I suppose enough time has passed that I can write about what happened on Friday morning at the three way "race" between FC, Pitt and Central. I didn't want to put my thoughts down too soon, because I wasn't really pleased by the results overall.
Before I get into a rant, I want to heap some praise onto two boats I coach. The Pitt lightweights really blasted everyone. By time, they were the fastest boat on the water that morning, rowed aggressively and won their race easily. All the time I've let them row together has obviously paid handsome dividends and I'm really getting excited about the lightweight events this spring. We're losing the stroke seat (he's returning to Tulane crew) but we're getting back another experienced oarsman for that side of the Pitt crew. I haven't told Dan yet, but I would love to put a light 8 together for long portions of the spring. I'll explain my reasoning in another post.
Secondly, I was really happy with the effort put forth by the FC second boat. Because of injuries and sickness, I took apart the lightweight 8, put the stern pair into the heavy 8 and called the results "A" and "B". The new "B" boat got one practice together before racing, yet put up a gallant battle with Central's "B" crew and finally beat them. For guys to suddenly be told they're not "A" boat material and treated like they were, that performance showed courage, fortitude and professionalism that I've been trying to teach since I took over FC. I am proud of that result and of those guys.
Unfortunately, I wasn't following the race with the Pitt lights or the FC "B" crew. I was following the "main event," with Central's, FC's and Pitt's "A" crews. Looking back, the boat I put in as Pitt "A" wasn't the fastest boat the club had. The lights were still faster, and would have handled the high schoolers easily. I was operating under a few false assumptions that I hadn't had time to test out. Lesson to me: don't assume anything until you can see if it's going to work in practice.
Central jumped out to an early lead, rowing 34-35 strokes per minute at the start of a 3.5 mile race. I knew they would want the early lead. However, I wasn't ready for how they would maintain 33 or so once they got 3 lengths ahead. I then knew my other mistake; I hadn't talked to any of my coxswains about match racing, which this was. Tactics become much more important in a two or three boat situation, and I hadn't even given a race plan a first thought.
What really burned me up was that neither of my boats responded well to such a "jump." One mile into the race, Central was ripe to challenge. A lot of energy had been expended and they were rushing the slide to maintain their cadence. A determined, hard long push to get back into Central by either boat would have broken them. Neither boat did so, waiting for Central to break on their own.
When you're in a crew that has built that kind of lead, it's really easy to maintain that lead if you're not challenged hard. You can see the other boats and respond instantly to any movement they put on. Great strategy, unless the other crews push back harder and make you pay the price for rowing so high.
By the time either Pitt or FC realized Central wasn't going to break on their own, it was too late. The final mile, the top of the island, was when both boats put on a push, but they were tired by that point and Central's crew knew they were close. Too little, too late. Central won, with Pitt a length and a half behind and FC trailing badly. Lesson learned: Central is still fast.
I'm not happy with a few things. FC was too busy convincing themselves they could take down a college crew again that they didn't think about Central, despite my voiced concerns. And AGAIN, FC lost to Central in a match race in a demoralizing way. I know those boys are faster than that, but they never seem to come to race when Central is involved. I feel like Tony Dungy, preparing the Indy Colts for another go at the Patriots.
The Pitt guys are a little more of a concern. Pitt didn't row that well and didn't take the challenge from the high schoolers that seriously. I don't believe a college crew should lose to a high school crew EVER. That's just not acceptable. There isn't really any excuse for such an outcome. A thrown-together college 8 should always take out some snot-nosed high schoolers. Lesson to Pitt: get ready for HELL this winter.
Finally. I have a few items to bring up all winter. Pitt losing to high school brats. That little Central pipsqueak bowman standing up in the boat with his arms over his head after crossing the line. News flash, twerp: You haven't won s**t yet. You aren't at Harvard, you haven't just won Eastern Sprints, Henley or the World Championship. Sit down and show some class; you're not that good. Unfortunately, my crews weren't good enough to beat him. I hope that the spring results will shut him and the rest of Central up.
Categories: FC, Pitt, Regattas, Rowing
38 comments:
Ok, since no one has commented yet on how practice on Friday morning went, I'll give it a try.
