Junior Women’s National Team Coach Steve Hargis first noticed Elise Wilson at the 2005 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships. The then 16-year-old from Montara, Calif., impressed her future coaches with her strong erg score and physical stature, finishing second that year with a 6:58.

“We felt like there was a lot of potential there, even as a novice-level rower,” said Hargis.

As a 6’3” freshman, Wilson was set on playing basketball at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. That was until a teacher stopped her in the hall and asked her about crew.

“I decided to give it a try,” said Wilson. “In basketball, everyone has different moves and different plays. I liked the fact that in rowing everyone in the boat is working toward one goal with the same motion.”

Although Wilson was a standout forward who led her basketball team to the Central Coast Section Division III title, she felt like she needed to commit to one sport. “This last year, I had to choose and I picked rowing,” she said. “I always came into the rowing season late, and I didn’t think that was fair to either team.”

Upon accepting the invitation to try out for the junior national team in 2006, Wilson took the opportunity to come out a week early for extra training and coaching.

“When I went into selection camp, I was not very confident in my rowing abilities. I had probably only rowed a total of four months in my entire life, and I felt like I had everything going against me,” said Wilson. “I was a nervous wreck. I had the erg score but not the technique.”

Hargis said Wilson was convinced she was invited to selection camp because of her erg score, but at a turning point she began to develop more self-confidence and connect with the coaching staff.

“One day, my coach took me aside and gave me a very inspirational talk,” said Wilson. “I was able to gain a new perspective and ended up making the team by the end of camp. After that, I felt like I could do anything.”

Junior Women’s National Team Assistant Coach Veronika Platzer remembered this talk with Wilson well. “I could relate to her story and my words came from my own personal experience,” said Platzer. “I told her the ergometer is an idiot-proof, basic test that strongly suggests your potential at the elite level, but it doesn’t mean it’s a given. I tried to get her to make the connection that erg scores are not random. I shifted her expectations and cultivated her mindset that she had to do something with her God-given ability.”

Platzer described Wilson as a sort of “diamond in the rough” with a modest and shy presence among her teammates in the beginning.

“She came from a high school second varsity boat and had the most radically rough form,” said Platzer. “It was written all over her face that she thought she was there as a direct result of her erg score.”

According to Hargis, the remainder of Wilson’s selection camp experience was magical in transition. “She knew she wanted to be a force in that eight,” he said. “After seeing Elise race this year, she will be a tough one to beat. She has made that known.”

Wilson was given the opportunity to speak at this year’s ID Camp about her experiences on the junior national team. “My confidence has gone up a lot over the last year,” said Wilson. “My leadership skills have improved, and I like to encourage people and be positive.”

Wilson describes making junior national team as the most rewarding experience in her life so far. Her crew won a silver medal at the world championships in Amsterdam in 2006, tying the highest-ever finish in the girls’ eight at a junior world championships. She also won the junior division at the 2007 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Sprints with a time of 6:52.

Although Wilson is looking forward to her college transition, she has mixed emotions about leaving high school behind. “The best friends I have are on my team,” she said. “It feels like home to me, so there is a little bit of fear of the unknown.”

As the clock is ticking for the remainder of her senior season, Wilson has high hopes for her boat to build speed and be among the nation’s top schools competing at the USRowing Youth National Championships in June.

Wilson plans to continue her rowing career at UCLA this fall under Head Coach Amy Fuller Kearney, a three-time Olympian who owns eight Olympic and World Championship medals.
 
“Someone like Elise Wilson doesn’t come around very often,” said Platzer, who noted a connection between Wilson and her future collegiate rowing coach. “Amy Fuller was like an Elise Wilson. It’s like the grasshopper and the master. What a perfect understudy and preparation for a fantastic future.”

Wilson credits her high school basketball coach and her father as key role models in her life. “My dad is the hardest worker I know,” said Wilson. “It’s cool to have someone close to you with that kind of passion. I see the effects of how hard work positively affects people around you.”

In her free time, Wilson enjoys hanging out with friends in San Francisco. She also has a close relationship with her parents and younger brother, who have gotten more involved in rowing. “I think my parents were pretty blown away by the sport; it is so different from basketball,” said Wilson. “It is interesting to them, and they really like to watch me compete.”

Wilson anticipates her experience going into selection camp this year to be a “complete 180 from last year.”

“I have been looking forward to this summer since I got home from the junior world championships in Amsterdam last summer,” said Wilson. “This time, I know what I’m getting myself into and what to expect.”

When it comes to rowing, practice and hard work are a given according to Wilson. “My advice for other junior rowers is no matter where you start, your goals are attainable,” she said. “You can always work up from the last seat if you believe in yourself.”