Yellow brick road
I was talking with a couple friends who coach the other day. On tap was the ideas that we had when we first entered the coaching field, and what's changed since then - if anything. Being the, "old guard," having started my career before them, I ended up leading the conversation.
This vs. those
When I came out of school, I thought that how we rowed at the university was how everyone rowed. We all started the same, we all had roughly the same base rate come spring, we sprinted about the same time, and what made the difference between teams was fitness and height.
Now of course I know that's simply not the case. There are many, many different ways to coach rowing, and the only consensus seems to be on what not to do, though even then that is up for spirited debate. Looking back now, it's funny to think how naive I was, but I thought that our way was the way. I had nothing else to base it on.
Shoot from the hip
I'll admit it. When I started, I rarely wrote anything down. I never really planned ahead. I knew where I wanted to go, and worked backward from those end goals, but I didn't stop to consider the process. We'd get there or die trying.
Now I write down everything. Weather, general observations, specific observations on the athletes, etc. I keep two coaching journals, and write a review of every single practice - land, water, yoga, weights - with detail. I note times, distances, variations, line ups, boat settings, oar settings, spacer heights, you name it I probably have at least one notation somewhere.
This transitions into...
Don't reinvent the wheel
I've never torn a plan apart and started completely over, though I have stripped a plan down to the bare bones and rebuilt. The biggest lesson that I've learned attending clinics and talking to other coaches is to find something that works, and work to improve upon it. The more you try and start over from scratch, the more lost you're going to become.
That doesn't mean that every plan of mine is still being used. Several years ago I had this idea that I would teach new athletes to use their legs first. We'd dabble with the arms and upper body to start, but focus on the legs first. I would teach them in the order of importance because we're constantly having to un-teach once we're moving. Failed. The team used their legs, but once they got to the end of the drive, now what? This went onto the back burner.
I have a frame work or blue print that I like to work with. The pieces that go with it are interchangeable, but they are there. I plug in what I think we need more of or remove what I think we need less of, but I've learned, as with shooting from the hip, you can't just crash course your way through a season.
The why and what
We go through this as children. We ask our parents why something, and depending on how long we've been nagging them, the response is, "because I said so," or , "because." That doesn't work in coaching - I'm not sure if it works in parenting. I used to do this. I figured that the value would eventually become apparent. It doesn't work that way.
Athletes usually aren't asking you questions to be a smartass. They want to know. Why are we doing a 6k? What's the point behind it if you're not going to build boats off the times? Why are we doing 12x500 meters? Why only a 5' break during a piece?
What I learned through trial and error is that more often than not, the athletes simply want to know that there's value to what they're doing. There is, but they want to hear it. They want to know how the 2x2k now will help them 2 months from now. It's not insubordination - though it can be - it's simply curiosity.
There needs to be a reason behind everything. There has to be a point. And the point - in my opinion - doesn't need to be mind blowing or Earth shattering. Some times I'll assign 10' pieces simply because we don't seem to be getting much work done. Some times I'll postpone a piece because we're looking completely dead.
Whatever the reason, there should be transparency between you and the athletes.
Honesty
First rule I learned as a coxswain. Never lie to your crew. Build a relationship with your crew, but never lie to them, especially when it's a lie that will become apparent.
The same comes with the athletes. Never lie to your athletes. Be transparent and honest with them. If you don't want to tell them something, simply tell them that. I've told my athletes, "I'm not ready to share this information yet," and I've told athletes, "This isn't something you need to know."
I've been around coaches who lie, and who get caught up in the lie. I worked with a coach recently who told the team that we'd focus on one particular boat. 3/4 of the way through the season, that boat hadn't been touched, and the boat we were working with wasn't going anywhere but backward. It reached a bad point when an athlete pointed out that a presentation this coach had made specifically stated that we'd be working in boat A, not B. The season which was on the brink at that point, fell apart completely. There was no trust with the coach.
That's an extreme example, but I think it illustrates a point. Be transparent with your athletes, be honest with your athletes.
Don't copy
I read an interesting article a long while back. It was right after the US men won the 2004 Olympic 8 race. A coach went out and bought the same boat, and oars used, rigged them exactly the same, and the crew went no where. What happened?
Quite simply, you don't have 8 elite athletes. It's the same idea. What works for one program, doesn't mean you can just take that idea, slam it into your program and expect the same results. You can take the idea or concept and work with it, but using Mike Teti's training plan at Cal probably isn't going to yield the same results if you're using it on your junior novice men.
Learn from other plans. Ask questions. I've yet to meet a coach who wouldn't let you come ride along in a coaching launch with them, and who wouldn't answer questions. Will they spill their entire training plan? I don't know, I've never asked. But I've gotten some good ideas and help from several. My current training plan is a mix of ideas, mine and other coaches. I think that's how things go. But it's not this plan, or that plan.
