Technique changes
I had a fun chat with a few of my coaching friends the other day. All of us have pushed passed the 10 year mark in our careers, and we thought it'd be fun to discuss the most significant changes we've made from year 1 to year 10.
Because it can be an extensive topic, we limited it to three. And even that was difficult. After some serious thought, these are my three (in no particular order).
1. Race pace during technique.
2. Second half drive.
3. Preparation.
I will admit that number 3 is a bit of a cheat. I wasn't willing to narrow down the number of things that went into preparing for practice or a race, so instead I dumped it all under one single word. Mind you, these things can and will change. If you'd asked me four years ago what I thought, I'd most likely have a completely different list.
RP during technique
That title is a bit misleading because we're not executing a majority of the technique at or anywhere near RP. I picked this idea up from a coach I worked with at OSU who was a mentor, and now friend. Only the second mentor I've had in my career mind you, a fact I've not been thrilled about.
This idea is that there are always going to be bits of technique that should be executed at RP so we reinforce the idea of quickness, and speed. Conversely, we do this so the deliberate movements and speed desired when focusing on technique don't bleed into these areas.
The two areas that receive the most attention are the movement at the release, and placement of the blade at the front. Many times when you're teaching technique, you're moving at low rates somewhere between 12 to 18. What you may not be aware that you're doing is reinforcing this speed in placing the blade or releasing it. This leads to rowing the blade in, and missing clean extraction at the release. By maintaining RP at those two particular points in the stroke, we can continue to work on technical changes, but we don't dull down those movements. They stay sharp, and dynamic.
Second half drive
I believe a majority of the teams you'll face at a regatta can grab the front end. They may have varying ways of getting the blade into the water, and some might have better connection and leverage than others, but for the most part, we get the front.
My focus here is in the transition from the legs, to swinging the body. I believe that many crews, especially the novices, lose connection during this transfer. The legs slam down into the the bottom of the boat, and then the body begins moving through. At that moment, the feet disconnect from the footboards, and the body is now moving inside the boat without much connection to the speed of the boat.
This was the main focus in 2016 with the novices at Oregon. Second half connection. It was a major component of all technical practices, and we'd pause during AT or TR pieces to remind the athletes of maintaining their connection through the drive.
Preparation
I'm going to keep this brief because it will be very easy for me to get lost in here.
You put all of this work into building a crew, teaching it to row together, and now you head off to an important two day regatta. You've done what you can do at the boathouse.
But what about outside the boathouse? What preparations have you done with the team? What about leading up to this important regatta? How far back did you begin preparing?
I started thinking about this process, and researching preparation, and since 2009, it's become an integral portion of my coaching/training plan. It starts each fall, and we have check points along the way. We hit it more as we transition from winter to spring. Preparation for the season, for the month, for the week, and for the regattas. How have we prepared ourselves both physically, and mentally?
If you think that preparation begins the week of the regatta, I believe you're well behind the top crews. You're certainly well behind mine.
Because it can be an extensive topic, we limited it to three. And even that was difficult. After some serious thought, these are my three (in no particular order).
1. Race pace during technique.
2. Second half drive.
3. Preparation.
I will admit that number 3 is a bit of a cheat. I wasn't willing to narrow down the number of things that went into preparing for practice or a race, so instead I dumped it all under one single word. Mind you, these things can and will change. If you'd asked me four years ago what I thought, I'd most likely have a completely different list.
RP during technique
That title is a bit misleading because we're not executing a majority of the technique at or anywhere near RP. I picked this idea up from a coach I worked with at OSU who was a mentor, and now friend. Only the second mentor I've had in my career mind you, a fact I've not been thrilled about.
This idea is that there are always going to be bits of technique that should be executed at RP so we reinforce the idea of quickness, and speed. Conversely, we do this so the deliberate movements and speed desired when focusing on technique don't bleed into these areas.
The two areas that receive the most attention are the movement at the release, and placement of the blade at the front. Many times when you're teaching technique, you're moving at low rates somewhere between 12 to 18. What you may not be aware that you're doing is reinforcing this speed in placing the blade or releasing it. This leads to rowing the blade in, and missing clean extraction at the release. By maintaining RP at those two particular points in the stroke, we can continue to work on technical changes, but we don't dull down those movements. They stay sharp, and dynamic.
Second half drive
I believe a majority of the teams you'll face at a regatta can grab the front end. They may have varying ways of getting the blade into the water, and some might have better connection and leverage than others, but for the most part, we get the front.
My focus here is in the transition from the legs, to swinging the body. I believe that many crews, especially the novices, lose connection during this transfer. The legs slam down into the the bottom of the boat, and then the body begins moving through. At that moment, the feet disconnect from the footboards, and the body is now moving inside the boat without much connection to the speed of the boat.
This was the main focus in 2016 with the novices at Oregon. Second half connection. It was a major component of all technical practices, and we'd pause during AT or TR pieces to remind the athletes of maintaining their connection through the drive.
Preparation
I'm going to keep this brief because it will be very easy for me to get lost in here.
You put all of this work into building a crew, teaching it to row together, and now you head off to an important two day regatta. You've done what you can do at the boathouse.
But what about outside the boathouse? What preparations have you done with the team? What about leading up to this important regatta? How far back did you begin preparing?
I started thinking about this process, and researching preparation, and since 2009, it's become an integral portion of my coaching/training plan. It starts each fall, and we have check points along the way. We hit it more as we transition from winter to spring. Preparation for the season, for the month, for the week, and for the regattas. How have we prepared ourselves both physically, and mentally?
If you think that preparation begins the week of the regatta, I believe you're well behind the top crews. You're certainly well behind mine.
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