Tag: strategy

College Ergs High School How To Training & Nutrition

Training: 2k Test Strategy

By readyallrow December 16, 2012

A 2k test on the erg is one of the definitive physiological tests of our sport. It requires as much mental preparation as it does physical. Unlike a 6k where your endurance and mental strength are being tested, a 2k test analyzes both of those in addition to your power output and resistance of and resilience towards pain. This isn’t like going to the doctor to have a dislocated shoulder reset – it doesn’t hurt less if you don’t see it coming. It hurts more. Accepting the realization that your body is about to experience pain does a lot more for you than ignoring it.

There are infinite ways to pull a 2k and everyone’s strategy is different. Instead of reading this and thinking it is the definitive guide to developing your 2k game plan, use it as the framework to help build your own. Assuming you’ve all pulled a 2k before, you should know where you start to feel fatigued, where you start to hit that mental roadblock, and where you realize you need to go NOW. During races, coxswains use landmarks to help us call certain moves; the points I just listed are your landmarks.

The Start: 2000-1800m

Race plan: High 20 followed by 5-10 to lengthen out to your base pace

Go out of the gates hard here. Get your stroke rate where you want it within 2-3 strokes, making sure they’re controlled and not erratic. Know where your splits need to be and aim to get there within the first five to eight strokes. Take these first 10-15 strokes to get all the jitters out of your system – let the adrenaline take over.

As you go through strokes 14, 15, and 16 get ready to lengthen out. In 3, 2, 1, BOOM on this one – explosive press off the stretchers, control the slide on the recovery, drive it hard. Breathe. Get to your desired stroke rate within 2 strokes and pay attention to your split. Know what you need to be at, get there, and stay there.

At some point there will be a second where you think “I don’t feel THAT bad, I should bring my split down a little more.” Do not, under any circumstances, listen to your brain. Sabotage is the name of the game here and your brain is a master at it.

The Body: 1800-1300m

Race plan: Find your rhythm

This is where you’re going to start feeling the burn in your legs. The first 200m were largely anaerobic but that you’ve switched over to aerobic you’re gonna start feeling the lactic acid accumulation. Ignore it and focus on your splits. Concentration and consistency drives these 500m.

You’ll know you’re in trouble if your splits are sporadic and you find it hard to hold your desired number. If your split should be at a 1:48, make sure every stroke is focused on rowing a 1:48. When you get to 1500m, take a ten for … something. This is a good opportunity to check yourself and do one for form, rate, or power, if you want/need that boost to get yourself refocused on hitting your target splits.

The Pain Cave: 1300-700m

Race plan: Breathe, commit, attack

These are the worst 600m of a 2k. I like to break this part up into two smaller chunks: 1300-1000m and 1000-700m. This is where your brain is going to start saying “stop, I can’t do it, the tank’s empty, if I fake a heart attack maybe I can get out of this, wait – I don’t need to fake a heart attack, I think I’m actually having one”. Pieces are determined to be successful or not successful in this next stretch, so above anything else, your mental toughness has to prevail here.

A lot of times I’ve seen rowers get to this point and start feeling defeated by the number of meters left on the screen. They take a break from their split for a stroke or two and then it’s all over. There’s no coming back from those off strokes. You have to recognize that pulling a 1:46 is going to burn just as badly as a 1:48 so you might as well push through and stay on that 1:46.

When you get to the 1000m mark, take a 20. These next twenty strokes are for you to feel your body and what it’s still capable of. I like to call this “the attack”. Go hard like you did at the start without changing the stroke rate. Control your breathing and your body and push through these few hundred meters. When you see the meters get to triple digits, don’t get complacent. You made be halfway done but you still have another half to complete. If all is going well, you’re still holding the splits you had around the 1500m mark.

After you finish those 20 strokes, take 5 to lengthen back out. Try to maintain the same split and stroke rate while getting as much length as possible. For most people it’s entirely possible that they don’t even see the 900-700m chunk go by because they’re inside their own heads.

