The Washingtonians: Molitor Dives Into Rowing Career
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When Madison Molitor arrived at Washington, he knew rowing races were called regattas. He knew the boats were called shells. And he knew how to train on an erg, courtesy of his father, Mitch, who rowed for the Huskies in the late-1980s.
Outside of that, though, the freshman didn’t know much about the sport when he joined the program as a walk-on.
“I’d never rowed before,” he said with a smile, standing outside Washington’s old boathouse along the Montlake Cut.
A swimmer, hockey player and cross-country runner growing up in Moses Lake, Molitor was a strong athlete, but didn’t spend much time thinking about competing in crew.
Then he attended a practice.
“I was the same build as most of the guys, and it looked fun,” he said.
While it was daunting to join the five-time national champions, Molitor made the commitment.
“I’ve pushed myself harder than I ever have before, but I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “It puts the pressure on for sure. It’s been so much fun to be surrounded by such good athletes and by people who really know what they’re doing. It definitely pushes me more. It pushes the whole team more.”
So, how is he doing in his first year with the Huskies’ storied program?
“Madison is the kind of walk-on we want,” Washington coach Michael Callahan said. “He knows how to grind, knows how to work. He brought an instant passion to our team and this massive desire to get better.
“There’s no complaining, no slowing down. He is willing to try and fail in order to improve. You can see his experience as a hockey player and swimmer show through every day – both are physically demanding sports and he embraces that physicality.”
Since Molitor, “wasn’t familiar with the technique or any of the fine aspects of (rowing),” one of his biggest challenges has been perfecting his technique in the water, finding a way to remain in sync with his teammates.
Each day provides an opportunity for Molitor to improve, a chance to learn something new as he works his way up the program.
“I think I’ve grown a lot in the few months we’ve been practicing,” he said. “Overall, I think I’ve been doing pretty well.”