First, I'm in Pitt's light eight so I can't speak as to how the race with the "A" boats went. Our piece went pretty well. We came out at a lower rating than the other two boats and lost about a boat length to Central and about half a boat to FC. We came out at a 24-25 and it looked like the other two boats came out hard well into the 30's. We could hear the other coxies screaming power 20's to their crews off the start. By the time the FC coxie got to 20 we had pulled even and gained about three lengths until the first turn. We held our lead for the turn, but we also took a very long outside course, almost on the other side of the river. We increased the rating to a 25-26 at the power lines and ended at a 30 past the 31st street bridge. We are lucky to have such an experienced stroke and it will be very unfortunate to lose him to Tulane next semester.
I am reasonably happy with how our row went. There was substantial power application for most of the piece. I could notice the boat getting heavier near 2.5 miles in, but the power soon returned. I was impressed with Jen, our coxswain. She stayed calm and relaxed and helped us focus on moving our boat. When we were trailing for the first 100 meters or so, she kept us focused on rowing our race.
I mean no disrepect to the FC or Central crews at all, but the reason we came out so low and continued at a low, hard rating was that we weren't really pushed. We were more concerned with working on controlling rush and extending the run. We have been rowing together for a month longer than at least the FC guys.
After the race, we were looking at the "A" eights finish, and unfortunately, it weren't pretty (to say the least.) Oars flying everywhere. I think it is always important to ask yourself "How am I moving this boat?" I was impressed with the FC kids going craaaaaazy at the end in an attempt to catch the Pitt and Central eights. Lastly, that Central coxie better be happy there is a three day waiting period for purchasing handguns. Not that I mean anything by that. At all. You know, we beat that boat by over a minute and a half. This leads me to my next point. Class.
Most of us Pitt kids were on sports teams in high school. We've all been through victories and defeats. Class on the field, class off the field. Sure its fun to jibe at the other crews a bit, but don't give them anything they can use as fuel. You stay silent, stay respectful, pump up your own team, and let your wake do the talking.
Steve, you should know that the FC boys had never rowed together in that line-up before Thursday. Jay threw it together because of illness. However, the FC lightweights have been rowing together with the same line-up since this past March.
I want to say that what I saw fro mth HS eights in the first race was the kind of raw determination that can drive a crew to success. That said I'm not really writing to comment on the race so much as to say thank you to the rowers, coaches, and coxswains of Pitt Crew.
Your hospitality and willingness to take in a rower without a boat shows true class. Saturday was my last chance to race for Pitt and I am grateful to have had the oppurtunity to row in my hometown once again. I'll be around this winter season, so don't count me out yet. But I want to wish you a good season this spring, may it be one out of many to come.
Thanks again.
That's a good post steve.
Emily, you're right, that was a boat only thrown togather for a day, but I don't believe that anyone can put the whole blame for our poor performance, soley on that.
Although Emily did say that our Lighweights have been rowing since march, and in the sping our boat showed that, and so far we have just about kept up to parr with what we're expected, I feel that we're not going to get past the point that we're stuck at right now, and this is our problem. We're stuck, being expected to perfom as we did when we rowed every day together. What I'm getting to, is that this fall season has been too much of nothing. I feel we wasted too much of our "molding" time practicing insignificant lineups or boats for upcoming races, screwy line-ups or choose-ups when we have the chance to row our boat. Now this problem can be blamed on a number of factors;
1, people not coming to practice
2, people not being able to row because of injuries (such as myself)
3, coaches not putting the time into us as they should. (Blowing us off for chooseups)
But I'm not looking to blame this problem on anyone. All I'm doing with this post, is stressing the fact that we wasted time, and that we need to row togather as ONE boat, and we're not going to get better as a boat if we don't row togather.
Eight
as
one.
Eight
as
one.
Not to sound ignorant (which I am), but what is a choose-up?
Choose-ups are kind of like 4th grade kickball. Jay picks captains, usually either coxens or strokes. Then, these captains pick from a pool of rowers and then form a line-up with the rowers they picked, usually 8's. And everytime we have choose-up day's the stern pair of the light 8 always find a way to get in the same boat. And that boat wins...every time.