The Second Half: 700-500m

Race plan: (re)Focus and prepare to start shifting the rate up

This isn’t supposed to feel good, remember? The third 500m is typically the slowest part of the piece. You’re suffering hard right now and the physical aspect of the test is taking a backseat to the mental part. Remind yourself that pain is a good thing and that you can’t quit yet. Make a shift with the stroke rate and push your split down by a second. Drive through these 200m.

The Build: 500-350m

Race plan: 10 at 500m to recommit – no turning back

All eyes on the end now. Coaches really look at this last 500m to see whether or not you went faster here than during any other part of the piece. Maintaining your split here is important. Take a 10 or 20 at the 500m mark, but don’t push your split down and let it immediately come back up. If you push it down, keep it there.

Watch your stroke rate coming into 400m. Make sure you’re not losing control and letting it creep up as you approach the end of the piece. While you want to be giving everything you’ve got, you still want to be able to give a little bit extra at the very end, so it’s important to not release that extra burst of energy too soon.

Around 400, start to gradually push the split down while letting the stroke rate come up a beat or two. This shouldn’t occur all at once, instead over a gradual period of a couple strokes. Make the commitment to go and GO.

The Sprint: 350-0m

Race plan: Stay controlled at the higher rate and go balls to the wall to the end

This is it. The legs are going to be begging for the end of this piece but you have to fight through the pain and maintain your technique. I’ve heard of some rowers who sprint at half slide and exaggerate their upper bodies to give the legs a break, which makes absolutely NO sense since the smaller upper body muscles are no match for the larger muscles of the legs. Stay long with the legs and don’t shorten your stroke as you bring the stroke rate up at the end.

Some additional important things to remember:

Food

Eat something no later than one hour before your race. You can eat a regular meal 3-4 hours before your test because the digestive system will have done it’s job by the time you get on the erg, but as time ticks down your meals should get smaller to ensure it’s digested by the start of your piece. Don’t eat anything within an hour before your test because not only do you not want to get sick before, during, or after but you most especially do not want your stomach drawing blood away from where it’s needed most – your muscles.

Also, make sure you’re hydrated. Dehydration leads to cramps and there’s few things worse for a rower’s psyche than having to stop mid-2k because of a muscle cramp.

Warm up

Don’t skip the warm up. 20ish minutes before your test is about when you should begin getting ready on the erg. Before this you should do your normal dynamic warmup or stretching/rolling routine that you usually do before practice.

When your body feels loose, get on the erg. If your coach has a specific warmup for you to do before your test, do that. If not, it’s up to you what you do. Ideally you should row around 2/3 pressure for a few minutes before moving up to 3/4 pressure. Throw in a couple of practice starts, followed by 5 high strokes and 5 lengthening strokes to mimic your full starting pattern. Spend about 5 minutes rowing at steady state pressure with some “bursts” thrown in every minute.

Following the completion of the full warm up (and assuming you’ve timed in correctly), give yourself at least 30 seconds or so to just sit at your erg and get in the zone. Grab one more drink if you need it but don’t spend too much time just sitting otherwise your muscles will cool down and negate the time you just spent warming up.

Right before the start

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, sit up a little taller, and remind yourself that you are prepared for this. No negative thoughts, questioning, doubt, etc. is allowed.

Immediately after the test

Do not – I repeat, do NOT – make a big scene by flopping on the ground and lying there. The best thing you can do immediately following the test is keep moving. Don’t try getting off the erg right away and walking around though … the post-2k jelly leg syndrome can lead to some nasty injuries (fun fact, this is how I dislocated my knee).

It’s best to stay on the erg and row lightly for a few minutes to cool down so that the body can begin clearing all the metabolic waste from your system. The heart and liver will work to filter the lactate from the blood, which takes time, but the process is helped by keeping the body moving. If you don’t cool down and just let the lactate hang out, it can be a couple days before it’s fully cleared from your system, which means you’ll be in some serious pain.

You should do an active recovery that involves rowing around 40-50% for at least 5-10 minutes. Your coach should account for this if there aren’t enough ergs for everyone to do the test at once. Your muscles will use the majority of the lactate during the cool down, which will aid in helping clear it faster. When you’re tired you instinctively want to not do anything but after a hard erg piece it’s imperative that you keep moving and cool down. Just like the warm up, don’t skip this.

