Sacrificing boat speed
One of the many things that I struggle with as a coach is holding out for an athlete who is simply going through the motions, putting in about 75% rather than 100%. This is especially a problem when the athlete in question could be a big time boat mover if or when they are living up to their potential.
Each season I've gone through something like this with at least one athlete - in one case it was a full boat - and I've always managed to find some sort of solution. Until this year. This year I've run across an athlete who could mean tons of speed in the boat both positive and negative. I have seen him working at 100% and he is untouchable and I've seen him working at less where others who don't show up on a regular basis are passing him. I have spent time talking to him 1-on-1 trying to come up with a workout plan for him, asking him about his goals or what he'd like to do this season. I even did something that I've never done before - and it's definitely something I need to remember to do - and asked him how he thought he was doing.
I get that he is young and the maturity level isn't quite there yet and it's easy to lose focus. I get that because I try and remember back to when I was that young and I know that I didn't give it everything every day. But after yesterday's practice where he spent half of it doing nothing until I came and stood next to him I've decided that the gentle approach simply isn't garnering the results that I want. I'm not going to go heavy on him and lay into him because I don't think throwing that switch will get the results I want either. Instead I've decided to pull him from the top boat and stick him into the group competing for our second and third boat.
Instead of simply casting him off though I am going to throw him a life line and outline a plan for him to earn his way back into the group contending for the top boat. I've done this with one of my coxswains this past fall and I used this to help some of last year's athletes meet 2k goals so I think this will be good for him.
One thing that I did want to make sure that I covered this year was the idea that just because you have good erg times doesn't guarantee you a seat in a boat. I've never simply turned over a seat to a good 2k time but I also know that in the past I haven't made it quite clear. I've looked at my notes and I feel after going over this decision that I have covered my bases and have not been sending mixed messages. I think before a coach hands out a punishment or decision like this they should go back and make sure they haven't said one thing or allowed one thing and are now running contrary. I speak of that from experience and have been called out on it by other coaches and athletes - a rather embarrassing predicament - but I feel fairly confident in this decision.
I'm still learning how to make the right decision in a tough decision especially when they do affect boat speed but the coaches I admire have demonstrated that winning simply isn't everything and while I say that winning is something, I'm keeping that more in mind this year.
Each season I've gone through something like this with at least one athlete - in one case it was a full boat - and I've always managed to find some sort of solution. Until this year. This year I've run across an athlete who could mean tons of speed in the boat both positive and negative. I have seen him working at 100% and he is untouchable and I've seen him working at less where others who don't show up on a regular basis are passing him. I have spent time talking to him 1-on-1 trying to come up with a workout plan for him, asking him about his goals or what he'd like to do this season. I even did something that I've never done before - and it's definitely something I need to remember to do - and asked him how he thought he was doing.
I get that he is young and the maturity level isn't quite there yet and it's easy to lose focus. I get that because I try and remember back to when I was that young and I know that I didn't give it everything every day. But after yesterday's practice where he spent half of it doing nothing until I came and stood next to him I've decided that the gentle approach simply isn't garnering the results that I want. I'm not going to go heavy on him and lay into him because I don't think throwing that switch will get the results I want either. Instead I've decided to pull him from the top boat and stick him into the group competing for our second and third boat.
Instead of simply casting him off though I am going to throw him a life line and outline a plan for him to earn his way back into the group contending for the top boat. I've done this with one of my coxswains this past fall and I used this to help some of last year's athletes meet 2k goals so I think this will be good for him.
One thing that I did want to make sure that I covered this year was the idea that just because you have good erg times doesn't guarantee you a seat in a boat. I've never simply turned over a seat to a good 2k time but I also know that in the past I haven't made it quite clear. I've looked at my notes and I feel after going over this decision that I have covered my bases and have not been sending mixed messages. I think before a coach hands out a punishment or decision like this they should go back and make sure they haven't said one thing or allowed one thing and are now running contrary. I speak of that from experience and have been called out on it by other coaches and athletes - a rather embarrassing predicament - but I feel fairly confident in this decision.
I'm still learning how to make the right decision in a tough decision especially when they do affect boat speed but the coaches I admire have demonstrated that winning simply isn't everything and while I say that winning is something, I'm keeping that more in mind this year.
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