Writing from home in a fuzzy fleece with a hot cup of coffee. At some point I need to saddle up and ride the bike up to campus. . . but it's fairly cold outside. . . hmmmm. A challenge I'm sure all rowers are familiar with when pondering training options. I always feel much better post ride, so I'm sure I'll get moving pretty soon here.
Attended a very good coaching clinic in Seattle on Saturday. The USRowing annual convention, where most of the coaching education in the country happens, was going on this weekend in Atlantic City, NJ. The cost and time required to attend was prohibative this year. I found out about this smaller clinic and decided it was a good opportunity. I was impressed with the format and presentation, and most importantly came away with a number of good ideas for our team.
The key now is figuring out how to apply these ideas. When I'm in the clinic and I hear something I like, invariably I start the process with "oh, we're going to do that!". Then we work our way through the system-- will it work? Do we have the equipment, time, and space required? Most importantly, just because someone else uses a technique, training session, or technology, is it going to have a real benefit for our team?
Good ideas are just that, ideas. Turning them into action requires consideration to make sure our program makes sense to us and most importantly to the athletes. This is one of the great challenges of coaching. Making a new concept work is a highly satisfying part of the job.
At the clinic I also saw the parent of a current athlete who's now coaching in Seattle-- it's nice to make these connections, and to see how rowing runs in families.
OK- off to the bike.
