Photo by Kathryn Phillips/The Choate News
Ian Merrick ’18 is a varsity rower, JV hockey captain, and committed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for crew. This past winter Merrick was the Boys’ JV Hockey captain, and he played a great role in achieving the team’s 11-6-1 record. He has played a number of different sports during his time at Choate, but seems to have found his calling in crew. He was kind enough to take some time out of his senior spring to sit down with Sports Editor Dan Brockett ’19 and talk about how he got into rowing, his other sports, and—don’t you worry—his favorite color.
Dan Brockett: How long have you been rowing?
Ian Merrick: I started off my junior fall as a first-year rower, and I was a part of the novice rowing group. I technically rowed for the first time at the MIT rowing camp during the summer before my junior year.
DB: How did you get into rowing in the first place?
IM: I was looking to switch up my spring sport because I had never found one that I really liked. My parents knew MIT was my dream school, and they found the MIT rowing camp. I would get to try out the sport, visit MIT, and get to see what rowing at MIT would be like.
DB: What other sports do you currently play at Choate?
IM: I just play JV hockey.
DB: Which sport of these is your favorite? Why?
IM: I’ve been playing hockey since I was three years old, and it has always been a huge part of my life. My dad played and my mom worked for a professional team. I think it’s always going to be a big part of my life. Crew is definitely growing on me, but I’m never going to give up playing hockey.
DB: What are some lessons that you have learned from rowing crew?
IM: I definitely think rowing is a sport where you don’t always have to be the most skillful and you don’t have to have the most finesse. It taught me that you can be successful by working hard and keeping at it. You just have to treat every practice as a way to get better. If you keep working hard then success will follow. Also, I think it taught me the power of having a strong group of teammates and being close to them. I do much better when I’m surrounded by my teammates than I do when I’m alone. They create a healthy, competitive atmosphere, and they push me to work harder, and it makes the sport so much more fun.
DB: What is the most difficult thing for you in the boat?
IM: For me personally, I can start a race off really strong, and my form is good, but towards the end of the race I get tired, and my form starts to slip. I need to stay mentally strong, so other parts of my stroke aren’t sacrificed. I don’t want to slow the boat down because I’m thinking about how much pain I’m in.
DB: What are your future goals for rowing?
IM: I would say to continue to get stronger and faster on the erg. I just need to work on my technique on the water as well because I feel like I can row harder on the erg than on the water.
DB: What’s your favorite thing about rowing?
IM: My favorite thing is when you get to spend a beautiful day out on the water. It’s so nice when the water is calm, and it’s not too hot and you’re racing against another boat. I love the feeling of knowing that you’re pulling ahead of another boat.
DB: What’s your least favorite thing about rowing?
IM: There’s nothing worse in rowing a 2k on the erg. It’s something that all rowers dread. In order to win races on the water you have to put in a lot of work on the erg off the water.
DB: What’s your favorite color? Why?
IM: My favorite color would have to be navy blue. It’s my favorite because I look good in it.
DB: If you could be any person, that has ever existed, for a day, who would you be?
IM: I’d probably want to be Brad Marchand just because he’s on the Boston Bruins. It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NHL. Also, Brad Marchand is a skilled player, but he can also lay the body when he needs to. I’d really like it if I got to be a two-way player.
