Playing catch up
As we head into Spring Break training, I find that I have some time to sit down and recap what's transpired over the last few weeks and get everyone caught up on results.
First as always, let's start with the negative and get that out of the way. We've been dealing with quite a bit of adversity this season and it seems like just as we are about to turn the corner, something else lands in our lap and we're back to square one. From attitudes and attendance to illness and now academics.
The guys team has had quite the roller coaster ride to start the season. We started off low with little physical fitness due to inactivity over the winter and began to climb to a level where I felt we could actually get something accomplished. Along the way there was a lot of foot dragging and complaining where individuals failed the realize that the reason things were not progressing as they'd hoped was simply because when the ball was in their court - winter break - they failed to execute.
But it seemed that we turned that corner when the day before we leave for our first regatta, our senior walks in and lays down a massive bomb shell. He is in danger of not graduating because he has not started on his thesis which will be due in 7 weeks. It was a mind blowing turn of events in large part because we'd been monitoring everyone's academic level with grade cards and checking up and nothing had indicated this level of irresponsibility. We had known something was wrong by his change of behavior but simply didn't expect this. To sum up quickly, we pulled him from competition and practice, met with his adviser and decided that the best thing for him to do was graduate and in order to that, rowing had to go. It wasn't a decision made lightly nor was it easy dropping someone with his level of speed and technique but ultimately it had to be done.
We've been dealing with attitude problems this whole season and had hoped that we'd managed to eliminate it on the men's team but unfortunately it simply switched over to the women's side. While the negative attitude didn't go with, this attitude of complacency did and it affected the entire team. Athletes started showing up 25 minutes late - or more - to practice, effort on the ergs and in the boat was practically zero and the sense of urgency that had driven the team was missing. It came to a head at a meeting where Ryan and I laid out the scenario before them, that season long goals were in jeopardy and that we were falling off the fence. We hoped that got the message clear but it was followed up by an even worse practice leading to the latest regatta leaving Ryan and I wondering where this season had gone wrong.
And now the good.
The good has been the turn around on the men's team. The attitude is gone and it's been replaced with some serious fire in their butts and a need to kick some. The weather has been a huge factor the last two weeks keeping us off the water due to freezing temps, snow/rain mix and heavy winds but despite being on land, the guys still laid down some great pieces and did a number on the 2ks.
The women, despite some very lax practices, managed to throw down some incredible pieces this weekend at the regatta - more on that in a bit - which gives us hope that this season hasn't been lost.
And now the racing recaps.
Gov's Cup
Gov's Cup has become a duel/dual between the University of Puget Sound and Willamette. We used it as a tune up this year to see how things were going, to get everyone a race or two and to simply get new coxswains used to racing. Over all we were satisfied with the results shown though there is improvement needed across the board. We won in the Women's Open 8 and the Men's and Women's Varsity 4s while UPS took the Men's and Women's Varsity 8s. Despite the gap between the two women's boats, we feel strongly that there is a better boat there for our team and that there are variables that need to be eliminated in order to see the true strength of the boat.
Cascade Sprints
This is the regatta we just completed. This race used to be Daffodil Cup and I for one am highly thankful for the name change. We were looking forward to this regatta because we'd be able to test our speed against multiple boats and because we'd be able to prioritize boats. Ryan and I felt going into this race that we would better be able to determine the team's true speed and fitness.
The results were mixed. The women had a great showing but there were issues with how the races were run for the men. Due to a starting command change - something I strongly disagree with - the men ended up sitting on the water for over an hour while the officials attempted to get the race straightened around. While I loathe placing blame on officials, in this case it was a poorly executed start - once again due to the new commands - and we stumbled across the line. There were of course issues in the boat and I will not blame the officials entirely but keeping boats on the water, in the cold for an hour is a very poor showing for the referees who were there not just to run a fair race but keep the welfare and safety of the athletes in mind. And to me, this was simply not done.
But it's water under the bridge and despite the race being what it was, I did get to see the lineup go and see the athletes perform. I was able to confirm a lot of thoughts made at Gov's Cup and have a very clear idea of where the team is going to go from this point forward.
