Elliot Davis (Class II) was not the prototypical crew kid, seemingly consumed by every facet of the sport since birth. No, Davis did not choose rowing on his own; it was chosen for him. “My advisor at Fessenden was the crew coach, and he basically told me I would do crew that year,” Davis said. He instead wanted to spend his time playing lacrosse that spring, but eventually gave in and joined the team. “I didn’t love it at first, but after the next few weeks, I loved it, and from then on, I was convinced to stick with it,” Davis said. From his days at Fessenden to the present day at Nobles, Davis has grown into one of the best young rowers in the country.
His training plan this year would make most of the Nobles community’s jaws drop. “I trained a lot. I think it was something like 25 to 26 hours per week, so I had to try and get as much sleep as possible to recover. I try to consistently go to bed by 9 or 9:30 p.m.,” Davis said. The benefits of such a demanding training schedule include a sub-6-minute 2K, a mark for rowers as daunting as breaking four minutes in the mile. This makes Davis one of the most sought-after recruits in the class of 2027. “It was really cool, but almost felt anticlimactic because then the next goal appears and you’re suddenly reaching for that,” Davis said.
Davis is motivated to improve personally and collectively as a team on Nobles Boys Crew (NBC). “I think the personal improvement aspirations come in the form of college recruiting, but as a team, we always strive to win [New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA)] or the Bassett Cup,” Davis said. The Bassett Cup is the fierce rivalry race between Belmont Hill and Nobles. While the competition has historically been dominated by Belmont Hill, Davis says the team is well-positioned to reclaim the cup. Even when he is not competing, he is invested in spending time with the group. “I love NBC’s culture; even when we are not doing an intense session, we do activities like dodgeball. Spending time with those people is such a huge part of my spring and my year as a whole,” Davis said.
Davis spent his offseason competing at the national level. Last year, Nobles sent a boat to Sarasota, Florida, to compete at the USRowing Youth National Championships. “It was a really fun trip because school was out and we got to train down there. We raced three times: one time trial, semifinal, and were heartbroken to lose by 2 seconds in the championship final,” Davis said. College rowing is the next step in Davis’s career, but his future beyond the NCAA level is undecided. “I have definitely thought about pursuing rowing after college. I would just need to weigh my options and see if it is something worth pursuing, given how large a time commitment it is,” Davis said. Davis has made the national team this summer and will attempt to compete in the World Rowing U19 Championships in Bulgaria.
Nobles has offered Davis numerous opportunities and services that have helped fuel his already remarkable rowing career. “There is definitely a ton of support from the team, and the coaches as well, whether it’s building training plans, as well as assistance from the Strength & Conditioning coaches,” Davis said. He has worked closely with Director of Strength & Conditioning Kevin O’Neill to develop tailored lifting programs that maximize the strength areas necessary to excel in such an intense sport. Contrary to what one might think, rowing has not detracted from Davis’s studies. “Rowing definitely takes away from certain aspects of life, but I have always valued academics, so I make the time and adapt the mindset of constant preparation,” Davis said. He makes sure he stays in control of his training, planning for the week ahead to reduce the academic workload that is customary of a Nobles junior spring.
As Davis focuses on the crew season, he has certain goals that would make the season extremely successful. “This year, we really want to beat Belmont Hill in the Bassett Cup and hopefully win at NEIRA. I really want to see what our team can do at nationals in Florida, and see if we can come up with anything there,” Davis said. Davis’s team-oriented mindset is one of the reasons he can succeed in such a grueling endeavor and power the Nobles Crew team to new heights.