Coxswains

Let your coxswain know if you want them to cox you during your test. If you don’t want them to talk to you, don’t assume they know that and don’t get pissed at them if they try to cox you. They’re just doing their job. Make it clear that you don’t want any coxing but be polite about it. Sometimes coxswains can take a rower telling them not to cox them as that rower saying their coxing sucks, which most of the time isn’t true.

If you want them to cox you, talk to them well before your test (like, the day before) instead of waiting until 5 minutes before and telling them every spot you want them to give you a power 10. They won’t remember all of that. If you talk to them ahead of time, they can write down where you want to take a burst, where you want to start your sprint, what you want to be reminded of, etc. and then cox you through your piece without any hiccups.

Getting on the erg with a plan is much more beneficial than getting on and just pulling until the meters read zero. It all goes back to being prepared for the pain. Obviously I’m writing this from a coxswain’s perspective since this is usually how I approach 2ks but I think one of the best ways to come up with a strategy if you’re stumped on how to do, particularly if you’re a novice or haven’t done that many erg tests, it is to talk to a coxswain on your team. Ask them where, why, and what they do during a race. This will give you some insight into what they look for and why they think it’s important to make moves at certain points in the course.

Image via // @erikdresser

Ergs High School Q&A Rowing Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 10, 2012

I’m entering my third rowing season this spring but at a different school than I rowed at last year. I come from a good boat at a very strong program but nobody takes me seriously and I want to do really well on my first erg test. The only thing is my old program did 1.5 tests and my new program does 2ks and I don’t know how I’m not going to die that last 500. Do you have any suggestions? I’m a 5’10” 155 lb girl with a 5:45 1.5k.

Before you do your first test I’d suggest doing a 2k or one of the 2k predictor workouts (like 8x500m) just to give yourself a baseline of where you are and what you can expect your time to be. This will also give you an idea of how far into that last 500 you start to really feel the fatigue. Practice, practice, practice – lame answer I know but trust me, you’ll feel a lot better if you’re prepared going into your first test vs. going in blind and not having any idea about what’s going to happen. Jot down some notes after each practice 2k … anything you notice will help you mentally prepare for the “real thing”. Where do you start to feel tired, where would be a good spot to start your sprint, when does the voice in your head tell you to quit because you’re too tired, how do you FEEL, etc. Try giving yourself power 10s, practice making a move at the 1000 meter mark, start building into the sprint at 350 to go, and then start sprinting with 250 to go. See how it goes, tweak it, and find what works for you. Build a “plan” for yourself to loosely follow during your test.

One of the things I liked doing in high school was doing longer pieces than what our races actually were. Instead of doing practice 1500m pieces before regattas, we’d do 2ks. Same with our erg tests – it was ALWAYS 2ks, never 1500s. This helped the rowers a lot because instead of succumbing to fatigue at the end of the race, they KNEW their bodies were prepared to go an extra 500m, so they had an extra 500m of “reserve fuel” already stored and ready to use. I’m convinced that that was a key part of why my team was so successful. It also helped them mentally too because even though they were exhausted like everyone else, they knew their bodies were capable of more than the other rowers we were racing against. That mental edge was HUGE. Make sense? Practice your straight 2k to get a guesstimate of your time and to practice when you’re going to make your moves, but also make sure you’re doing longer steady state pieces to start building up your mental and physical reserves.

If your 1500m time is 5:45, that’s roughly a 1:55 split, which means your 2k would be about a 7:40 … that’s pretty good. Try and hover around that split while you practice and see if you can finish in the 7:40ish range. Don’t settle for that though – if you’re feeling strong and know you can push that split down another second, try it. You’re not a novice and you’ve clearly already proven that you’re a strong rower if you were in a good boat with your previous program so just go do what you know how to do. Don’t try and beat the other girls times just to “prove” yourself. Focus on YOUR erg, YOUR piece, and YOUR time. Let your erg scores, your time on the water, your attitude, your leadership skills, and your commitment to the team speak for themselves.

