First day of spring = snow in Boston. Typical. Perfect timing though because the team is leaving for our (really last minute) spring break training trip to Cocoa Beach tomorrow morning … or as our head coach put it, “getting out of this frozen hell hole for a week”. The snow banks might be getting smaller but the basin is still completely covered in ice which means no rowing for us anytime soon, thus we’re heading to Florida to try and get some water time in since the season technically starts next weekend. I’m fully committed to spending as little time on my laptop as possible during the day so keep that in mind if you email me, send questions on Tumblr, etc. You can keep up with what we’re doing as always though by following me on Instagram.

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/1DjGIjZv3MzAegh94askWM

Have a good weekend!

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/5f6TmALtjmLiEHExtKzKqH

On Tuesday I posted the link to the 2015 Summer Camps spreadsheet and have since added about 10 more programs so definitely check that out if you haven’t already and are starting to think about your plans for the summer.

I’ve also “highlighted” on the main page the ones that U23 rowers and coxswains can do, that way you don’t have to wade through all the junior programs to find something applicable to you. I also posted several questions on Tuesday (which you can read here), as well as this post on things novice coxswain should know as we head towards the start of the spring season.

I’m finishing up the summer camp list and would love to get some feedback on any of the following camps so if you’ve been to any of them send me an email. The reviews that you guys have already sent are great and I really appreciate everybody taking the time to write out what they thought.  This year’s list is long – like, 40 as of right now and I’ve still got a handful to add – so any info that you guys can contribute can only serve to make this a better resource for everyone.

Northeast: Craftsbury, CRI, MIT Youth Rowing Camp, Cornell (either the competitive camp or the HP camp), Maine Rowing Camp

Mid-Atlantic: Rutgers, UVA’s men’s camp (Wahoo), Navy women’s camp, Penn AC Gold (men and women), Philadelphia Sculling Club, Princeton

South: Sarasota HP camp, Miami Rowing Club

Midwest: Wisco, Sparks coxswain-only camp

West: Seattle Rowing Center, Sparks Seattle, Cal women’s camp

I’m continuing to work on the summer camp post so if you went to any last year that you’d recommend other people check out, particularly coxswains, send me an email.

Enjoy the weekend!

It is unnecessarily cold right now in the Northeast (-19 with windchill when I left for practice this morning) and with the snow we’re supposed to get this weekend there’s no way I’m leaving my warm, toasty bed for at least the next 72hrs. I’ve got a few posts that I’m slowly putting together but I’d like to get a jump on the 2015 Summer Camps post so if you went to a camp last summer that you enjoyed (or didn’t…) send me an email with some details about what you thought (see this post from last year for the details) so I can include it (anonymously). Thanks to everyone that’s already sent me stuff!

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/2Qc8Ib2PrQB2f8gvG19XhF

25+ inches of snow and no school/practice later…

Check out this question that I posted on Monday on how to improve your coxing when you’re out with novices and there’s not much for you to do. At the end I included one of my own tricks/secret weapons that I used throughout high school (and a bit in college) to help keep me relaxed/sane and get me through the week.

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/6YKfeLoGxyvo3lnpFqUUUD

On Tuesday I posted a couple things that coxswains can do to kill time during winter training (or anytime you’re training on land) because, as we all know, there’s few things more frustrating than having nothing to do and feeling like you’re not contributing anything. Like I said in that post, none of the things I mentioned are going to take up that much time but it’s the little things that can ultimately make a big difference (especially when it comes to earning respect from your teammates).

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/5BSMmTUrNR1vVcFNVUecy1

Ugh, it’s that time of year where everyone’s bringing the germs they picked up at home back to campus, which means colds and the flu are starting to make their way around the boathouse. Make sure you’re taking the necessary precautions to avoid getting sick but if you’re already sick … just stay home! Your teammates and coaches will thank you.

Related: How to avoid getting sick

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/0gG5E4UPnKHQFVzj5DPbWY