Month: September 2016

Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

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Do you have any advice on dealing with a coach pressuring you to continue practicing through injury?

Three things:

Communicate with your coach

Most just want to make sure you’re not confusing discomfort with actual pain (which happens fairly often, hence the cautious skepticism on their part) so you have to actually explain what you’re feeling, how long it’s felt like that, when you notice it the most, etc. instead of just saying “my back hurts”. The more details you put out there the more likely your coaches are to understand that this is something serious and not just some lingering soreness.

Related: Hi!! I have a plica in my knee, I got the okay from our AT to row but it hurts a lot when I do. We’re in an erging stint right now and I don’t want to be seen as a slacker but I also don’t know if I can effectively do the workouts on the erg. I have no clue how to go about handling the situation.

Go to your doctor or trainer and get some professional feedback on what’s going on

Tell your coaches too that you’ve got an appointment set up so they see that you’re actively working on a solution to the problem. Most trainers on campus will directly communicate with the coaches to let them know that you came in, this is what they saw, etc. but you should still ask them if they can pass along the info to the coaches and then follow up a day or so later. They see a lot of athletes so do your due diligence and take the appropriate steps to ensure everyone that needs to be in the loop is actually in the loop.

Advocate for yourself

No one’s holding a gun to your head and making you erg, row, run, etc. If you’re injured and the trainer/doctor has said to take it easy for a few days then that’s what you’ve gotta do. I’m not blind to the fact that people want to keep their seat in the boat they’re in or they don’t want to sabotage their chances of competing for a seat in a higher boat but you seriously have to take a step back from that and look at the bigger picture. Is it really worth causing more damage, being out longer, getting sicker, etc. just to go out and half-ass your way through practice because you’re not feeling 100%? There are absolutely times when you should push through stuff but if you’ve got even a modicum of common sense you know the difference between those times and the times when you need to say (to your coach, not just in your head) “no, I need to take today off” or “I need to take it easy today”.

I know it can be hard to push back when your coach is pushing for you to keep practicing, (especially when you’re like, 15 years old) but if you don’t, especially after doing all the stuff I listed up above, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you. Like I said, no one’s holding a gun to your head and making you practice so if you know that rowing, erging, etc. isn’t the best course of action based on where your injury’s at right now, you’ve gotta stick to your guns and not be talked or guilt-tripped into doing something that’s gonna prolong the recovery process.

Ergs Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

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Hi!! I have a plica in my knee, I got the okay from our AT to row but it hurts a lot when I do. We’re in an erging stint right now and I don’t want to be seen as a slacker but I also don’t know if I can effectively do the workouts on the erg. I have no clue how to go about handling the situation.

If your coaches and/or teammates think you’re a slacker because you’re trying to figure out how to come back from or manage an injury, you’ve got bigger problems to deal with.

In my experience, both as an athlete and since I’ve been coaching, the people that think they’re going to be seen as slackers or whatever when they’re dealing with an injury (or academic/personal issues) are the ones that do literally everything but communicate with their coach(es). If your coaches don’t know that something’s going on and they see you pulling splits that aren’t where they’re supposed to be then yea, they’re probably gonna be thinking you need to get your shit together. After a few days or weeks of this when they finally ask you what the deal is and you casually say “well I’ve been dealing with an injury for the past month” they’re just gonna be frustrated and annoyed that you never said anything to them and just let them assume that you were slacking off. That’s entirely on you too so you can’t get pissed at them if and when they verbalize their frustration at your lack of communication. The vast majority of coaches will be willing to work with you to help you stay healthy, recover properly, etc. but it’s your job to speak up and advocate for yourself when something is going on.

Related: Hey! At the end of the spring season I was one of the best rowers on my team. I had some of the strongest erg scores and was stroking the 1V8+. However I was rowing through an injury, it was a plica so there was no structural damage, and after receiving a cortisone shot, the pain went down a lot, so I was cleared to row though they said to go see another dr. over the summer for potential surgery. The Dr. I saw over the summer took an MRI and decided to try PT and an anti-inflammatory. She also said to limit my exercise to non-impact workouts, which pretty much meant no erging/rowing, running, or biking. I did do some swimming this summer and focused on building core strength. Now I’m back at school in pre-season, it definitely helped, and my knee is better. However my erg scores (obviously) haven’t been where they were and it’s been discouraging. I’ve been going to every practice to gain an advantage, before mandatory practice starts, but it’s so hard motivating myself to go when I know I’ll be in the middle of the pack, even though I know the only way to get better is by going. What’s worse is that my coach ignores me. This sucks because I’ve picked up that that’s what he does to the girls who maybe aren’t the top rowers on the team. Do you have any advice on how I can boost my moral?

