Although entering Andover with the hopes of playing lacrosse, George Stoody ’24 forged a new path for himself in the waters of the Merrimack River. Ever since joining the crew team, Stoody continued forward. He has committed to Cornell University for Heavyweight Rowing.
“I was cut from the Varsity Lacrosse team my Freshman year and was looking for a new sport to try, so my Sophomore year, I decided to try out for the crew team and I found a really good group of guys. I enjoyed being around such hardworking people, and liked the sport a lot, so I stuck with it and here we are,” said Stoody.
John Mo ’24 credited Stoody for his presence and leadership on the team. His work ethic inspires the team and demonstrates his love for the sport.
Mo said, “He’s a very passionate member of the crew team. He truly believes that crew is a lifestyle and it definitely is because of the way you have to train and how hard it is to excel in the sport. As well, he is constantly putting in extra work and frequently reaching out to the team to hit a workout, which goes to show just how much he loves the sport and the team.”
Similarly, Luke Francis ’25 spoke on the duality of his leadership. Francis highlighted how Stoody always raises team morale through his energetic personality, while also performing at the highest level.
“In terms of spirit, he definitely gets the team riled up. Even in the more mundane things, like our warm up, he’s definitely trying to get our spirits up at the beginning of practice. Then after our time on the water, on the way back home, he still is playing music and closing the day out well. He also leads by example out in the water. He is a really strong rower and he’s always giving out good pointers which helps the people around him get better as well,” said Francis.
Stoody finds his role to be a motivator and a role model. He mentioned how in his leadership out of season, he hopes to represent self-accountability and dedication, and build bonds in the crew community out of season.
Stoody said, “The fact that you can only really have crew as a main sport in the spring means that we really need to lead by example in the fall and winter by going to the workouts even when Coach [Taylor] Washburn isn’t around. In that way, [Co-Captain] Nate [Bechard ’24] and I have done a good job in building the culture of doing hard work even when you’re by yourself.”
Last crew season, George led an ab circuit right after practice. Mo highlighted Stoody’s commitment to crew even before coming into captainship. These after-practices provided a space of community and instilled discipline within each member.
“Last year, in the 2022-2023 season, after each practice, he led the team in a tremendously difficult core workout. It was about 20 minutes and it got almost the whole guys team together. What was the craziest thing was that George was really consistent, which led him to be incredibly strong in the exercises we did. This allowed him to help other guys on the team overall just lead by his example,” said Mo.
For his last season, Stoody aspires to win the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship (NEIRA).