So that's the recap. I'm sorry if you're looking for a bigger and better recap with my personal thoughts and blow by blow accounts of the races.
First as always, let's start with the negative and get that out of the way. We've been dealing with quite a bit of adversity this season and it seems like just as we are about to turn the corner, something else lands in our lap and we're back to square one. From attitudes and attendance to illness and now academics.
The guys team has had quite the roller coaster ride to start the season. We started off low with little physical fitness due to inactivity over the winter and began to climb to a level where I felt we could actually get something accomplished. Along the way there was a lot of foot dragging and complaining where individuals failed the realize that the reason things were not progressing as they'd hoped was simply because when the ball was in their court - winter break - they failed to execute.
But it seemed that we turned that corner when the day before we leave for our first regatta, our senior walks in and lays down a massive bomb shell. He is in danger of not graduating because he has not started on his thesis which will be due in 7 weeks. It was a mind blowing turn of events in large part because we'd been monitoring everyone's academic level with grade cards and checking up and nothing had indicated this level of irresponsibility. We had known something was wrong by his change of behavior but simply didn't expect this. To sum up quickly, we pulled him from competition and practice, met with his adviser and decided that the best thing for him to do was graduate and in order to that, rowing had to go. It wasn't a decision made lightly nor was it easy dropping someone with his level of speed and technique but ultimately it had to be done.
We've been dealing with attitude problems this whole season and had hoped that we'd managed to eliminate it on the men's team but unfortunately it simply switched over to the women's side. While the negative attitude didn't go with, this attitude of complacency did and it affected the entire team. Athletes started showing up 25 minutes late - or more - to practice, effort on the ergs and in the boat was practically zero and the sense of urgency that had driven the team was missing. It came to a head at a meeting where Ryan and I laid out the scenario before them, that season long goals were in jeopardy and that we were falling off the fence. We hoped that got the message clear but it was followed up by an even worse practice leading to the latest regatta leaving Ryan and I wondering where this season had gone wrong.
And now the good.
The good has been the turn around on the men's team. The attitude is gone and it's been replaced with some serious fire in their butts and a need to kick some. The weather has been a huge factor the last two weeks keeping us off the water due to freezing temps, snow/rain mix and heavy winds but despite being on land, the guys still laid down some great pieces and did a number on the 2ks.
The women, despite some very lax practices, managed to throw down some incredible pieces this weekend at the regatta - more on that in a bit - which gives us hope that this season hasn't been lost.
And now the racing recaps.
Gov's Cup
Gov's Cup has become a duel/dual between the University of Puget Sound and Willamette. We used it as a tune up this year to see how things were going, to get everyone a race or two and to simply get new coxswains used to racing. Over all we were satisfied with the results shown though there is improvement needed across the board. We won in the Women's Open 8 and the Men's and Women's Varsity 4s while UPS took the Men's and Women's Varsity 8s. Despite the gap between the two women's boats, we feel strongly that there is a better boat there for our team and that there are variables that need to be eliminated in order to see the true strength of the boat.
Cascade Sprints
This is the regatta we just completed. This race used to be Daffodil Cup and I for one am highly thankful for the name change. We were looking forward to this regatta because we'd be able to test our speed against multiple boats and because we'd be able to prioritize boats. Ryan and I felt going into this race that we would better be able to determine the team's true speed and fitness.
The results were mixed. The women had a great showing but there were issues with how the races were run for the men. Due to a starting command change - something I strongly disagree with - the men ended up sitting on the water for over an hour while the officials attempted to get the race straightened around. While I loathe placing blame on officials, in this case it was a poorly executed start - once again due to the new commands - and we stumbled across the line. There were of course issues in the boat and I will not blame the officials entirely but keeping boats on the water, in the cold for an hour is a very poor showing for the referees who were there not just to run a fair race but keep the welfare and safety of the athletes in mind. And to me, this was simply not done.
But it's water under the bridge and despite the race being what it was, I did get to see the lineup go and see the athletes perform. I was able to confirm a lot of thoughts made at Gov's Cup and have a very clear idea of where the team is going to go from this point forward.
So that's the recap. I'm sorry if you're looking for a bigger and better recap with my personal thoughts and blow by blow accounts of the races.
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