I doubt Dave has much to smile about after today's workout. Just another day of attempted homicide by the coach..... 

Categories: Rowing, FC, Photo

Allen actually preferred the composition of this picture. 

Categories: Rowing, FC, Photo

I felt like Dave wasn't getting his equal share of attention, so here is a picture taken by Allen of him. 

Categories: Rowing, FC, Photo

Allen has a great zoom lens. Here's Steve in the middle of the last 500m. 

Categories: Rowing, FC, Photo

Allen, Emily's father, came out yesterday with his high-end digital SLR. He got some great shots that he's working on, cleaning up. As they become available, I'll post them on the photo album. Here's a sample. 

This shot was taken from a TRRA photographer for their publications. Digging a little deep, starboards? 500s in the channel this year were really fun, and we might be doing more next year. 

I guess I do know what I'm doing

I haven't posted in awhile and I'm sure everybody thinks I'm not going to use this blog until next season. That's not the case. Unlike my usual steam-of-consciousness writing, I have been thinking about the season for a few days before I write anything.

If anyone had asked me how the season had gone just before we left for Midwest, I'm not sure how positive I could have been. There was lots more "drama" this year, very little of it constructive. I spent a lot of time frustrated; at the rowing, other coaches, selection nightmares and a complete inability to decide on what boats I wanted to enter. I felt like an idiot, dithering between multiple entries, struggling to get enough entries so everyone could get a race. Ultimately, I failed on that mission. I'm no longer sure if that's a justifiable purpose of the entries anyway.

Then came the results at Midwest. Points trophy. Medals. Great, close racing a year before I thought we would be ready. I know I've repeated this before, but Joe and I didn't think any of those points trophies would happen until next year. After all, there are no seniors on this team. Everyone will return, hopefully.

Despite all the strife and stress, the guys performed well at Midwest. It was a real boost to their morale and mine as well. Then off we went to South Niagara and really hammered things home. Making the finals up there is an accomplishment, given the level of competition. In the senior races, the Canadian schools are very competitive with large, well-funded and attended programs. Watching my little guys racing toe-to-toe with these huge Canadian programs was an epiphany: I just might know what I'm doing after all.

Before anybody thinks this is a self-serving, pat myself on the back post, you must understand that this year has been really difficult for me. I've had lots of doubts this time around about what I was doing. I didn't know if I was connecting with the guys as well as I could, or if I was preparing them properly. There just seemed to be too much periphery garbage swirling around, distracting everyone from what our goal always is: fast boats. Really, really fast boats.

Just like last year, it seems my crew is "cresting" just after Midwest. Perhaps this is a message that I haven't quite gotten yet. Other teams focus their seasons around the Junior Invite. Is next year the year to start that for us? With my plan to have separate lightweight and heavy "programs" with no overlap between, both top boats should have lots of time to gel together, something that we lacked this year. Selection should be a little easier next time around as well, as the focus will be those top two eights. There are enough returning guys to have a second 8 as well, a true JV boat to compete with the others, pushing with everyone else. Imagine, third year into my tenure and we'll have three experienced eights on the water, with a separate novice team developing the future.

Getting a little grandiose in my plans, aren't I? Perhaps not. What worked so well last year, telling the guys to dream high and give your best shot really worked well. I may have hobbled this year's squad a little with lower expectations. As a saying goes, "If you shoot for the moon and miss, you're still up in the stars." Higher expectations shouldn't increase the pressure on the guys, they should welcome it.

Lights with their medals. Any medal in Canada is hard won; there are fast crews up there. The light 8 did get a warning for poor fashion taste. 

I love the feeling of the start. Especially in the 8, its like a catapult shot off a carrier, or a space launch. Feeling your power accelerate the boat "out of the hole" with the other guys in the crew is a rush like no other. 

Transitions

Well, this weekend brings the last race of the scholastic year, except Nationals. I really like how we brought this Welland race onto the schedule. There's no expectations or pressure. Really, it's about going up and having a little fun on a great race course.

The problem for me is always not to let my over-developed competitive streak get the better of me. I'll let that happen to the guys.

I've already started writing notes for next year. It's a never ending process, as Emily will tell anybody, thinking about your rowing team. It's no wonder coaches all go nuts, sooner or later. There will be some changes in how we train (again) but many things will stay the same. Expectations will be high for next year, as the senior class will be large.

I'm starting to plan out my presentations for the crew banquet. I don't think I'll be so serious this time around. Perhaps a few faux awards to go out to keep the parents amused? I have a long-winded reputation to uphold, after all. I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone. Perhaps awards for the worst haircut (mine), fashion sense (Steve the pirate), launch driving (me again), aim with an airsoft (me) or foulest mouth (me). I think I'm sensing a pattern here....