Ergs Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 2, 2012

Hi, rowing question! Tomorrow I’ve got my first 4k with the varsity team at my school. Obvs it’s for time and the first 2k of it will be rate capped at a 24. How should I approach this piece (split and technique wise, because I’m not too worried, I know I’ll do my best) and what could I do to make it an overall great 4k? Thanks!

As far as how to approach it, go in with a plan. Write it down and look at it a few times before you start. It’s easiest if you break it into three parts – the start, the body, and the sprint.

Since the first half is capped, find that stroke rate in as few strokes as possible while going hard on the pressure. After 15-20 seconds, start to settle down into your pace, whatever you’ve decided that needs to be. Make sure it’s a MANAGEABLE split. Don’t be fooled by your body saying you can go harder…chances are if you listen to it, you’ll fly and die.

It’s OK after those first few seconds if your average split climbs up a little, just make sure you don’t let it come up too much. Say you start at a 2:00, I wouldn’t let it go above 2:05.

Holding your pace, make some pushes every so often like you would in a real race. At the 1500, 1000, 750, and 500 are all good spots to take a 10 or 20.

Coming into the last 500m, start thinking about your sprint. You’ll want to up your power a bit and bring your split down a second or two. Hold that split until the last 300m, take 5 to build into your sprint, and then GO. Make sure you’re still holding a 24, but going all at it with the power. Use your recovery time to wind up the legs and then power through each stroke until the end of the piece.

Watch your technique as you get more fatigued. If you don’t mind someone coxing you while you erg, have one of the coxswains give you a 10 or 20 or remind you to sit up at the finish as you get into the last 500m. Take a deep breath before you start and don’t focus on anyone or anything else except for YOU and YOUR monitor. When you finish, make sure you stay on the erg and paddle lightly for at least 5 minutes or so. Have a water bottle beside you so you can get a drink without having to get up.

Coxing Ergs How To Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 29, 2012

Advice for coxing a 5k on the erg? There are only so many times I can remind my boys to keep their back straight and drive with their legs.

Ugh, I feel your pain. Here’s some suggestions.

Talk to your rowers

Ask them individually what they want/need to hear and when. Does one of them start to forget his body positions as he gets more tired? Does another one just need you to ride his ass so he doesn’t quit in the last 300? Take notes and write it all down in your notebook.

Be aware of the rowers who don’t want you to say ANYTHING to them

Erging is a different beast than the boat and everyone has their own way of tackling it. If a rower yells at you to go away while he’s erging or tells you beforehand that he doesn’t like being coxed while he’s on the erg, respect it. Don’t take offense or ignore their request. They get themselves in that zone and you coming up behind them and reminding them about leg drive and such can throw them off.

Don’t try and correct their technique in the middle of the piece

If they haven’t figured it out by now, their times will reflect it and their bodies will feel it. Only tell them what you would tell them in the boat.

Drive: connect with the feet, press, feel it in the lats, etc.
Recovery: control, light on the seat, steady speed into the catch, sequencing, etc.
Body prep: body set early, get the hands and legs to speed, etc.
Bodies: chins up, cores tight, relax the upper bodies, stay light (especially important as they get towards the end and the bodies become sluggish), BREATHE, etc.

Motivate them without being a cheerleader

There are few things in rowing I hate more than perky, peppy, cheerleader coxswains. Get under their skin. Push them. Remind them what they’re doing this for. Are they trying to get one of the top eight times to be in the first varsity boat? Remind them of that when they’re starting to give in at the end. Tell them this is what they’ve been working for over the last few months, do NOT let the last 500m keep them out of this boat. Are they setting out to PR? Tell them to pace themselves, let the time come to them, not them going to the time. Are they trying to lower their times so they can submit them to colleges? Figure out what their top school is and use that to motivate them. When they’re looking particularly strong, get behind them and say “YEA!! That’s what a Dartmouth man looks like!” or “That’s how a Cal Bear attacks it!”.

Know the “science” behind erg strategy

When should they sprint, when should they “make a move”, etc. so you can make the appropriate calls when you cox them. This is also something they should know. Each rower might have their own strategy or your coach can give them a strategy, but it’s up to you to know whatever that strategy is. One rower might say he wants you to come over at 1000m to go to give him a 20…he’s relying on you for that, so you’ve gotta know WHY he wants it and be prepared to give it.

