We’ve all heard them – impenetrable advice and words of wisdom from rowing coaches.
What do these phrases really mean?
- Just row properly
- Let the boat come to you on the slide
- Don’t come to the catch, let the catch come to you
- Let the boat do the work
- Rhythm round the finish
- The only thing you have to do is find the water
- Link together the kinetic chain
- On the next piece, do exactly what you were doing on the last piece – but quicker, not faster
- Grip the seat with your front bottom
- Less bollock ‘n’ bash and more finesse!
- Rowing is the art of not slowing the boat down
- Easy at the catch! Wax on, wax off!
- Every one a coconut!
- Nails in the coffin!
- Coach shouting tirades at the freshman to fix this, fix that, finally shouting “ROW RIGHT”.
Things Rowing Coaches Do
A coach of ours, if he saw people erging with curved backs or hunched over shoulders, would run a comb across their lower back. The
same flinching reaction happens, but with the instant effect of getting the rower to change their posture far more than from 5 minutes
of verbal coaching.
Harry Mahon when coaching athletes on the erg to get them to sit up would poke a finger onto their coccyx and they’d all sit up smartly!
Grant Craies when coaching a racing start had us back the shell beside the hull of his launch and he’d hold onto the stern while we tried to do the first stroke of the start.
What do your coaches say to your crew?
