  • Des Moines River boathouse – our primary facility is located beside the Birdland Marina. When the weather and rowing conditions are favorable, this is where we will mostly be rowing.
  • Easter Lake boathouse – a new boathouse opened in May 2024 at the Easter Lake North Shore Project. Winter training takes place at the Easter Lake boathouse. There will also be some practices on the water here. This will be communicated through the Google spreadsheet calendar and/or via GroupMe.

Seasons and Fees

  • Sessions: Spring session runs from April 1 – June 15. Summer session begins on June 16 – August 31. Fall session is September 1 – the weekend of the Frost Bite regatta in Wichita (typically the first Sunday in November). Winter session runs from December 1 through the end of March. 
  • Fees: For 2025, each session costs $400 (except Novices pay $310 for their first session). Payments are made through iCrew and due by the beginning of each session (April 1, June 16, September 1 & December 1).
  • Regattas and Traveling: in addition to the fees listed above, participants are expected to attend regattas with associated travel costs and entry fees.
  • Scholarships: families for whom these costs present a hardship may apply to the Board for scholarships.

Key Upcoming Dates in 2024

  • April 12 & 13 – Saturday (travel) and Sunday (competition and travel): Illinois Junior Rowing Championship
  • April 14 & 15 – Youth Learn to Row – spring session 1, Monday AND Tuesday evening, 5pm – 7pam. Sign-up here.
  • May 10 – Youth Learn to Row – spring session 2, Saturday, 8am-11am. Sign-up here. 
  • June 7 – Des Moines Sprints, Easter Lake, 8am – 3pm
  • June 21 (TBA) – Minneapolis Sprints – Friday (travel) and Saturday (competition and travel)
  • July 11 – 13 – 45th Annual Chicago Sprints
  • September 27 – Head of the Des Moines Regatta, Des Moines River (Botanical Center to Prospect Park)
  • October 4? (TBA) – Head of the Mississippi regatta in Minneapolis, MN
  • October 5 or 12? (TBA) – Head of the Rock regatta in Rockford, IL
  • October 18? (TBA) – Iowa Chase regatta in Iowa City, IA
  • November 2 (TBA) – Wichita Frost Bite Regatta in Wichita, KS

Contacts

DMR Youth Rowing Videos

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