The first 500m, they should go ham just like they do at the start of a race. Get a good start, take a high, hard 20, and then another 20 to settle into their pace. If the pace is capped, make sure no one goes higher than that. 32-34 is probably all the higher they need to be going, although it varies by person.

By the middle 2000 (4000m – 2000m) they should have found a pace and settled into it. Make sure no one is flying and dying. They’re going to start getting really, REALLY tired as this middle 2k progresses because of the lactic acid building up in their systems. This is where you’re going to have to start pushing them and motivating them to not hit the wall – they’ve got to knock it the fuck DOWN.

Watch their splits and make sure they are sustainable, but not 30 seconds over where they should be. If they need to be pulling 1:45 splits, make sure they’re not pulling 1:49. If they back off a few splits during this middle part, the chances they’ll be able to get back down to the original split is going to be nearly impossible (from a physical standpoint but more so from a mental standpoint).

Around 1500m to go they should start pushing the splits down little by little every few hundred meters. Don’t “save” anything for the sprint. If they’ve “saved” their energy, they’re going to have too much to make up in order to get manage a decent time. Remind them of that. Don’t let them fall behind.

Start pushing that split down and then once they’re around 350m to go, drive up the stroke rate and fucking DROP THE HAMMER on the splits. EVERYTHING they have left should be going into this last 350m and it’s up to you to pull that out of them because at this point, if they’re pushing themselves the way they should be, they’re going to want to die.

Pay attention to your tone of voice

If you sound bored when you’re coxing them, they’re not going to listen to you and it can actually drag them down. You’ve got to stay upbeat, concise, direct, and have a good inflection in your voice. When you’re coxing individuals, you don’t have to yell at them 100% of the time. Get right by their ear when they’re at the finish and talk quietly but intensely to them. The person on the erg beside them shouldn’t be able to hear them. Talk quietly for a few strokes then say something like “Now GET IT” or something similar that causes you to raise your voice. You only really need to raise your voice if you’re walking behind them and see they’re going strong (YEA whatever their name is) and when they’re about to sprint (NOW’S THE TIME TO GO!). The rest of the time should be about 75% intensely quiet and 25% intensely loud.

I usually spend more time walking around just quietly observing during erg tests than I do talking to the guys. I’m gonna get more out of doing that than they are from me saying something in their ear (most of the time) so I only try to say something if it really needs to be said.

Coxing Racing

HOCR: My race plan

By readyallrow October 18, 2012

Previously: Getting to the starting line || Steering through the bridges || Landmarks along the course || Steering around the turns || Race plans

This is the general race plan I’ll be using on Saturday for my race.

From starting line thru BU Bridge: High 20 + lengthen 10

Out of Magazine Beach to start Powerhouse: 10 to start the stretch, maybe another 10 if we’re close to another crew to try and make a move

River Street: 5 to jump on the top 1/4 of the slide

Western Ave: 5 to squeeze into the finish

Weeks Bridge: 5 out of the turn to lengthen back out, regain seconds in the flat

Anderson: 20 out of turn to lengthen back out, regain seconds in the flat

Before the start of the Eliot turn: Focus, get ready to go

Eliot: 20 under the bridge, driving for the Belmont-Winsor dock

Last turn: 10 if necessary (i.e. we’re close to another crew)

Start of the docks: 5 to build, sprint to the end

Stay up to date with future HOCR-related content by checking the “Head of the Charles” tag.

Image via // Navy Blazer Club

Coxing Racing

HOCR: Race plans

By readyallrow October 17, 2012

Previously: Getting to the starting line || Steering through the bridges || Landmarks along the course || Steering around the turns

One of the most important things you can have during a race is a plan. Things might not necessarily go according to that plan, but at least you’ll have one. Creating race plans aren’t nearly as difficult as they sound and for races like Head of the Charles where you’ve got multiple landmarks to work off of, it’s relatively simple.

Related: Landmarks along the course

The first third of the race should focus on technique, the second third split between technique and motivation, and the last third all on motivating your rowers to pour everything they’ve got left into the last mile around around Eliot.

