Parents and Coaching
If you coach for students, you may resonate with this post from The CoachAD on the difficulties that parents can present for you. The post has some positive points on dealing with difficult parents, particularly on how to keep them informed and in-the-loop. It also has some more radical suggestions, and you should read the comments from other parents/coaches below the post. Join in the discussion, and let them know what you think. Coach and writer, Mike Davenport says about the
9 Things We Know About Rowing Coaches
Your rowing coaches are the pillars of your boathouse. As such it's crucial that you support them in your role as a rowing club manager. Below we have a great article from Mike Davenport, coach and writer extraordinaire. He outlines 9 points based on his excessive experience that he knows about coaches today. Take a read and share it with the coaches in your club. Let me blast you with 9 things we know about coaching sports today (any level, any
Race like an Olympian (but Avoid the Injuries)
As we watch the Olympians tearing through the water in their races for Gold, we're naturally inspired to push ourselves, sometimes past our limits, in our own practices and races. Inspiration is a great thing, but not if it leads to injury. No matter the season it's smart to be safe when it comes to rowing. The management at your rowing club, along with coaches and members should be aware of common rowing injuries, basic treatments, and most importantly, prevention
Organizing a Crew of Athletes for your Rowing Club
Organising athletes can be a major job, and a major pain, but we're going to help make it a little bit easier for you. Structure is everything, and it all starts with a few simple lists. Setup a list using these keys concepts. The Specifics Under 'Contact Me' you should outline specific times of the week and day that members can get in touch with you because you deserve to have your own time too. For example I do not want to
Rowing Coach Tip on Crew Selection Using Ergo Scores
Comparing ergo scores of athletes whose body weights have a large variance is one of those difficult biannual tasks for coaches. Power vs. weight ratio is an important consideration in coaches' selection criteria for crews. A larger athlete is reasonably able to produce more power on a rowing machine. But when a larger athlete sits in a single scull in the water, racing a lighter athlete, the larger athlete produces more drag due to the level at which the scull sinks into
Cheat Sheet for Rigging Ratios – Shhhhh
Rigging isn't an art, it's a science. Today we're sharing a great website we found that lists tables giving the spread for oar length and inboard. It's all calculated for you, and included is the rough equation if you'd like to do the work yourself. We suggest you print this cheat sheet out and post it around your rowing club. Let's make everyone's lives a little bit easier. Get the rigging ratios The author sets out the ratios for sweep oars Hatchets Big 25/52s Non-smoothie For oar
Race Plans for Coaches
As a boat club manager you need to support every member of your club, this includes the coaches. Create a platform for sharing knowledge among coaches to help them excel at what they do, creating happy members, and a well stocked club. You can start by printing out the blog post we've included below and pass it around to your coaches to start a conversation, invite them to take turns sharing a similar article once a week. This week's article is
Towing Boats Doesn’t Have to Be a Pain: Get the Checklist
Towing a boat trailer is a fact of life for us rowers - particularly, if you're a coach, a dragon boater, a volunteer driver, or a boat club manager. There are lots of tips for how to do it successfully - a main one being know your length and clearance, proceed with caution, and make sure your boathouse has insurance! (Speaking of which, here's a great podcast on what insurance to get for your boat club). Here is a link to a great safety
Lessons from the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race
When the unexpected happens the crew that makes the best decision in the split seconds around the event usually comes out winning. We all saw this in action in the recent Oxford & Cambridge boat race. Lessons can be learned for every club from this event, and as a boat club manager, it's up to you to make that happen. Firstly, work with the coaches. How to give yourselves the best chance of coming out 'best' is to do some scenario
Ethan Curren and the Art of Putting Together a Crew
Our weekly installment of The Joy of Sculling 2011 presentations. The annual Joy of Sculling conference is focused on educating coaches by creating an enjoyable learning environment in which coaches share their ideas and practices, and develop their understanding of Integral Coaching: a comprehensive approach to instruction. Douglas Lumsden, founder of Space Saver Rowing Systems attended the event in December 2011, and is sharing the presentations with you. Check in weekly for the latest installment! This week: A power point presentation from Ethan Curren on the art of