Ithaca’s Decatur to row at DI UMass-Amherst

Elle Decatur became the latest Ithaca High School student-athlete to join a Division I program after signing her National Letter of Intent to row for UMass-Amherst earlier this month. Photo provided by Elle Decatur.

Another week, another Ithaca High School student-athlete who will join a Division I program next year. But what makes this commitment unique is that it’s for a sport not sponsored by the district: rowing.

Elle Decatur signed her National Letter of Intent to row at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst earlier this month. Decatur looked at a wide range of colleges, including as far west as UCLA. What made UMass stand out was the dedication that head coach Eric Carcich showed when recruiting not only Decatur, but also her future teammates.

“Usually, the people I’ve talked to have been the assistant coaches, but the head coach was super in touch with all of his recruits, which I thought was a really good sign,” Decatur said. “He takes recruiting very seriously, so he gets to know the recruits. He makes the interactions very personable. He’s just a really great guy, so that was the immediate green flag.”

Decatur continued.

“When I went to the boathouse and I met the team, they all were really kind people,” she said. “I just really saw myself there the second that I stepped foot on campus and saw the girls and everything. So, it really just boiled down to the coaching staff and how much they look out for their athletes and how much they care. It was obvious that they really, really care about their athletes, which is something that I didn’t see as blatantly in other schools.”

Decatur is more of a late bloomer when it comes to rowing. She originally played lacrosse, but after seeing her older brother, Cid, row for the Cornell University lightweights team, Decatur made the switch to rowing in eighth grade. While Cid was not able to convince her to row for the Big Red, he has certainly had a major impact on her life.

“Going to his races and just watching him build himself up as a person and interact with the community at Cascadilla Boat Club really drew me right in,” Decatur said. “I made the switch … when I saw what it meant to my brother, and it turns out it meant the same thing to me, and I really fell in love with the sport. He has been a really great mentor. He never really pressured me to row in college. He definitely let it be my own sport, which I really appreciate, and his guidance was something that I really valued.”

Since Ithaca High does not offer rowing, Decatur has spent her high school career with Cascadilla Boat Club. After one year on the novice team, she was moved up to varsity in ninth grade, where she has raced in multiple boats. Decatur started off racing in eight-person boats as the stroke seat, which is the rower seated closest to the front of the boat. But since the pandemic, she has raced either by herself or with another rower. Decatur will have to adjust back to the eight boat at UMass.

“I think I’m definitely going to have to work on my technique,” Decatur said. “It’s called sweep rowing when you have one oar and sculling when you have two oars. I’ve been doing a lot of sculling, so I’m gonna have to make that transition back to sweep rowing after so many years. I’m going to really have to focus on my technique when I’m with those other girls who have been sweeping throughout their high school careers.”

While rowing is a physically taxing sport, the mental side is equally as important. Decatur shared what she does to psychologically prepare ahead of races.

“I usually just walk myself through my race plan,” Decatur said. “Let’s say I have a race on Saturday. That whole week leading to Saturday, I’ll just constantly walk myself through the race plan, so it’s something that I’m familiar with. By the time I’m there, it’s something that I’m comfortable with and something that I felt like I’ve done a million times before. It’s a lot of just getting my brain ready to perform as best as my physical shape because I found that if I’m not ready mentally, I can be in the best shape of my life, but I won’t perform as well.”

While going six hours away for college will bring its many challenges, Decatur’s time with Cascadilla Boat Club has set her up for success to excel with the Minutewomen.

“Something that we had in high school, which not many teams do, was morning practice,” Decatur said. “I’m used to getting up at 5 a.m. and working out before school and practicing twice a day. I think the transition from that to college will be pretty smooth for me, which I’m thankful for.”

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