The Worst Row Ever

After my most recent stint as “Coach for a Day” upon arriving back at the dock after a fairly successful row in really bad conditions, I noticed a dejected look on the guys faces. Upon some inquiry I found that things may have been worse than they looked. After some contemplation I realized any row is a good row, and I think that after this week you would all agree. Any chance a crew gets to spend time on the water, no matter how disconcerting, is positive. Each time you go out be thinking about how to improve your self. Each rower has a fatal flaw, one thing they consistently do wrong. It may be rushing the slid, late catch, early catch, slow hands, shooting the tail, dropping the elbow, not enough lay back, too much lay back, sitting up straight, or a number of other slight flaws through out the stroke. But you would be amazed at how every thing seems to fall into place when you simply pull hard. But a bad row can not always be boiled down to simple technical issues, boats can simply not mesh. It often takes a lot of trial and error before the boat feels good. I know that we spent weeks rearranging the guys in the Varsity 8 last year until we found a line up that worked. We had dozens of miserable rows before we finally found something that worked. So next time your on the water wishing that you could be any where else, watch what you what you wish for, 6x500 on the erg are way worse. No row is any worse than a day on land, and take advantage of every opportunity you get to be on the water, remember ever row is a learning experience.