Story Time (or, why I don't get too involved in captain elections)

June 1998. The bleary morning after the worst loss by Yale to Harvard in recent memory. 47 agonizing, punishing, eternal seconds. The sophomores, juniors and seniors gathered in the caretaker's house, in the ancient, tradition-laden "Blue Room," to elect the next Captain of Yale Crew. Before our deliberations began, the outgoing Captain, Jon Watling, explained the process. All juniors were dismissed from the room while their names were considered for the post. Once an individual was eliminated, they would then be called to join in the deliberations. The purpose was to trim the field down to two or three canidates and reach a consensus. While a vote could be taken, it was preferred to be by acclimation.

The juniors that year were a powerful group, the true leaders of the team, on the water and off. They knew their abilities had been discounted in the weeks before the boat race by the head coach, who never really formed a bond with that class. By removing long-time stroke Alex Reid from his normal position and placing Jon Watling in that critical seat, Dave Vogel had placed his trust in one of only two men in the Varsity to win against Harvard over the 4 mile distance. The crew had rallied around the new line-up, wanting to believe. Half a mile into the race, the decision had proved disastrous as the Yale rhythm degenerated into a thrashing, flailing, rushed mess.

Our deliberations that morning had brought the field down to a handful. Hans Von Trotha and myself were the last two called in before the final duo of Alex Reid and Jim Needham. Both were worthy choices. Alex's rowing ability, years in the varsity and training commitment were exemplary. While he had a personality described by some crew groupies as "a cute puppy dog," Alex was popular, respected and a natural leader by example. Jim Needham was more vocal, always ready to talk to anyone. His rowing ability was not as polished as Reid's, and he had not been in the varsity that boat race due to Vogel's questioning of his fitness. Needham was more mature than Reid and everyone agreed that he would be a great, vocal captain.

Given the deliberations and mood of the crew, the post eventually would have gone to Reid. Popular with the ladies around campus, Alex's (now) unquestioned ability in the stroke seat made him a natural choice as the next Yale captain. Everyone knew who the next Yale stroke would be, and it would be a logical move to combine that unofficial yet vital leadership position with the office.

However, Jon Watling chose to interject at this juncture. Asking for the floor, Watling spoke of a conversation he had with Dave Vogel, in which he said the captain should be someone whose commitment and training were exemplary. Jon also mentioned that Vogel wanted a captain who he could "work with." The meaning was clear: Reid was Vogel's choice, and Watling hoped to end debate there.

The mood in the room chilled. After Jon was through speaking, there was a short silence. Everyone in the room had heard of Vogel's comment to those in his launch following the race the day before: "Well, I guess that didn't work," referring to the switch of Reid out of the stroke seat. When the crew had lost a very close race the year before, we had blamed ourselves. After this embarrassing debacle, I don't believe I was the only oarsman blaming our coach.

With this comment, the tide began to turn against Alex Reid. Comments supporting Needham began to persist, and a few more attempts to steer Reid into the post by Watling only hurt his chances more. Surprisingly, the issue came to a vote, and Jim Needham was elected the next Captain of Yale crew.

Alex Reid was crushed. After being demoted out of the stroke seat, he was now turned down by his teammates for a cherished leadership position.

Jim Needham went on to become a superlative Captain: under his leadership and with Alex Reid at stroke, the Yale varsity won the next year's 4 mile race against Harvard, coming from behind in the final mile. They have not won since.

I am happy to count both of these men my friends, and I fervently hope that recounting this tale here so publicly does not hurt either of them. I write this to illustrate a point.

Coaches should never be involved with the election of a team's captain. The greatest level of involvement might be to tabulate the votes. Interjecting Dave Vogel's opinion into our debate, after botching the race so completely, only poisoned the canidacy of Alex Reid, a good man who could also have been a great captain.

Oarsmen rarely have a choice in their equipment, workout system, technique taught, regatta schedule or coaching staff. Their only outlet for expression and representation in the system is their captain. For that reason, I offer no guidance in the selection of captains. The oarsmen must deliberate and choose their representatives for themselves, for whatever reasons or personality traits they believe are important. The coach's job is simple: to respect his crew by respecting and listening to their captain.

Categories: Yale, Memories, Teamwork, Coaching, Rowing, Motivational