The best and first thing you should do is meet with your coaches before your next practice and update them on what’s going on. Let them know that you’ve been cleared by the trainer (you can probably ask the trainer to email them too to let them know what they’ve seen and done with you so far) but that you’re still experiencing a lot of pain when you’re on the erg. This past winter we had two or three guys working through knee issues and they would typically bike during practice or if we were doing something like 7 x 10 minutes, they’d start on the ergs, do 3-4 pieces, and then get on the bike for the last few. Another guy would go to the pool on campus and swim for 90 minutes. Try proposing one of those options and/or get some recommendations from the trainer for alternate workouts and then let your coaches know where things stand.

Regardless of how off-putting your coach might be, which I fully get is why some people are hesitant to tell them they’re injured, it’s still in your best interest to tell them stuff like this sooner rather than later.

Five things to do as a novice coxswain

College Coxing High School Teammates & Coaches

Five things to do as a novice coxswain

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If you’re new to the sport of rowing and got tapped to be a coxswain, here’s a few things you should do to help make sure your first few weeks go smoothly.

Establish a relationship with your coach

Don’t be intimidated by them. Communication and trust are intangible assets when it comes to the coach-coxswain relationship so establishing them early on in your career can only help you. Talk to them regularly before and after practice and find out things like how they like to run practice. Coaches will vary on how much involvement they have, as well as how much involvement they’ll want from you when you’re just starting out. It’s definitely their responsibility to tell you this stuff up front but some won’t or will forget so take the initiative and ask yourself.

Listen and learn

Observe everything. Ask lots of questions – even if you think they’re stupid, you get a pass because you’re new. Engage. Seek out and accept feedback/critiques on a regular basis.

Related: Advice from a former novice

Use your time wisely

As a novice you’re not going to have a ton of responsibilities right off the bat so use any “down” time (i.e. when the rowers are erging or you’re riding in the launch) to talk to the other coxswains and learn about the boathouse (where stuff is), procedures (getting the boat in/out), equipment (which boats/cox boxes you use), team culture, etc. Don’t be a wallflower or you’ll fall behind fast.

Reflect

There’s a lot you have to learn and be in command of so establishing what your personal goals are (why you’re doing this, what you want to get out of it, etc.) and prioritizing the skills you need to master ASAP (steering…) will give you a framework to go off of, which will give going to practice every day an added sense of purpose that you might not otherwise have right off the bat.

Find a mentor

Ideally this would be a varsity coxswain but it can also be a coach, team captain, etc. Basically you want to find someone who can help you get up to speed, answer questions, and just be a resource when needed. We did this in high school and we do it here at MIT too. It’s great because you have single source of contact so you never have to worry about who to ask if you have a question. Here we try to pair the guys off with other guys in their major so that if questions arise about classes, professors, advisors, internships, jobs, etc. they’ll be able to ask someone who’s experienced it all while also being a full-time student athlete. Plus, it helps with retention if people feel like they’ve got a friend on their side from the beginning vs. feeling like they’re going at this on their own.

Keep in mind too that this doesn’t only apply to novices, it applies any time you join a new team, even if you’re an experienced coxswain. If you’re a week or two into your freshman year of college and haven’t done any of the above yet, make it a priority this week to, at the very least, have a conversation with your coach and find a peer mentor on the team if they’re not already assigned to you.

Image via // @annabelleprescott
Practice calls

Coxing Technique

Practice calls

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Previously: Race calls

Today’s post is a follow up to the “race calls” one that went up back in May. These are some of the comments that were included in response to a question on our coxswain evals that asked what calls they like, don’t like, want to hear, don’t want to hear, etc. during practice (either on the erg or on the water).