You know I'm not really serious

I'm constantly sprinkling "death" or "row till they die" into my speeches for the guys. It's kind of a theme with how I connect with rowing. The guys all joke about it from time to time, making light over a subject that we never really think about.

This past weekend brought a touchy subject home yet again. For a coach especially, discovering one of your rowers in a critical condition is nightmare number one. The Boston College coach found himself in just that situation on Sunday.

Scott Laio, the bowman of the Varsity light 8, died after the race. Not just passed out, dead in the ground. Two seat turned around and gave CPR, and an AED was used by the paramedics on the dock.

Such an incident isn't unknown. There have been athletes who suddenly drop due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition. There isn't really a test for such a situation. Because BC is a club, not varsity, the medical oversight of the team would not be the same level the football or basketball teams enjoy.

I don't know any more than what's been on the internet. However, the information that's out there paints a questionable picture. Follow the following points:

Scott was listed on the team's website at 6'2". He was also listed at 166 pounds. He rowed lightweight, where everyone must be 155. I'm not accusing anyone, but I know rowing. Anyone on the team would be in superb physical shape. Scott was described as a workout freak as well, so we know he was prepared to race.

However. 6'2" and 155 lbs doesn't sound right. Especially if he usually weighed 166 or so. If you see pictures of him on the several articles on the net, you can see how skinny this guy was. Does anybody know now why I'm scared of lightweight?

6'2" is really tall for a light. It gives a great advantage over rowers who stand 5' 10" or so, where 155 lbs is more usual. If you're taller in crew, you'll have a longer arc through the water and go faster. Therefore, it is very tempting for guys who I call "cruiserweights" to suck down to lightweight. They're too small for the heavy team, but they're great for the lights. Until somebody has health problems getting to weight.

The last death anybody can remember in rowing was an international lightweight who died while on a "sweat run" trying to shed those last few ounces to make weight. I don't know the last collegiate heavyweight rower who died after a race.

Do I accuse? No. I have no proof or information other than what is in the public realm. However, the entire story isn't being told here. I can feel it.

This is why I will never let anyone "suck" weight for real. I know that we all got after one of the guys to make his weight class this past weekend. That was one pound. This was 11. Big, big difference. Twenty year old people don't just drop like that, even after rowing a big race. Even with a pre-existing condition, his body had been under such stress before, during training. Something changed at the race, adding another level of stress on his systems. Anybody care to guess what it might be?

This **** scares me. Once this guy has been buried, some questions need to be asked that won't bring comfortable answers.

So.....what to say?

I haven't written anything about Midwest yet because I haven't really known what to say.

Joe, the womens' coach, looked at me after the news came down about our winning the points trophy and said "I didn't expect this until next year." Neither did I. I've always assumed this year would be the toughest, with next being the big payoff.

Yet, the team won the overall points at the Midwest Championships. Damn. From two medals last year to a points win. Wow. That accomplishment alone is staggering. Impossible. Without belief. A hard act to follow.

Yet, yet and yet. I know I want more. Let's face it, I'm greedy as hell. They give plaques at Midwest for gold medals, and I want more. Lots more. The big ones: varsity 8. Light 8. Novice 8. Anyone can imagine my thoughts when Dice, a crew we beat two weeks ago, came 4th in the Varsity 4+. More, more more more, I want more.

The limiting factor for the guys continues to be personnel. We just need more. The guys can only race so many times per day. Next year, adding twelve novices, sixteen if we get lucky, will free up more guys for the other events.

I'm still jubilant from the whole thing. Completely unexpected, great overall performance. We've gone from a local crew nobody cared about to a Power in the Midwest. Talking to some other coaches during the race revealed quite a bit of respect coming our way. Both sexes, FC is a force to be considered. Every race we entered, FC was dangerous and in contention. Fear the Fox.

Next year is the time to cement this position. When people see red oars, they need to be concerned. Hell, scared.

Cheering on the four at Midwest. Man, our guys are ripped. 

Jesse ended up with a servicable mohawk. 

Me and my big mouth. I agreed anyone who won got to buzz off my hair. Today was "shear the coaches day." 

WOW

No words can accurately describe the feelings from the past weekend. This is a sweet as it will ever get. No matter what happens in the future this felling can never come back. I think that it’s fair to say that not in anyone’s wildest dreams did we think this was possible so soon. I feel that we all owe our novice women after that carried us bringing in an astounding 88 points themselves. That alone would have come in second in the woman’s category. The woman aside we had a very strong showing as well coming 7^th over all with a very respectable 50 points. North Allegheny was the only Pittsburgh school to beat us with 74 Men’s points. This 24 point spread is highly deceiving if you subtract the 20 points they got from the quad that was only entered by 4 people then you have a difference of only 4 points.

