Building a good club.

Clubs that produce good athletes are systems with many people working together, using their strengths to create a well run environment where competitive people are supported and taught to train hard and excel. As one person (helping the development of the club) you can only do so much. Instead of being able to excel in your chosen area, you end up doing other tasks which you don't care about and which over time will dilute your focus. 

The saying many hands make light work is especially true when it comes to the coaching and the organisation of a rowing club. If one person were to take everything on they would soon find that they had bitten off more than they could chew especially if they are looking after a large amount of athletes.Its like trying to win an eights race with only your self in the eight, by your self you'll accomplish nothing but with seven others, working towards a common goal, anything can be achieved. 

Giving people responsibility gets them involved and in most cases committed to your cause. So much work needs to be done to run a club, fundraising, people management, coaching, equipment maintenance, tracking of finances and much more, having dedicated people for each job ensures enough time is spent on each one and that the club wont suffer due to lacking commitment or time in a certain area. 

The people who under take these rolls can be current members, ex members, parents, coaches, alumni, etc. However that only covers one side. If a club is to be successful, it must, in most cases have members of different ability. This ensures as some members leave. There are new members coming up to fill the gaps. This must be done not only for rowers but also for the coaching, and administrative positions throughout the club so that all of a sudden the club is left struggling due to a few key members leaving.

Making learning interesting. The fine line.

People learn faster when they find things interesting and they're interest is held. So as a coach I think its important to make things interesting and keep the athletes I coach challenged. If things are too easy people tend to switch off. Especial novice rowers. On the other hand if things are too challenging then it can be detrimental as the athletes feel overwhelmed  confused and as they just aren't up to physically or mentally, doing what your asking of them they will think they are not able to do it and start associating rowing with not being able to do anything right. 

So there is a fine line between the two. Not making it too hard and not making it too easy.The exercises picked must be doable and tailored for the athletes ability. For example doing pick drills from front stops in a beginner 8 all 8 is a recipe for disaster where as in a competent 8 it will challenge them and keep them on their toes.

Improvements and different methods needed to coach.

Nothing warms a coaches heart more than seeing his or her crew improve. This is what gets me up in the morning. Seeing a person who has never rowed before take on, and over come a challenge. As long as they are learning I am happy. In rowing learning is defiantly an important part of training.

The best Olympians still have things to improve upon to make their boat go faster. Nothing annoys me more than someone who is making no effort to improve. Why would you waste my time and yours? Other people are improving and getting better so why would I spend my days trying to get you to do something you seem to not want to do??

 In fairness some people do listen and want to improve but rather don't understand what your trying to get across  This I can handle.
 Not everyone learns things the same way. Some people learn visually and require demonstrations while others are great listeners and can understand what you mean when you say it then others learn by having you put them into the proper positions manually and telling them to feel and remember their body positions.

 I have to remind myself of this fact and not get annoyed with people who have trouble learning audibly. As there are many different ways of getting what you are trying to say into peoples heads, having another coach around who maybe able to explain what you are trying to teach is indispensable.

2k erg tests

Ah the 2k erg test. A test of both mental and physical strength which coaches use among other tests as a method of profiling their athletes. Some people like them, most people hate them. I have several questions I have been asking myself in relation to them. Here are the questions I have and my answers to them...

1. Is it right to ask that all rowers do the 2k test in a standardized fashion?

I am of the opinion that each athlete needs to find their own way of approaching 2ks. Some people like going hard at the start and then hanging on for the second half, others prefer a consistent approach where by the split vary's only slightly throughout and of course some enjoy a lea-surly pace for the first half and then a crazy second half. There are many others methods of course.

Some coaches think that everyone should do them the same way but my problem with this is that people approach things differently and it is after all only the end result that matters so why not let them find and use the approach that works the best for them.

If a coach is to prescribe a certain method I would be inclined to go with the keeping it as consistent as possible. Studies of rowing races at Olympic and world championship level have shown that the best method for winning races is the one that has the least variation between each 500 meter split. Therefore we can take from this that consistency is key.   

2. Why are people so against doing 2ks?

Apart from the mental and physical pain that you will endure I think many people put unnecessary stress on themselves to break a certain time over the course of the 2k, or to at a certain point to be doing better than they are. This results in them feeling terrible and associating the 2k with a bad feeling. It is always better to give your self a realistic goal to achieve. 

For example there is no point saying your going to hit 6:20 training just 2 to 3 days a week. It would be much better to set your goal at 7.00 and then by beating that you associate the 2k with positivity and you will be more likely to train harder and do better next time due to the renewed confidence.

Beginners.

I had the privilege of coaching a group of novice rowers yesterday. For many of them it was their first day being in a river rowing boat and taking their first strokes. It was great to see so much enthusiasm and smiles all round. Never before had I coached people who had never pushed a boat through the water before so it was a great learning experience for me.

