Hey there! I’m in a lightweight boat where the average is about 115-120 lbs and the girls are about 5’7, maybe even 5’6. Only thing is, I’m a little more than five pounds heavier than the others and a good 2-3″ taller. I feel like I’m weighing down the boat and there are other lightweights who could have my place. I never really feel worthy of the boat, I guess its reasonable to say. We all pull around the same times but I’m a tiny bit more technically sound, but they’re also smaller. Thoughts?
If you weren’t worthy of being in the boat you wouldn’t be there and those other lightweights would be in your place. You’re not weighing down the boat either. You weight what, 125lbs? You’re not weighing it down. Maybe if you tied a cinder block to your stomach and then switched to bow seat, yea, you’d be weighing the boat down, but at 125lbs … come on. Whatever/whoever made you think that is wrong. I can’t say it anymore plainly than that.
The fact that you are more technically sound is an advantage for you and probably part of the reason why you’re a member of this lineup. Because lightweight rowers weigh less, they have to be better technical rowers since they can’t rely on sheer strength to move the boat. Heavyweight rowers have a greater overall muscle mass, leading to an increased output of power, but since lightweights don’t have that they have to make up for what they lack in strength in other ways, which is why technique is so important to them.
I tell this to coxswains on an all-too-frequent basis but it absolutely applies to rowers as well: you have to be confident in yourself and your abilities. If you’re not your rowing will suffer. Row every stroke like it’s the most perfect stroke to have ever been rowed and assume it was perfect until someone tells you otherwise – and trust me, they will tell you. Don’t compare yourself to the other rowers either. All it does is mess with your head and take your focus off of rowing.
I have coxed Master’s boats that were beastly people with very good technique that had bad rows. Too much focus on being perfect. I have coxed Master’s boats that were NOT beastly people, with reasonable technique that had FANTASTIC rows because they believed they were rowing well. I put a lot of belief in that if your boat is confident in what they do, you will have a great row, even against bigger crews.
Last weekend I coxed our master’s women’s A boat in Seattle – by review of the photos, we look like a TRAINWRECK going down the course. Yardsale from end to end. But it felt like one of the strongest rows we’ve ever had – and we managed to have a much better race against stronger crews than we originally thought we could pull. Why? Because we absolutely believed we could row well.
Rowing is 90% mental.
Yup. Thinking and believing you can do it, as cliche as it sounds, has just as much of an impact on how good your stroke is as anything else you do.