Fairly new to crew, Haddonfield senior will row for Kansas

Erin Brogan is attempting to enjoy every single practice and game left in her senior basketball season at Haddonfield because, after this year, she will be moving upstream, literally, in her athletic career.

In November, Brogan accepted a rowing scholarship from the University of Kansas, a reward for what had been a rapid rise in the sport.

Brogan never participated in rowing until her sophomore year at Haddonfield. And she missed her junior crew season after suffering a broken foot while playing in a basketball game against Haddon Township in mid-February of 2010.

By contrast, Brogan has played basketball since she was eight years old. The 6-foot-1 Brogan is the starting center for a young but improving Haddonfield team. She has always loved hoops and isn't taking these waning days of her career for granted.

"I still can't get used to the idea that this is my last year playing basketball," she said. "I want this season to last as long as possible."

While many coaches like their athletes to concentrate on one sport, Brogan's participation in basketball was one of her selling points to college rowing programs.

"I like to recruit women who do other sports and don't just row," Kansas rowing coach Rob Catloth said by telephone. "Erin plays basketball, and we look for good all-around athletes and I think that will pay off when competing on the Division I level."

Rowing is one sport in which the athletes are often recruited off results, even if they aren't achieved in water. Brogan caught the attention of several college coaches by posting on a recruiting website her time from her work on an ergometer.

This is an indoor rowing machine. Brogan's time in the 2,000 meters (7 minutes, 40.2 seconds) on the erg, as it's known, was eyed with interest by a number of college coaches.

"We originally found her off her ergometer scores," Catloth said.

The next thing Brogan knew, colleges were contacting her. She narrowed her choices to Kansas, Minnesota, and Drexel and made official visits to all three.

"It was a great experience, visiting the schools," Brogan said. "Imagine schools paying your way to have you visit your schools."

And imagine how she felt after accepting a scholarship from Kansas.

"It was surreal," Brogan said.

Some perceptions changed when Brogan visited Kansas. She realized there was much more to the state than she had been led to believe.

"What changed my perception is that I only saw one cornfield when I was there," she said. "I loved the area and the campus."

Brogan is considering being a broadcast communications major, a course of study that seems to fit her effervescent personality.

"She is very outgoing," Catloth said. "When we recruit, we are looking personality-wise for somebody who is friendly, can fit in with the women on the team, and when she came here, she really blended in well."

Brogan says she is looking forward to attending games of the nationally ranked Kansas men's basketball team. And she is anticipating meeting new people in a part of the country that she will soon become very familiar with.

Yet for now, all that can wait. The chance to be a high school basketball player is truly special to Brogan, and she's intent on savoring each and every day before beginning her next athletic adventure.