Family, Trust and Process
A New Year Reflection from Rob Roy Juniors
As the year draws to a close, we sat down with Jo Burch, Director of Junior Rowing at Rob Roy, to reflect on what defines the junior programme, how progression is judged, and what the coming year holds.
What emerges is a picture shaped not just by results, but by values: family, trust, and a long-term commitment to doing things properly.
They say it takes a village to raise a child – and that’s what the Rob Roy Junior Squad is.
A family, not just a squad
Rob Roy’s junior programme is built around a supportive, caring environment, led by a team of dedicated (and largely volunteer) coaches who are passionate about rowing and about the role sport can play in young people’s lives. Juniors are encouraged to develop resilience, teamwork and perspective — learning how to cope with both success and disappointment.
That ethos extends well beyond the athletes themselves. Over time, juniors come to treat one another like siblings, while parents form an essential part of the wider support network that keeps the programme thriving.
At the heart of this environment is trust: between coaches and athletes, between athletes themselves and in the system as a whole.
The programme is deliberately not driven by short-term outcomes, but by a belief that the right approach will produce the right results — and, just as importantly, help young people stay in the sport for the long term.
We’re not outcomes-driven, we’re process-driven.
What “progressing well” looks like
Progression at Rob Roy isn’t about rushing athletes forward. For juniors moving from the Cambridge squads into the Performance Squad, it starts with consistency and self-discipline.
Turning up. Working hard. Behaving like an athlete day after day — even when no one is watching.
Jo describes this as the layering of training: gradual, cumulative improvements in technique, fitness, strength, resilience, and race-day professionalism. Alongside this comes trust — in each other and in the system — creating juniors ready to meet the demands of the Performance Squad.
When that readiness is clear, opportunities are offered.
They always meet the challenge and surpass their own expectations.
Opening doors through outreach
A defining strength of the junior programme is its commitment to widening access to rowing.
Roughly half of the current junior squad has come through the club’s school outreach programme — a figure that has remained consistent since the initiative began. The impact of that work is tangible: the club has fielded women’s crews at Henley and Women’s Henley made up entirely of juniors who first joined through outreach.
It’s a reminder that when opportunity is created, talent follows.
Scholarships, pathways and future opportunities
This year also saw two Rob Roy juniors secure US rowing scholarships, a milestone the club is immensely proud of.
The ambition now is to build on this success by strengthening relationships with universities that have already recruited Rob Roy athletes and by using alumni experience to better support current juniors considering similar pathways.
There is also a recognition that more can be done to capture and share alumni experiences, helping future juniors understand what lies beyond club and school rowing.
Measuring success beyond medals
There have been plenty of results to celebrate this year, including British Championship gold medals for the WJ15 quad, WJ18 double and WJ18 PR3 single, alongside strong performances across all squads.
But for Jo, success is just as often found in quieter moments.
That might mean a small improvement on a 2km erg test, lifting a little more weight, resolving a technical issue on the water, racing a single scull for the first time or seeing confidence grow in someone who once struggled to speak up.
One of the clearest signs of a healthy programme is seeing former juniors return as coaches — ready to pass on what they were given.
It’s all about watching individuals conquer their own Everests.
Winter miles and the year ahead
Winter training plays a crucial role in building confidence and resilience. The long months of steady work prepare juniors not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, for the demands of the racing season ahead.
Looking forward, there is excitement in seeing how new crews develop and how instincts around selection and recruitment play out over time.
Above all, the coaching team hopes for everything the juniors hope for themselves — and more. Whether that’s a major medal or the tiniest hard-won improvement, each step forward matters.
The tiniest improvement a junior has worked incredibly hard to achieve can be just as exciting as a major medal success.
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