On a more serious note, we have taken the first step, but there is still a journey ahead of us. We still must claim our own points trophy establishing dominance in both men’s and women’s categories. There is a big target on our backs we unseated Loyola, the defending champs, and someone will be looking to do the same to us. We must train harder than ever to continue to the next level. We are close. At this point were chasing bow balls, .14 seconds here .84 seconds there. We are a bow ball away from many of our goals, but those bow balls will not come easy. Over all I could not be happier for all of you, I am so proud to be a part of Fox Chapel Crew and each and every one of you deserve this to the utmost extent. Thank you for allowing me on this journey with you.

The night before

I was getting sick. The night before the biggest race of my freshman season, I was getting sick.

We were in Ithaca, New York, to race Cornell and Princeton. Really, we were there to race Princeton. Cornell was not doing well that year and wasn't a factor. But the Yale and Princeton freshmen had shredded through the Ivy league to that point, winning by open water the two previous weeks. Yale was ranked 3rd, Princeton 1st. Tomorrow would bring the clash. And I was getting sick.

I could feel the drip start down the back of my throat. Perhaps allergies, as our hotel room was very dusty, or I was getting a cold. Like a dripping faucet, a constant cough started forcing itself out of my chest. I was keeping the rest of the stern 4 awake as well, but nobody was ready to sleep anyway.

The night before big races is tough. You're thinking, thinking, thinking, your mind racing already. Your hands start to tingle, wanting to grip the oar. Your heart rate accelerates, responding to the signals your mind transmits, imagining the race. So your heart starts getting ready, warming itself up twelve hours early.

I kept getting up, drinking water to hydrate myself and quiet my cough. Then I had to start getting up to offload that hydration.

Our coach had given us a talk before sending us to bed. Really, who throught up this tradition? Get the guys all pumped up, asking for their concentration, effort and will to face a great challenge, then "off to bed boys, sleep well for tomorrow." Sure. I'm ready to sleep.

And like an automaton, I just did the same for my guys. Sure, they'll sleep. Who am I kidding?

I suppose that I want them to think about what's needed tomorrow and focus. That's better than sitting up chatting about the girls' team or writing dirty limericks. They won't fall asleep anytime soon anyway, so at least be constructive, right?

I suppose that works. After all, we did talk quietly among ourselves all those years ago, and won the next day. My allergies died down when we returned to New Haven, with Princeton shirts on our backs, still smelling of the guys we had beaten.

More than anything, I hope the guys are able to write a similiar story ten years from now, with a similiar happy ending. I'm off to bed, perhaps to sleep.

Travel Day

Ride safe and calm, princes of Pennsylvania. I'll be waiting at the course.

Remember where you've been, and conquer where you're going.

Loading day

If anything, I was always a little more nervous on loading day. It's not a normal practice, loading the trailer is a stresser and the boatman was always hovering around, watching us take apart "his" equipment. Then there was the pain in the neck of taking the boats out to the trailer.

At Yale, the old boathouse was right on the road. If you wanted to load boats, you had to stop traffic while you brought the boat across the road and lined it up with the trailer. Add in a higher trailer than we have now, and it wasn't a fun time. We would also wrap the 8s in vinyl boat covers, which served no purpose that I could discern other than keeping a few guys busy for a longer time.

Heat sheets aren't out yet, so we can't tell if we need all of our 8s or just three of them. I suppose we'll take them all, just to make sure. I've been getting as many details from my mother about little things in the race. Weigh-ins, scales, weather updates and other little gossip. It's fun having your family running a major race that you are bringing your crew to. It almost feels like a home race to me.

I'm rambling. Time to stop and start packing. For any parents that aren't going, I'll try to post from my parents' house tomorrow and put up some updates as the event goes along.

I wasn't quite sure what to think of this. I don't think anyone else was either. 

Another fun night in our household

As you know, our family camped up at Lake Moraine this past weekend, staying through Sunday night. We didn't really get home until last night, and we're still unpacking. The sun really takes it out of you, and my classes started up again today.

Many are aware of the problems we've had with Harry, our cat. Seems he didn't like us leaving for the trip to Columbus, and urinated on both the master bed and guest bed. This caused quite a bit of laundry and several shots at the cat upon discovery.

When we left this past weekend, I closed off the doors to our bedroom, Will's, the guest room and the upstairs bathroom. I figured the cat wouldn't show his displeasure if he couldn't get to those areas.

I was right. He didn't pee in the bedrooms. He peed on the couch in the living room.

At this point, we're wondering if there's something wrong with him, so I call the vet and make an appointment for Wednesday morning. This was Monday.

When the family gets home most nights, we discuss our plans for the next day, and I mentioned the vet appointment. I then noticed I hadn't seen Harry in awhile. "Speaking of the vet, where is Harry?"

We searched the entire house. No cat. Then we really tore the place up. No cat. I'm worried by this point, as he might be curled up sick or worse somewhere. When we don't find him, I head outside to call for him. If all other options are disproved, than the impossible, however improbable, must be the answer, right?