Many time I found myself thinking of how to get across the rowing stroke in a simple yet effective way. It is not like the on erg where you can demonstrate, and reposition peoples body positions. Half of the time was spent explaining the terms we use in rowing such as the catch, backstops the drive and the recovery.

Soon enough they we're rowing in pairs and trying to stay in time. Emphasising the proper body and blade movements from the beginning is paramount to getting the stroke right from the start and not letting bad habits creep in which can take much more work to undo. I found their attention span to be much shorter than competent rowers. They are going to have to train their minds as well as their bodies. In a short amount of time I could also observe how some people could learn and understand much faster then others this is interesting because the ability to learn and adjust is also paramount in rowing.    

Coaching using positive reinforcement.

Following on from my previous post, in which I left off saying that each athlete has different things which motivate them. The different things that motivate the athletes are often imprinted on the athlete at an early age. For example, a middle child might put up with more pain during a race/ training that a first born child would  as the need to win an show that they are better and different is great, as they might have been in the shadow of their siblings while growing up. Similarly other athletes motivation might be to impress their coach/ parents and prove that they can make something of themselves in this sport.


What ever the motivations are I believe that the will to win can be increased and taken advantage of for the good of the athlete and the club using the power of positive reinforcement. As if an athlete is told, and then believes they are getting better at something, it creates a domino effect and they'll want to become better again at it. Not many people enjoy being bad at things and staying bad at things.

"When used correctly, positive reinforcement can be very effective. According to a behavioural guidelines checklist published by Utah State University, positive reinforcement is most effective when it occurs immediately after the behaviour  The guidelines also recommend the reinforcement should be presented enthusiastically and should occur frequently. "

I believe that everyone responds well to positive reinforcement not just young children and animals. If anything, I think that if you can make animals do tricks using positive reinforcement techniques it just shows how strongly it can effect us all as we are essentially evolved from animals. Immediately saying well done, good job, that better, great improvement etc, etc, as you see an athlete doing something right, be it, improve upon their technique, work hard during an erg piece or anything for that matter, will increase the likely hood of them wanting to do that activity again and increase the athlete's motivation to excel again.

Coaching and verbal abuse.

There has been a lot of controversy lately about the sacking of Mike Spracklen from the position of men's heavy weight coach (Specificly in recent time the 8+). Apparently he has a very negative way of dealing with his athletes, playing them off each other, picking favourites regardless of their ability, telling them their are useless, giving up during races etc, etc (I don't know the man, he might be completely different I'm just commenting on his apparent treatment of athletes).

While this may be the case is it acceptable if his athletes keep winning meddles? Do the ends justify the emotional abuse and breaking of athletes spirits? My personal opinion to this is that no athlete should have to undergo such things. Athletes, especially at this high a level (world championship/Olympic) have a hard enough time as it is without being told their "useless" and "leaving the team down", rowing is their life, in almost all cases an athlete will be telling them selves it was all their fault and that they let their team down anyway. The only reason I believe Mr Spracklen has achieved the success he has, is due to a few athletes not cracking under this abuse, willing to over look this to train amazingly hard and get a seat in the 8+, (to be honest I would too).


 I believe this abuse is thought to be making the athletes"mentally tough". If anything abuse makes people more fragile. Making them do hours upon hours of rowing to improve technique and fitness or building up your athletes to be able to do erg at crazy intensities is, in my opinion more effective as the athletes then know what they are capable of and will gain confidence from this (oh and also from winning).

This is not to say that I believe no athlete should be told they are not right for the sport of rowing and should quit as I don't think some people are competitive enough to survive and work hard enough in rowing,  but the athlete should be given a chance to prove themselves and the coach must find how to get the most from their athlete as different athletes are motivated and respond to different styles of coaching.

Is it the teacher or is it the student??

A question I have often found myself asking since becoming a coach, is whether a rowers inability to row properly is the fault of the rower themselves for not listening to their coach, or the coach for not conveying the art of rowing in a way the rower would understand.

Some rowers are defiantly more responsive and "tuned in" than others (girls more so than boys) but in most cases they will listen if the coach provides the right environment and can find what drives and motivates the rower. As each rower is different in their approach to things different methods must be used to get the most out of them. A good coach, can convey the proper technique and convince his athletes that his methods should be trusted, as can a good teacher inspire and captivate in any subject outside of rowing.

 In most cases I think the fault of a bad rower should not be laid solely at the feel of the coach or athlete but also the system they are a part of. In some clubs there are a disproportionate amount of rowers to coaches.
This in turn means the coach has less time to spend teaching each athlete, so if the athlete has a problem with listening attentively then they are often left behind.

In my opinion I find it hard to coach more than 1 boat at a time on the water (1 eight). Well actually I don't find it hard I just don't think I can spend enough time with each person so that they understand exactly what I'm trying to teach them. This of course changes as the athletes become older, more experienced, and willing to do anything to win.