Pick out 3-5 landmarks throughout the course to do Power 5s, 10s, 20s, etc. at. and decide what those bursts will be for/what their purpose is.

Determine 2-3 spots that you’ll use specifically for “making a move”.

Develop a list of “special calls”, i.e. calls that resonate specifically with your crew.

Have a list of “stock calls” to use in between your bursts and special calls. These are your regular every day calls that shouldn’t take any effort to come up with.

Know your rower’s tendencies and what they want/need to hear so you can develop calls based around that.

Prior to racing, have a map of the course on hand so you can look at it and determine the best spots to do your bursts. Practice your plan when you go out before the race and make sure you share the plan with your rowers. On the way up tell them what the plan is, where you plan on executing your moves, and what your goals are.

Next up: My Head of the Charles race plan

Image via // @globetophrapher

Coxing Drills Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 9, 2012

Today during practice we just did 20 minute pieces of steady state rowing. My crew gets bored very quickly and their stroke rating goes down, so I decided to add in various 13 stroke cycles throughout the piece, but I regret doing it because it wasn’t steady state. I’m just confused as to how to get them engaged throughout without sounding like a cheerleader but at the same time keeping up the drive and stroke.

Steady states are kind of a catch 22 because while they have many purposes, rowers can get bored and complacent WAY too easily. Coxswains can also get bored – it’s something I’m definitely guilty of. Below is what I do to alleviate that and keep myself (and the crew) focused.

Best piece of advice is to break the piece into chunks. If you’re doing 20 minutes, break it into 5 four-minute chunks. Each of the first four chunks focuses on something different, such as leg drive/getting a good first jump, body swing, catch timing/clean releases, and lengthening out while maintaining a steady pressure. The final chunk focuses on combining all of those things to make the cleanest, most efficient strokes possible. During each chunk, spend 2 minutes talking and 2 minutes NOT talking. Before you start, explain the plan. “Guys, we’ve got 20 minutes ahead of us. We’re going to break it down into five four-minute chunks and focus on something different during each of those four minutes. I’ll spend a few minutes talking and a few minutes not talking. When I’m not talking, I want you to think about what we’ve been working on and try and apply the changes. Don’t use that time to zone out – stay in the zone and keep the focus in the boat, in your seat.”

(Note: all of this is a lot wordier – exponentially so – than I’d normally be in the boat. That’s just for the sake of explaining what I’m getting at here. It should be fairly obvious what you can cut back on and make more concise.)

1st minute

“Ok, so let’s spend this first chunk working on our timing at the catch and finish. Let’s clean it up and focus on getting our blades in at our longest points, not lunging for the catch, and keeping our hands, shoulders, and chins level. At the finish, let’s think about getting our layback, knowing where the proper layback spot is, and making sure we’re giving ourselves plenty of room to tap down at the release. This is going to rely a lot on our handle heights, so that should be a secondary focus of this first four minutes. I really want you guys to concentrate on just the catches and finishes. Let’s maximize that horizontal rotation out towards the rigger and minimize the unnecessary vertical movements coming into the catch. Let’s go into this minute knowing what we need to work on, seeing how the boat feels, and let’s make some initial adjustments. We’ll go … on this one.”

2nd minute

Don’t talk. Take note of everything that’s going on. What were the immediate noticeable improvements? What happened to the set? What did you notice from the individual blades? What got better, what still needs work? Is someone getting their blade caught at the release? Why? Do you know how to tell them to fix it? Can you hear one sound going into the water or several? Ask your stroke if he/she feels any rush. How bad is it?

3rd minute

“Ok guys, our catches are at about 75%. They’re not perfect, but they’re not terrible either. We’re pulling over to port as we come to the finish – 4-seat, I noticed your blade is getting caught on nearly every release and that seems to be when the boat gets the most tippy. Lay back, make sure you’re not pulling into your lap. Think about where your hands are coming into on your body and try and hit that same spot every time. Let’s listen for the sound of the oars going in the water together on this next minute – one sound here. Let’s we squeeze into the finish, hold the blades in as long as possible, and keep the pressure on all the way through. Our stroke rate should be at about an 18, so let’s control our slides coming up to the catch and get a good press going back to the finish. Think about accelerating the blade through the water during the stroke – starting the catch at about 50% pressure, finishing around 75%. I want to feel the acceleration and I want to see the adjustments on timing. Let’s clean it up. Focus is really good guys. Let’s take another silent minute and really laser in on making these improvements. We’ll go … on this one.”