Image via // @roeibond

Crew was always imperfect; no matter how good your crew, you were bound to lose, if not a race then the ephemeral feeling of swing, when a boat was moving perfectly. Because currents, tides, and winds made times largely meaningless, it was a sport in which records had no value. A runner might know that he had bettered a time of those who went before him. The oarsmen in a boat that had won every race would always wonder if his boat was better than one that was comparably victorious six years earlier. The only clue that his boat was probably faster came from other sports, for swimmers and runners were systematically improving on the records set by their predecessors. But there was no empirical evidence. Therefore, humility became part of the code: You did not boast of what you would do or had done, nor did you embarrass a loser. Because your adversaries had subjected themselves to virtually the same regimen that you did, you respected them as much as you respected yourself.

David Halberstam "The Amateurs"

Erg Playlists

Music to erg to, pt. 129

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This week’s playlist is heavy on the Suicide Squad soundtrack – if you haven’t heard it yet, you should listen to it. It’s awesome.

This week’s VOTW is a really cool short film called “Ergo” that kinda leaves you with a cliffhanger at the end but it’s so good and really well shot. Definitely check it out if you haven’t watched it yet. Also check out this week’s coxswain recordings post (they’re both head races) and last week’s post on how issues with the bladework can affect the set of the boat.

College Q&A

Question of the Day

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Hi Kayleigh, I’m entering my senior year of college and 8th year of rowing. Our team has 1.5 coaches, 3 coxswains, no academic advisor or AT and once our class graduates our team is going to be half the size it is now. Do you have any advice on how to make the best of a seemingly crappy situation?

Not to diminish the situation or anything but that doesn’t sound that crappy, unless there’s something I’m missing. It actually sounds like what a lot of club teams experience each year – minimal resources, coaching inconsistencies, varying class sizes, etc. I guess what I’m saying is that it can be done, it just might take a little more work, flexibility, and sacrifice than in years past.

I think the best thing to do is work with what you’ve got and be very clear in your goals, priorities, and responsibilities this year, in addition to making sure the classes below you (particularly the juniors) are prepared enough to take the reins next year. The current team leadership is definitely gonna have to step it up on all fronts to make all that happen.

If you don’t have trainers you can go to when you’re sore or injured then the team needs to make sure they’ve got a recovery plan in place that minimizes residual soreness and prioritizes injury prevention … and you’ve gotta make sure everyone buys into that and actually stretches, rolls out, etc. before and after practice. Everyone also needs to commit to acting like athletes outside the boathouse too, not in the how you carry yourself kind of way but in how you treat your body. That’s one of the big things our captains want to focus on this year is making sure the guys are sleeping and eating enough so that their bodies are consistently ready to go and not always on the brink of crashing and burning. We’ve already got some strategies in place to make this happen so that might be something you do as well, come up with something that holds everyone accountable and consistently reiterates the importance of recovery, sleep, good nutrition, etc.

If you don’t have advisors from within the athletic department then you’ll need to rely on the advisors you have within your individual colleges to help you navigate your classes, requirements, etc. There’s a lot of discussion on our team about classes, professors, which academic track to follow, etc. so using your teammates as a resource if/when necessary is always a great and easy option too. (I assumed when you said you don’t have academic advisors you meant ones that the athletic department assigns you in addition to your regular one. That’s how it was for us at Syracuse but I know not everyone does that. I can’t imagine you meant that you have no advisors at all though … that doesn’t even seem possible.)

Only having 1.5 coaches – by which I assume you mean a full-time head coach and a part-time or volunteer assistant coach – can be tough but ultimately the responsibility is going to fall on the coxswains to pick up the slack and help the coaches out. Your practice management skills have gotta be on. f-ing. point. this year in order to maximize your time on the water and ensure you’re actually getting shit done. Communication is gonna be even more imperative between the coxswains and coach(es) so that if the coach says they’re going off with Boat C today so A and B are gonna be on their own for most of practice, the coxswains know exactly what the plan is and can execute it accordingly.

I wouldn’t focus on the things you don’t have though, otherwise that’s just gonna make you bitter and introduce a lot of stress and resentment to the overall atmosphere … and ain’t nobody got time for that, especially when you’re a senior.