No cat.

We're really worried by now, and talk to the neighbors. They haven't seen him. Finally, Emily and I are in the back, talking about the situation, when the cat appears in the other neighbor's backyard. No worse for wear, other than hungry and thirsty. He got out last night when I had the back door open, running the grill.

Emily is very happy we got him back; she says he's the best cat she's ever had. I think the rascal heard about his vet appointment and decided to really scare me.

He's still going to the vet tomorrow.

Concentration

I haven't posted in awhile, because the campsite we were at didn't even have a steady cell signal. I had to walk out to the middle of a field to check for messages.

All in all, it was fun camping up there with just the family, rather than driving back and forth from the south hills. It was a little vacation for the three of us that had a regatta thrown in.

I'm happy with most of the results from this weekend's racing. Unlike last year, this regatta fulfilled the mission I wanted: preparation for Midwest. The boats that have had the most preparation time, with the most members present on a daily basis did very well. The boats I've entered at Midwest had a good weekend.

Now comes "Speed week." I'm putting in a few finishing touches on our race plans and getting the edge as sharp as possible. Today was a hard practice, but the rest of the week will drop off. The guys blew off a little steam today, and I'm hoping they will focus on the mission for the rest of the week. It's only a few days, after all.

Here he is, weapon in hand, serious look on face, stroke watch around neck and heat sheet in hand. This is one coach on the way to yelling at somebody. 

It's always fun to line up and race. This is always a great view. Ready for a 500? 

Twister. I told the guys I'd put this online. Making switches on the water is always great fun. 

How will you be remembered?

Jerry Romano was associated with the Yale crew for 42 years. Through losing streaks and winning seasons, Jerry put the equipment together for the guys. He drove the boat trailer from New Haven to Tampa more times than most could remember. Several trips were also made across the country for the San Diego Crew Classic. He would always have the boats back for practice the next Monday.

When he finally retired, he was presented with this rigger tool that most Ivy League colleges used. Along with the Princeton rigger who served as long as he did, their retirement ceremony was held at Eastern Sprints, before the final races, in front of the entire Ivy League.

Jerry Romano made an impact, no matter how small, on the team he cared for most. After his death, this momento somehow made it onto Ebay, where Emily found it. She's always looking for Yale crew stuff for me, and I recognized what it was immediatly without being at the ceremony. Jerry retired long before I began rowing, but articles were posted about him around the boathouse, and Yale's current rigger had told us stories about Jerry. When I saw this, I had to have it.

For myself? No. It doesn't belong to me. It belongs with other bits and pieces of history, so the stories can be passed along to the next Yale rowers. I've had this for a few months now, but it's going in tomorrow's mail back to New Haven.

What a person achives during their time associated with a team also becomes part of history, good or bad. Breakthrough teams and winning seasons are remembered with pictures and stories passed along to younger rowers years down the road. Rowing, like baseball, is a sport that revels in its own history. Forge that history in your own crew and your contribution becomes more than a medal, it becomes part of the bedrock of the teams that follow.

These years are laying the foundation of the future of Fox Chapel rowing. Will the program emerge from its infancy to become a regional power, or will it recede to just another struggling Pittsburgh school crew? What happens over the next ten days may decide how this year's layer in the foundation is remembered.

This particular tool was given to Jerry Romano, the Yale rigger from 1947 until his retirement in 1989. 42 years involved with the team. The tool is bronze, with a crew pin in the lined box you see in the previous shot. See the next post for why I'm putting these pictures on the blog. 

Ordinary items become extraordinary when given at special events. This is a Yale rigger tool. Usually made from wood, a 7/16 ratchet head is attached to a long handle. Several of these allow the quick rigging and de-rigging of a fleet of Vespolis. 

More fun this year

Scholastics. A real blast last year. Everyone can guess my position on the race.

Check out the current schedule on regattacentral. There is the possibility of a screw-job in progress. I'm not happy and will get with the muckety-mucks at TRRA.

I'm sure everyone can imagine the position I'm in. I'm the boy's coach for Fox Chapel during the school year, which sometimes puts me in opposition or conflict with TRRA. In the summer, I'm a TRRA employee. No, there's no conflict here, huh?

I really want my summer program to grow. It would be a good thing to have that many guys involved in summer rowing in Pittsburgh. There's never been a decent explanation why there isn't a composite boat that comes out of Pittsburgh that goes around and kicks ass in the summer. I'm trying to change that.

However, I also want the best situation for my guys from FC. That means being a pain the neck to TRRA during regattas.

If we end up getting the screw, I'm going to advocate not going back next year. I put my entries together in good faith, basing my moves on a schedule that then changes under me. Not a good way to run a regatta.

I need these highlights. Otherwise, I would have gray hair by now.