4th minute

Right away, what adjustments/improvements did you notice? Look at the individual blades you talked to during that last minute – are they better or worse? Why? What adjustments can you tell they made?

The last 15 seconds of the 4th minute and the first 15 seconds of the next chunk should be spent briefly talking about what you noticed on that last minute. Improvements you saw, what got better, individual achievements, etc. Be enthusiastic if there was a BIG change. “4, that looked SO much better – could you tell how much cleaner that was? Really nice adjustments, keep it up.” This shouldn’t be long and drawn out – you only have 30 seconds. Keep it to short, quick bullet points. Use this time for positive things, not negative. If you use that time for negative points, they’ll not only think they just wasted all that time, but they’ll also dread the next chunk because they’ll anticipate you being negative and ONLY harping on what is wrong or needs fixed. Be positive. You can throw in constructive criticism as necessary during your two minutes of talking time, but keep it to only one or two things. Focus on what they’re doing WELL. Play into their psyche – positivity breeds positive outcomes and better responses overall from your crew.

Begin the next chunk of time the same way. “Alright, we just spent four minutes working on clean catches and finishes. Let’s keep those adjustments in our minds, but transition our focus to our leg drive and getting a good press on the foot stretchers as soon as we lock on.” Repeat this process for each chunk.

When you get to the last four minutes, you can talk the whole time. Utilize the entire four minutes to praise the shit out of them and make note of all the adjustments. Say something like:

“OK guys, we’ve got 16 minutes down, 4 minutes left. We’ve made a lot of great improvements over those 16 minutes – now is where we apply all of them and really get this boat moving. Let’s sit up a little taller, get our chins a little higher, and hold our cores a little tighter. Keep the stroke rate where it is, but let’s bump up the pressure 10% – on this one – little more through the water. THERE WE GO, good! Now, let’s think about those catches and releases (one or two points that improved during the first chunk). I know you guys all felt the boat start to move a little better when we really focused on our swing – let’s keep that up. Think about our bodies, are we moving together out of bow, are we moving at the same speed, are we getting our bodies over or are we just hunching our shoulders? Relax the upper bodies, no tension. Keep the bodies calm and our minds aggressive. Get a good JUMP with the feet, press with the toes. Keep those toes connected to the stretchers the whole time. Don’t lose that connection. Push, send. Push, send. Can you guys feel the boat running? Let’s feel that impulse together now, pushing the legs down together – YES! – on every stroke. Let’s stay long, not shortening up our strokes – we still want to catch at our longest point and make sure we finish laying back, keeping the blade in the whole time. We’re at a 19 right now, let’s keep it here, no higher than this. Keep the bodies long, PRESS, accelerate through. Guys, I can really feel all the adjustments we made throughout the first 16 minutes. The boat’s feeling light, we’re getting a good run, catches are strong, releases are clean, feet are staying connected – this is where we win races, right here. THIS. This is why we do this. As our technique improves, we’re shaving seconds off our times. Nobody should be taking any strokes off – no passengers, everyone driving. Let’s keep the focus on for these last few minutes, make sure we’re all still breathing and watching our bodies. No slouching or sinking into our hips. Keep the core tight, sit up tall. Let’s laser focus in here … together … now.”

During the last few minutes, throw in some 10s or 20s intermittently to not only shave off the time you have left, but to also put EVERYTHING into play. Take a 10 for catches, 5 for clean releases, and then when you’ve got 30-40 seconds left, take a strong 20 to really lengthen out and finish strong.

If you know the day before that tomorrow is going to be a steady state piece, ask your coach what he wants to focus on. Ask him for a couple things and then write out a practice plan in your notebook of what you want to do, focus on, etc., that way you can remember everything you want to say/do during the piece. That kind of preparation not only helps keep practice efficient, it also shows your coach/teammates that you’re taking your job seriously which can/will earn you a lot of respect.