Welcome everyone to another episode of the For Stars Podcast featuring Dr. Michael Toon, a former Australian National Team Coxswain, who competed in the Men's Eight at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.  Hudson and Mike touch on what it is like to compete at an elite level, and the daily life of an athlete training for the Olympics. Mike shared some helpful advice and tips to improve in the coxswain seat, and what really matters. He also shared some more information about the atmosphere when he was coxing the Australian National Team, and the relationship he had with legendary rowi ..read more

Welcome everyone to another episode of the For Stars Podcast, featuring Head Coach of Holy Cross Men's Rowing, Jim Barr, in his ninth year at the helm of the program. Hudson and Jim discuss the current climate of men's collegiate rowing, student-athlete development, power of team culture, recruiting the person as oppose to the fastest erg score, the facilities offered to the student-athletes, and pursuit of academics over athletics. Jim touches on the influence of Jim Harbaugh and a quote that keeps him going as a rowing coach, as well as answering Hudson's theory of college coaches in the Eas ..read more

Spring is here, and so is another FSP episode, featuring the new Head Coach of SMU Women's Rowing, Chase Graham. The former Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator of the Duke Blue Devils made his way over to the Hilltop in July of 2023, where he now sits at the helm of the program coaching the Mustangs in Dallas, Texas. Hudson and Chase elaborate more on the move from North Carolina to Texas and recent changes with conference realignment, and how he sees the role that SMU will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, better known as the "ACC" come the Fall of 2024. Having coached in th ..read more

From Mic’d Up in the Erg Room to the podcast, Head Coach of Syracuse Women’s Rowing, Luke McGee, joins us here at the For Stars Podcast for some fun.  To close out the month of February, Hudson & Luke dive into the upcoming spring season, going over conference realignment and the three new powerhouses (Cal, SMU & Stanford) being added to the ACC next fall. We talk all things Syracuse Women’s Rowing, answering a plethora of recruitment questions, going over how imperative strong team culture means to a squad, touching on the static and dynamic erg, and ultimately what Cuse has to ..read more

As we approach the tail-end of the month of February, we bring you an episode with the Head Coach of Dartmouth Men’s Lightweight Rowing, Trevor Michelson, who is also apart of the coaching staff for the United States Under-23 Men’s Sweep Group.  Hudson & Trevor get into several topics surrounding the team, overall team culture, recruitment for lightweight rowing, and the unfortunate cut of the program several years ago. Be sure to tune into this episode, especially if you are passionate about lightweight men’s rowing at the D1 level and the upcoming season for the D150’s. Fit, Health ..read more

On this week's podcast we bring you the Co-Founder of AllMarkOne, Rory Cruickshank, former coxswain at Oxford Brookes University. We touch on the overall backstory behind the brand and taking the lessons learned from rowing into the inner workings of running a business. Rory's impact on UK Rowing has been monumental through creating more exposure (no pun intended) in his team's photography and media content as a whole.  Cruickshank made his way through the Oxford Brookes Men's circuit (2018-2021) and coxed his crews at some of the largest regattas in the world, coming on top during his l ..read more

All eight, sit ready… ROW! A call you may hear from one in the 9th seat. Hudson decided to bring on one of the best and most successful coxswains in the history of American Rowing, Mary Whipple!  On this week’s episode on For Stars Podcast, we dive deep into the connection one has with their crew, taking the lessons you learn from crew into your family life and the workforce, but most important, truly loving what the sport has to offer to it’s participants, and fighting for what you want both in sports and ordinary life.  Mary competed in three Olympic Games, winning Gold in 2008 &am ..read more

A little over 26 weeks away from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Hudson sat down with Mike Grady, a 2020 Tokyo Olympian competing on the US National Team. Grady graduated from Cornell University in 2019, where he rowed under Todd Kennett ‘91, on the Men’s Heavyweight team. The connection that he shares with his teammates is evident when surrounded by each other… brotherhood, as some coin it. Nonetheless, the bonds he has created with the guys that he’s been able to row with along the years, whether that be at Central Catholic, Cornell, the U19, U23, and even Senior National Team, is one to none ..read more

Two years of FSP, and we want to wish you all a Happy New Year! 2024 is going to be filled with exciting content and expansion! On today's episode, Hudson brings on Head Coach of Cornell Men's Heavyweight Rowing, Todd Kennett '91. Coach Kennett, currently in Orlando on his team's Winter Training Trip, dives deep into recruiting and scouting talent along with the search for coxswains, along with reminiscing on the talent of athletes he has coached, even assembling a roster of guys who could assemble an exceptional eight! We answer the questions from the supporters in our Q&A, along with whe ..read more

Embarking on another episode here at For Stars Podcast, we bring you an insightful pod featuring USRowing's Chief High Performance Officer, Josy Verdonkschot, a highly-touted rowing coach leading boats to Gold on the Olympic stage. Starting coaching in 1987, Josy grew up in the Netherlands, but came to the United States in 2022, working full-time for USRowing. He oversees all of the high performance clubs such as, California Rowing Club (CRC), Princeton Training Center, and all others in the US, even including the Under-19 and Under-23 National Teams. Hudson & Josy discuss several topics ..read more