Jimmy Catalano on Rejection, Resilience, Rowing at an Elite Level

In the fall of 2013, I tried out for the Greenwich High School soccer team. Over 80 kids showed up to try out for a 35-spot freshman roster. I was okay, but I was not exceptional, and I certainly was not among the top 35 soccer players in my school. I was aggressive when attacking the ball, being the youngest of three boys, and I had some experience as a goalie, but I was a clunky/slow runner, and my ball handling was below par. So, when the day came that the list of names for the team was posted, I was heartbroken to find out that I was not selected. I didn't know what to do, and my world was falling apart. (Dramatic, I know. But, as a 13-year-old, it was.)

After the dust settled a week later, I decided I still wanted to be involved in sports, because it was how I loved to spend my time. My older brother was on the rugby team, so I thought maybe I'd give that a try. At 5'3" and 110 pounds, I didn't stand a chance. I went to one practice and hated it. At the same time, my mom was doing a learn-to-row class with a friend of hers, and she encouraged me to try out rowing. I had no ties to rowing, didn't know what it was, and honestly, was quite reluctant to go. She lovingly pestered me to try it, and I finally caved.

I went down to the boathouse and was immediately captivated by the sport. I always loved being on the water and took very quickly to the collaboration of it all. Over the first few weeks, all the athletes cycled through different spots in the boat, and everyone who was small enough to fit in the seat would try the role of coxing. With just one week until our first race, The Head of the Housatonic, no one had formally decided to be a coxswain yet. My coach approached me on the Monday beforehand and said, "I would really like for you to cox this first race. You have the right temperament and attitude to be good at it. I'll strike a deal with you: You cox this first race for us, and if you hate it, you will never have to cox a boat ever again."

It's been almost ten years since that interaction, and I have had the most surreal experience navigating through various levels of this sport. From Greenwich Crew, I went on to the University of Wisconsin, where I competed for five years at the D1 level while earning both a bachelor's and master's degree. I then went to cox the 2021 U.S. Under 23 World Championship four with coxswain and the 2022 and 2023 U.S. Senior World Championship men's eights. All because I was cut from the Greenwich High School soccer team.

Many people ask me how I got to where I am in this sport. There is no simple answer to that question, but it took a lot of hard work. If you ask any senior national team member, they will probably answer similarly. I overcame countless rejections, failures, and adversities and learned to use even those moments to my advantage. I worked to make connections with anyone and everyone around me who could help me grow as an athlete and a person.

In 2017, I applied for the Under 19 Selection Camp and was not invited to attend. This made me angry. I felt that I had the ability to go and was upset that I had been overlooked. I can reflect on it now and have the maturity to say that I wasn't owed anything, nor did I deserve to go to that camp. Unfortunately, that's just how things sometimes work, and you can try again, or you can let the resentment consume you. I decided that, because I didn't get the opportunity to make the U19 camp, I would try to make the under 23 team. I sat down and wrote down every step I thought I needed to achieve to get invited to the U23 Selection Camp. I worked extremely hard to put myself in the top boat at Wisconsin and gain the trust of my coaches. Chris Clark, my coach at Wisconsin, wrote me a recommendation. Combined with my experience, recordings, and application, I was invited to attend the 2019 U23 Camp.

That summer, I went out to Seattle to train at the Washington Boathouse and try to make a boat for the U23 World Rowing Championships. I learned a lot that summer about stepping into a team environment. It was a quick process, and I did not have a lot of time to showcase my skills. After only a few chances in the boat, I was cut from the team. I felt unfulfilled. I was naive, immature, and in uncharted territory. I wanted another opportunity to try to make the U23 team.

In the summer of 2020, I was named to the U23 selection camp, but no in-person camp was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, I was upset and angry at the situation. I felt this goal of mine slipping through my fingers, and there was little I could do to change the outcome. I remained patient and knew that I would have to work harder if I wanted to get another shot at this goal. I would have to be relentless towards success.

In 2021, my final year of eligibility for the U23 team, I was named to the four with coxswain and earned a bronze medal at the 2021 Under 23 World Rowing Championships. As much of an amazing opportunity as it was, and despite how grateful I am for everything I learned in that situation, I really wanted to be in the eight. The eight was the priority boat, and I worked extremely hard to be in it. Not getting into the boat that I wanted lit a fire inside me. I knew I had to make a run for the senior national team, because there was not a second boat to be in; the only option for a coxswain was to be in the eight.

In 2022, at the beginning of the year, I began to reach out to high-performance staff at USRowing to indicate that I wanted to be considered for the senior national team. I completed my final year of eligibility at Wisconsin and received my graduate degree. The 2022 IRA Championships went horribly, with a jumped seat on the first stroke of the varsity eight B final wrecking our opportunity of any kind of success. I crossed the finish line of that race on Lake Mercer, telling myself that I would never get in a boat ever again. Four weeks later, though, I would come to find myself back on that same body of water, vying for a spot in the 2022 Senior National Team men's eight. I knew it was time to prove that I could do it. I was given the opportunity to make the boat and took it head on. I am extremely grateful to have been selected to be the coxswain of the 2022 men's eight, and then again in 2023.

At the end of the day, I can't tell you exactly how I made the team; I just know I worked very hard to put myself in circumstances that would allow for it. As I explained earlier, not every time was a triumph. Honestly, I was met with many more failures than success. I had to reevaluate every time how I would proceed, how I would improve, and how I would manage the frustration of failure.

This sport is incredibly brutal, both physically and emotionally, but the perseverance required is what gets you to where you want to go. I was first met with that gut-wrenching frustration when I didn't make the GHS soccer team, and I most recently met that frustration when my boat didn't automatically qualify for the 2024 Olympics. If you want to achieve a goal, you must create instances that can allow for success, you must be painstakingly determined, and you must have some humility in what you do.

Through all of this, I try to remember what it was like when my mom first tried to get me to try out for the team. I was apprehensive, closed off, and unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Where would I be if I had not listened? I certainly would not be on any national teams, but more importantly, I would not have any of the friends I have today or be the person I am extremely proud to have become.