Men's Team Monday (On a Tuesday)

*My apologies for the late post, we were on Easter Break*

Name: Jonas Weller 

Year: Freshman 

Hometown: Ratzeburg, Germany 

Position: Stroke Seat - Freshman 8
Fun Fact: "I was addicted to Mountain Dew when I first came to America"

How/When did you first discover Rowing?
"Rowing is a big thing in my hometown; everyone tries rows in 6th grade (in addition to other water sports), but I started when I was in 4th grade, because I wanted to do a more athletically demanding water sport instead of sailing or swimming. My father rowed, so he had an influence on my decision to pick up the sport, he mentioned it would help with my fitness. Also, one of my best friends rowed, so pretty much everything in my life was pointing me in the direction of rowing."

What was your most memorable experience rowing in Germany?
"It was 2013 when I raced in the lightweight double and I won the German Junior Championship. The winter leading up to this I had planned on qualifying for Crash-B's (The largest indoor rowing championship, held in Boston, MA) but I missed it by 1 second, so I was really upset. However, this double helped me clear my mind and set new goals, and in the end, winning the championship completely cleared all of the frustration from the winter. The race itself was awesome, before the race was even halfway over, we already had a few lengths of open water on all of the other crews, allowing us to just relax and let the boat run out every stroke for the remainder of the race. My double partner (who was the Bow Man) nearly threw up before the race, but I kept him relaxed and reminded him to just do what we've been doing all year, and if we do that we will win the race. When we crossed the finish line all of my disappointment from the winter was gone. This was my first gold medal on the water and the previous year I got silver 5 times so it was a huge relief and accomplishment to finally get the gold. After finishing, I could hear my coach yelling 'He finally got it!'"
"Later, my mom told me our coach crashed his bike into a fence at the finish line because he was so focused on our race that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He stood up crying tears of joy; the bike crash didn't even bother him."

As you were finishing up high school back home, what influenced your decision to continue your rowing and academics here in America; and what made you choose Mercyhurst? 

"America was really appealing to me. Two guys from my club were already studying in America and they told me so many stories about the team experience, how close everyone is, and how connected everything is. The always bragged about how you don't have to worry about food or any of the little things you do back home. Essentially, you can just focus on rowing and academics. Coming to America also made a lot of sense in terms of my future and creating opportunities for myself. I like the academic system here more than the system back home. What I like more about the Universities here is that you have your major and you can compliment that with minors but in Germany you only have your major and that is it. Things are a lot more flexible in terms of what you want to do, like I can connect business with psychology which I couldn't do back home."

"There were people from my club that lived in Hamburg while training and studying. I heard about how stressful that was, so that option didn't appeal to me at all. It is such a better life here, and it is a lot more fun being a part of this team environment rather than being an individual training on your own back home. It gives me a few more years to still be a teenager and young, rather than start my adult life right away.

"At first I got a list of schools from my friend who studied in Boston, but the list consisted of only Ivy League Schools. The Colombia coach really wanted me and I actually met with him in Germany but I fell just short of his SAT requirements, so I was left with the decision to spend my last few months in Germany studying or I could enjoy my time with family and friends, so I began to think less about those schools. Eventually I came into contact with a coach from Purdue University who quickly referred me to the coaches here at Mercyhurst. It wasn't long before I made the decision to commit here. I officially committed to row here on a full scholarship about a year ago; April of 2014."

Now that you are a collegiate athlete, can you describe what that means to you?

"It is a lot easier to connect school and rowing because everything is all in one place. In my hometown I had to train on my own, whereas; here I train with all of the guys, I eat with them, I go to class with them, and I spend most of my free time with them. The team bond is a lot stronger than I have ever experienced. The training is a lot more fun and competitive and it is way easier to get the motivation to wake up at 5A.M. and go to practice if there are 20+ guys going to be there working out with you."

"We row all sorts of boats here (Singles, Pairs, Quads, Fours, and Eights). I never swept before coming to America so my first sweeping race ever was for Mercyhurst stroking the Varsity 8. I like the 8 a lot more because it requires you to work perfectly with the other 8 guys in your boat, there must be this perfect harmony in order to go fast. It is a lot different than rowing in the single or double."

"Being a student athlete is actually easier than it was back home since everything is so organized. In Germany I would go into the city to get lunch, then drive 15 minutes back to practice, then 10 more minutes home...It took a lot of time just getting to each place. Everything is a lot closer here so it gives me more time to spend on the academics and even the rowing; this is a much better environment for me. The academic support here is wonderful, giving way to a lot of flexibility in terms of scheduling around practice, making the rowing and classes a lot more manageable."

What does this sport hold for you in the future; both short-term and long-term?
"For me, without rowing, it wouldn't have been possible to come here. Rowing has essentially paid my way through school. I have been rowing for ten years, and I still have just as much fun training and competing as I ever have before. After undergrad, I hope to go to Cambridge University in England. I hope rowing can be my ticket into Cambridge just as it was to Mercyhurst. Depending on my performances over the next two years, I will consider trying to row for the German National Team. If I don't do that, I will most likely stop rowing full time, and turn it into more of a hobby. The only exception would be if I was training with the National Team and I had a chance to compete in the Olympic games, but I am very realistic with myself so I understand that this would be unlikely."

"In the near future, I would like to medal at Eastern Sprints with my Freshman 8. After that, I can't really predict what the future holds, so I don't know yet. It would be nice to see this program medal at the IRA regatta in any event before I graduate, and I would like to be a part of that."