Practice #1 of 98

Day one on the water, impressions.



Several people (about half the group) swapped sides before the row today. We had a very nice improvement curve from the beginning to the end of practice

Good to see people making changes, and listening too and absorbing coaching. A thing to remember is that I only kind of know what I'm talking about; a big part of my job is helping the athletes to try something new and it's up to them to implement the change.

I love rowing and coaching on the Willamette. This time of year, early fall, it's fairly warm, still lush with life, and wonderful still water. A really excellent place to row.

Got to catch up with some other coaches today. The community was out in force on a Tuesday morning.

Women were out in an eight & four, men out in pairs today. The pairs looked great and I'm excited to get to use them more. One of our freshman only sculled in high school and he took his first sweep strokes today in a pair; by the end of practice it was pretty good.

Everyone, coaches included, is very happy to be back too it. Rowing is what we're here for; it's nice to see us out getting strokes in again.

We're not quite ready to take on the world, but we've taken the first steps.

T-Minus 9 hours. . .

First water practice in just a few hours. It's been very busy here. Launches went in this morning, spent the day doing paperwork and talking to athletes, then took the beginning rowing class down to the boathouse to teach them how to move boats.

Erg scores from the varsity workout today are trickling in. Some much improved on last year, some people took the summer easy. It's always a mixed blessing to start out of shape-- the first few weeks are harder but the improvement comes quickly. Fitness gains for the fit are harder to come by, but of course the peak to be reached is higher.

Novices went through their clearance today as well; tomorrow they start with learning the stroke.

Time for bed-- early morning tomorrow. After all the preparation that went into the year I'm very much looking forward to getting back to what all this is about.

Meetings

This is the week of meetings; the varsity women got together this morning (7 AM, testing everyone's ability to stay awake while talking about training systems) and the coaches are getting together this evening.

This morning's meeting was good; we started out by having everyone introduce themselves and talk about both why they are rowing and what their goals for this year are. I'm constantly reminded that everyone does this sport for a different reason; there is no one right answer. One of my favorite things about coaching this sport is working to create a common drive out of diverse motivations; when it comes together well it's a fantastic thing.

The sculling class actually practiced yesterday-- we rowed a grand total of 7k, I think. HUGE. Video of the quad below; for everyone in this boat this was either the first time sculling or the first time in many years.




Of the 8 people in the sculling class, 4 are on the team and 4 are not. It's about the enjoyment of rowing instead of rowing for competition. I've enjoyed the contrast to the intensity of our team workouts.

Sunburn!

When we annually travel to WIRA in Sacramento at the end of the year, I sometimes get tagged as the sunscreen nazi. Nothing saps an athletes energy faster then a good sunburn, and especially with our rowers coming from the Northwest, dillegince is required to prevent damage.

Ironically, I forgot the lesson myself yesterday at a bike race and I'm now suffering the consequences of 6+ hours in a mid-day sun. Remember: it's not worth it. Put on sunscreen and you'll have much better day #2. Lucky for me I'm not racing today.

Was on campus for quite a few hours today in the office & teaching the beginning rowing course. Had several conversations with varsity athletes about levels of commitment and what was required vs what is needed to move us forward. I've never liked the word 'required'-- to me a successful program is one that the athletes buy into. If I have to force athletes into a practice, we've lost already. At the same time the level of speed needed to be successful is known, and the amount of work to get there is a straightforward reality. I hope the talks I had today were successful in helping our athletes balance other parts of their lives (school, work, fun) with the work we need to put in to go as fast as we want to.

Success is easy, the work required for success is hard.

Pio Fair

Friday afternoon was Pio Fair, now in it's 3rd year. Campus shuts down around 4:30 PM and all the various clubs and organizations get themselves together, grab a table, and talk to students about the myriad options that await them on campus.



For rowing, we first strapped one of our new pairs on my car. I drove VERY carefully up to campus.



We set up shop near the middle of the chaos, with Meghann and Max deployed to talk to interested freshman. Met several of the novice who are already on board and made some excellent connections with a few more.



There were a couple of Newfoundland dogs present; the Newfie is our new mascot! Read all about why here.

A busy afternoon but a fun one.

Rowing has Happened

I got a great note today from someone saying she 'had lunched'. I only got to eat lunch. How do I upgrade?

First strokes of 2008-2009 are in the bag. The sculling class paddled around a bit in a quad as I got a feel for the experience level of that group. It's a fun group-- some people who row for the team, some who rowed in High School but not here at L&C. The common denominator is a strong enthusiasm to ROW MORE, which I can't help but enjoy.

The novice interest meeting was this evening; a great turnout and some excellent athletes looking into the team. Much like the beginning rowing class yesterday, lots of good enthusiasm that's infectious.

Pio Fair tomorrow-- stay tuned for a picture-heavy post.

First Day of Classes!

And the campus is hopping!

Office is busy too; many many athletes from the team stopping by to say hi and ask questions. . . everyone looks refreshed and ready to row. Two more weeks, though, before we get going proper. I'm getting excited.

The team is meeting tomorrow at 6 AM (set those alarms now!) to rig and wash and chat.