By readyallrow
By now pretty much everyone knows the story of “the boys in the boat” but I came across this video the other day and thought it did a good job of summarizing UW’s story and highlighting what was going on in the world in the lead up to the 1936 games (specifically as a result of the depression in the US and as the Nazis began rising to power in Germany).
Fun fact: Bob Moch, the coxswain, was the head coach at MIT for five years in the 40s while he was going to Harvard Law School.
By readyallrow
This is a great video for novice rowers and anyone that’s looking to improve their technique (both on the erg and the water). It goes over each of the four parts of the stroke and describes what they should look like from a mechanical perspective and then transitions into a critique of her own rowing on the erg. From there it goes over some drills to highlight some of the technical changes she wants to make.
Something she does that I’d probably recommend you not do is be so bouncy with the hands through the final part of the finish and the beginning of the recovery (when the hands are coming in and moving away from the body). A lot of the time people confuse matching the speed of the hands to the boat’s speed with just throwing their hands away from their bodies as fast as they can which results in that super bouncy, ripcord-like motion she’s got going on. I’ve always been taught (and seen other coaches teach) that this isn’t the correct way to approach the finish/start of the recovery but every coach does things a little differently so make sure you understand the style that your coach is trying to develop before making any drastic changes your own rowing.
Outside of that I think this is a great video. Coxswains, this would be a good video for you to watch too, especially those of you who are new to coxing, so you can start to understand the stroke a little bit better. Since you physically can’t see what they look like when you’re on the water it’s important to have a good understanding and visual image of what the bodies should ideally look like during the catch, finish, drive, and recovery so you can make the appropriate calls if something with their bladework indicates that something is off with their body mechanics.
By readyallrow
By now you’ve probably seen the episode of “How It’s Made” that details the production of a racing shell. This video is similar to that and shows the process of creating wooden composite shells by UK-based Carl Douglas Racing Shells. It’s cool seeing the craftsmanship behind it, especially since that’s not something that we probably think about that much.
Related: How it’s made
Whenever I watch videos like this one thing they always do is make me hyper-aware the next time I’m on the water because now that I’ve seen what goes into creating the shell that I’m now sitting in, I feel a heightened sense of responsibility to make smart(er) steering decisions so as to avoid hitting or damaging anything. That’s definitely something I hope you guys take away from this too, just a better overall understanding and appreciation for the time and effort that goes into creating the equipment we use every day.
By readyallrow
Thought you guys might like some motivation before your next 2k test. His time of 5:48 is about 12 seconds off the world record (5:36.6 by Rob Waddell of New Zealand), his split is a 1:27 average, and he’s pulling an average of 530 watts. His reaction at the end (and the fact that it takes three guys to sit him up) is one of the best parts of the video.
By readyallrow
Anybody else read/watch Babar the Elephant as a kid? This episode is about rowing (and responsibilities) and it’s such a cute show with one of those classic “tells a story while teaching you a lesson” storylines that you kinda can’t help but love it. If the characters weren’t elephants and rhinos you could probably mistake it for your own team because at one point or another we’ve probably all been in the same position as them.
By readyallrow
Yale always makes some of the coolest videos. Their video on the 1956 crew that competed at the Melbourne Olympics is one of my favorites. This one is an eight-minute long teaser trailer on the history of their lightweight program, which dates back to 1920. (The heavyweight program by comparison first began in 1843, making it the oldest rowing program in the country.)
Related: Yale Men’s 8+ at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics
The entire thing is a really fascinating look inside the program with tons of great photos and anecdotes but one photo that really stands out to me is the one shown at 2:52 of all the guys with their stacks of t-shirts in front of them (with each guy wearing a different shirt from each team they beat that season). That’s definitely one way of measuring how successful your season was…
I also liked how the one guy described Andy Card as “a ferret on amphetamines”. Oh, and the “you’re Vanilla Ice but I need Queen” story at the end is great.
Training & Nutrition Video of the Week
By readyallrow
By readyallrow
As much as I dislike how people romanticize rowing and make it seem like the only hard, pretty, complex, time-consuming, soul-crushing, etc. sport out there, something about this video stands out. It gets all the emotions right without being (too) cheesy.
By readyallrow
This is pretty cool. Eyebrow-raising, entertaining, WTF, and cool. The video goes along with this very long article from FOX Sports but it is well worth reading when you have an hour or so to kill (i.e. in the car, at the airport, etc.).
Related: Allen Rosenberg on coaching (and coxing)
The beginning of the video pretty much sums of The Dirty Dozen’s story: “If you know what a rowing crew is supposed to look like then you know this isn’t it.” Basically it’s about a group of guys who get together, decide they want to represent the US at the 1984 Olympics, and then train and compete across the world in preparation for the trials and selection in Princeton. There are a couple names that most people familiar with rowing history will recognize, including Brad Alan Lewis and Allen Rosenberg. It’s a really neat story and one you’ve probably never heard of so definitely check it out.
By readyallrow
This is a great video to watch and absorb now that we’re all in the midst of winter training. What does being a champion mean to you? It might be some of the things mentioned here, it might be all of them, or it might be none of them but whatever your definition is, repeat it to yourself before each practice and before every erg piece, run, and lift. Don’t let a hard workout or a workout you don’t want to do make you forget what being a champion means and entails.
Here’s the list of what’s mentioned in the video.
Champions focus on the end result; they train with a sense of purpose.
A champion never thinks they’re working hard enough and want to do more.
A champion trains in the moment without thought about the next practice.
Championships are earned in the winter and champions are crowned in the spring.
Everyone wants to win but there can only be one champion.
The goal of a champion is to win and it is your decision whether you wish to pursue it or not.
A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning.
A champion is someone who is bent over drenched in sweat and at the point of exhaustion when no one is watching.
A champion is someone who focuses on the process of becoming a winner rather than actually winning.
If being a champion is a choice then it is your choice to make.
If you have a team meeting where you discuss your goals for the upcoming season, that would be a good time to determine how you define being a champion and what traits you as a group need to employ to meet that definition and achieve your goals.
