Back at it
I'm running out of clever titles to start a season, but here we are again.
And it's about time. I've been going stir crazy sitting at home, waiting for things to happen. It does seem that the older I get, the more I coach, the less patient I become when it comes to breaks. Winter break has become an unnecessary interruption between fall and spring.
Each year I dread the final practice, and each passing day makes me more anxious to get started again. What are the athletes doing? How many are working out, and how many are working out at the level that will sustain the work they've put in during the fall? Will we start out on the right foot, or will we have to get the ball rolling all over again?
Winter is when I miss coaching juniors the most. Winter training camps that go from the day after we leave the water to the day we throw open the doors on the boathouse for spring. Five days a week in the winter facility on the ergs, with the weights, cross training, staying fit and in shape, and more importantly, maintaining the mental edge. We're not pushing spring speeds yet, but we are keeping spring goals inches from their faces. I heard a coach once call it, "Keeping it real." I like that. Keep the goals tangible. It's too easy to say, "Well it's a few months off." How we get there is more important than what we do once we're there. The season, every season goes by in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you're standing on the edge either happy to be there, or wishing you had another month or three.
Monday kicks off the spring practices. I'm thankful that I'm starting a month - at least a month - ahead of when I did when I was at DIII.
And it's about time. I've been going stir crazy sitting at home, waiting for things to happen. It does seem that the older I get, the more I coach, the less patient I become when it comes to breaks. Winter break has become an unnecessary interruption between fall and spring.
Each year I dread the final practice, and each passing day makes me more anxious to get started again. What are the athletes doing? How many are working out, and how many are working out at the level that will sustain the work they've put in during the fall? Will we start out on the right foot, or will we have to get the ball rolling all over again?
Winter is when I miss coaching juniors the most. Winter training camps that go from the day after we leave the water to the day we throw open the doors on the boathouse for spring. Five days a week in the winter facility on the ergs, with the weights, cross training, staying fit and in shape, and more importantly, maintaining the mental edge. We're not pushing spring speeds yet, but we are keeping spring goals inches from their faces. I heard a coach once call it, "Keeping it real." I like that. Keep the goals tangible. It's too easy to say, "Well it's a few months off." How we get there is more important than what we do once we're there. The season, every season goes by in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you're standing on the edge either happy to be there, or wishing you had another month or three.
Monday kicks off the spring practices. I'm thankful that I'm starting a month - at least a month - ahead of when I did when I was at DIII.
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