Transition from swimming to rowing

Question
I'm a 6 foot tall, about 162 pound junior (16) in hs in Los Angeles, and I've been swimming competitively on and off for about 4 years. I'm what youd consider a middle distance freestyler, and i do a 200yd freestyle in about 1:53 which is decent and pretty close to the 15-16 junior Olympic cut. Recently, while tapered(for a swim meet) I hopped On a c2 and with no rowing experience at all (besides a nice guy at the gym showing how to properly erg) pulled a 2k in about 7:26. I have about a 3.8gpa and between now and the end of summer I want either to go back to my swim club and try to get times quick enough for a d2 college team there, or join a rowing club and try to do the same. Is my 2k time promising in your opinion to start taking the sport seriously? Is the swimming to rowing transition common? Do you have any ideas of rowing sets I can do in the meantime to improve my speed?
Thanks
Ryan

Answer
Hi Ryan: My 14-year old daughter has returned to swimming competitively in High School after a long layoff and is specializing in 200 and 400 Free.  So I know your 1:53 is a great time.

Your 7:26 is just a few seconds off the average time for 15-17 year old lightweight men.  But considering you never rowed before, I'd say that's a very promising start.

Rowing and swimming are quite similar in that they are both very demanding endurance sports.  I think rowing will demand a little more weight and strength training than swimming.  But the general assumption is that good swimmers become good rowers.  In face many of my college rowing teammates were lifeguards.

To improve your erg time, you need to a mixture of long distance erg workouts (e.g., a 4K or 6K at a 26-30 stroke per minute rate) and sprint training (e.g., 6-8 500 meter pieces at racing tempo with a few minutes rest in between).  You also need to do running and weights.

You have a tough decision on whether to commit to swimming or rowing.  I know the time and practice demands of each sport, so you will have to make a choice of one or the other.  The one thing to consider is that learning how to row on the water is much harder than rowing on an ergometer and it may take you an entire season to be able to race competitively.  Whatever you choose, I'm sure you will do well.

Good Luck/AP