Let me just state for the record that I don't think copying is wrong provided you give credit where credit is due. Don't claim it as yours.
The conversation ranged all over. It's always fun to talk shop.
This vs. those
When I came out of school, I thought that how we rowed at the university was how everyone rowed. We all started the same, we all had roughly the same base rate come spring, we sprinted about the same time, and what made the difference between teams was fitness and height.
Now of course I know that's simply not the case. There are many, many different ways to coach rowing, and the only consensus seems to be on what not to do, though even then that is up for spirited debate. Looking back now, it's funny to think how naive I was, but I thought that our way was the way. I had nothing else to base it on.
Shoot from the hip
I'll admit it. When I started, I rarely wrote anything down. I never really planned ahead. I knew where I wanted to go, and worked backward from those end goals, but I didn't stop to consider the process. We'd get there or die trying.
Now I write down everything. Weather, general observations, specific observations on the athletes, etc. I keep two coaching journals, and write a review of every single practice - land, water, yoga, weights - with detail. I note times, distances, variations, line ups, boat settings, oar settings, spacer heights, you name it I probably have at least one notation somewhere.
This transitions into...
Don't reinvent the wheel
I've never torn a plan apart and started completely over, though I have stripped a plan down to the bare bones and rebuilt. The biggest lesson that I've learned attending clinics and talking to other coaches is to find something that works, and work to improve upon it. The more you try and start over from scratch, the more lost you're going to become.
That doesn't mean that every plan of mine is still being used. Several years ago I had this idea that I would teach new athletes to use their legs first. We'd dabble with the arms and upper body to start, but focus on the legs first. I would teach them in the order of importance because we're constantly having to un-teach once we're moving. Failed. The team used their legs, but once they got to the end of the drive, now what? This went onto the back burner.
I have a frame work or blue print that I like to work with. The pieces that go with it are interchangeable, but they are there. I plug in what I think we need more of or remove what I think we need less of, but I've learned, as with shooting from the hip, you can't just crash course your way through a season.
The why and what
We go through this as children. We ask our parents why something, and depending on how long we've been nagging them, the response is, "because I said so," or , "because." That doesn't work in coaching - I'm not sure if it works in parenting. I used to do this. I figured that the value would eventually become apparent. It doesn't work that way.
Athletes usually aren't asking you questions to be a smartass. They want to know. Why are we doing a 6k? What's the point behind it if you're not going to build boats off the times? Why are we doing 12x500 meters? Why only a 5' break during a piece?
What I learned through trial and error is that more often than not, the athletes simply want to know that there's value to what they're doing. There is, but they want to hear it. They want to know how the 2x2k now will help them 2 months from now. It's not insubordination - though it can be - it's simply curiosity.
There needs to be a reason behind everything. There has to be a point. And the point - in my opinion - doesn't need to be mind blowing or Earth shattering. Some times I'll assign 10' pieces simply because we don't seem to be getting much work done. Some times I'll postpone a piece because we're looking completely dead.
Whatever the reason, there should be transparency between you and the athletes.
Honesty
First rule I learned as a coxswain. Never lie to your crew. Build a relationship with your crew, but never lie to them, especially when it's a lie that will become apparent.
The same comes with the athletes. Never lie to your athletes. Be transparent and honest with them. If you don't want to tell them something, simply tell them that. I've told my athletes, "I'm not ready to share this information yet," and I've told athletes, "This isn't something you need to know."
I've been around coaches who lie, and who get caught up in the lie. I worked with a coach recently who told the team that we'd focus on one particular boat. 3/4 of the way through the season, that boat hadn't been touched, and the boat we were working with wasn't going anywhere but backward. It reached a bad point when an athlete pointed out that a presentation this coach had made specifically stated that we'd be working in boat A, not B. The season which was on the brink at that point, fell apart completely. There was no trust with the coach.
That's an extreme example, but I think it illustrates a point. Be transparent with your athletes, be honest with your athletes.
Don't copy
I read an interesting article a long while back. It was right after the US men won the 2004 Olympic 8 race. A coach went out and bought the same boat, and oars used, rigged them exactly the same, and the crew went no where. What happened?
Quite simply, you don't have 8 elite athletes. It's the same idea. What works for one program, doesn't mean you can just take that idea, slam it into your program and expect the same results. You can take the idea or concept and work with it, but using Mike Teti's training plan at Cal probably isn't going to yield the same results if you're using it on your junior novice men.
Learn from other plans. Ask questions. I've yet to meet a coach who wouldn't let you come ride along in a coaching launch with them, and who wouldn't answer questions. Will they spill their entire training plan? I don't know, I've never asked. But I've gotten some good ideas and help from several. My current training plan is a mix of ideas, mine and other coaches. I think that's how things go. But it's not this plan, or that plan.
Let me just state for the record that I don't think copying is wrong provided you give credit where credit is due. Don't claim it as yours.
The conversation ranged all over. It's always fun to talk shop.
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