Fairfield Prep Crew Team Qualifies For Junior National Championships

While Fairfield Prep's perennial state championship lacrosse squad receives most of the attention in the spring, the Jesuits' crew team quietly has become  a dominating force in its own right.  
        
Founded in 2005 by coaches John Turner and Cis Fischetti, the unit qualified for the national championship in just its second season and has been there every season since. 

The Jesuits'  lightweight varsity four- plus won a bronze medal at the New England Regionals on May 16 to qualify for this year's junior national championships June 11-13 in Ohio.

Turner and Fischetti were coaches of women's crew at Sacred Heart University, when they were approached by two sophomores about starting a  team at Fairfield Prep.

 Once they received approval from the athletic director, the team was off and rowing.  According to Turner, by the third season the team had over 100 members.  

The crew team has two different seasons throughout the year.  The fall season runs from September to mid November.  The spring season runs from mid March to mid June, which is the end of the school year.  
        
"In fall, the races can be several miles, with junior, collegiate and masters crews all attending, and rowing one after another down the course for time in various categories," Turner said.  
        
"In the spring (the championship season), we sprint in lanes, from a stop, generally 2,000 meters, which takes anywhere from six to eight minutes, depending on the boat and crew."

Training consists of a tough workout routine.  In the fall,  team memers work out for five days a week for 2 1/2 hours, in addition to competitions every weekend. 

There is no break in the winter, when the  works out five days a week on campus or in the gym.  The spring training regimen remains the same. 

Turner, who claims he will be rowing for the rest of his life, does not plan to stop coaching the crew team at Prep any time soon.

 "The best part about coaching Prep is helping boys become men," Turner said.  "The parents [also] became a well-oiled support group."

Although their current status is only club team, Turner says they have varsity status in their sights for the future.