Choose ups are also a combination of Novices and Varsity. It's a great way to get the novices to learn how to row with the varsity, and get better, and it is a good workout, but for the improvement of a (varsity) boat, it doesn't help as much as consistant rowing. (I think)
(Except for when we row pairs, that's sweet.)
It's not stern pair's fault that the other two cox'ns were too stupid to pick them.
To the mikeys: Please use last name initials! I mean, I can kinda tell who you are, but I'm not always sure. We don't need the wrong mikey taking credit for something stupid.
Well Foxbat, I think there's only one Mikey capable of making a comment that smart.
The kid on the Life cereal box?
If I'm not mistaken, Tony Dungy and the Colts ROUTED the New England Patriots last night... 40-28.
Could this be a sign of things to come?
AFC Championship: Colts vs. Steelers
The Steelers have never lost to the Colts in an AFC Championship game...
Perhaps some inspiration can be taken from this. Despite the fact that Indianapolis has had that mental demon of never being able to beat New England, they went into this game more determined than ever and came away with not just a win, but a trouncing of the Patriots. I think its our time to do the same to those damn Central Catholic Vikings.
Move as one, win or lose as one. But most imortantly, move as one.
Watching the Central A bowman's post race antics crossing the finish line, one thing comes to mind, youthful indiscretion. Reading a post from a collegiate level coach whining about his loss on a blog site, calling the opponents high school brats, pipsqueak and masked profanity, 2 things come to mind, unprofessional and inexcusable. I am sure the Pitt and FC ADs would be thrilled about this "post race antic" I'll keep my Central A rower at Central thank you.
First of all marty otoole, I don't know about Pitt, but at Fox Chapel, the Athletic Director has nothing to do with rowing. Rowing is a club sport at FC, not a school sponsored sport. Second of all, whining on a post about whining is not exactly that respectable either. Two wrongs don't make a right. Youthful indiscretion you say; Tasteless, obnoxious, and without class I reply. Our coach did not whine after this race about the bowman of the Central boat. That was merely a footnote in his post of being disapointed in the crews for not performing well, something to be expected of all coaches. I make the assumption that you have never played Football or rowed seriously. Profanity is not exactly scarce on any team in most high schools including the Central Catholic Vikings. We realize that Central Catholic won the race. We have accepted that and are preparing now to go into winter training to come out stronger in the spring with the intention of beating them. Classless bowman or not, they are still faster than us right now and THAT was the concern of our Coach. Next time you make a post on this site, try looking into what you say a bit more before running your mouth. Thank you very much.
Um, this coach happens to coach not only a collegiate crew but also a crew of so-called "high school brats." Not only that, but our coach has been to Henley (I can't remember for sure if he rowed) and competed in Eastern Sprints, so I think he's allowed to be a little annoyed about some pretending that one just won them. Central beat the FC varsity heavyweights last year as well. It's not like this race was their miracle on the Allegheny or something where they pulled a major upset. The FC heavyweights still have to beat Central in order for there to be a rivalry like Harvard-Yale.
And if Mr. O'Toole actually happens to be a Central Catholic athletic official, I don't know how appropriate it is for Central athletics to be calling another team 'inappropriate.'
I believe that Mr. Otoole is one of the kids from CC's squad, and given by the CC roster, I would guess that his son was a novice last year. (Of course, if this is one of the FC kids, I will be quite angry for making me write all of this.) As such, he is probably unaware of the intense rivalry between a) Yale & Harvard (but perhaps he has heard about that rivalry from other sources); b) the friendly rivalry between FC Jay and CC Jay.
First, Jay certainly didn't dwell on that incident. It was a passing afterthought in the post-- I believe Drew discussed this point quite thoroughly. The situation was rubbing salt in his wounds. Further, he was using it as an example to help motivate the boys. Perhaps, he failed to read all of the previous comments, none of which dealt with that particular incident, rather then future and current training strategies.
Second, I am guessing that Mr. Otoole's son is embaressed by this situation because otherwise, no one (except the CC squad) would have remembered this incident for more than a week or two. If Mr. Otoole is truly a parent of a CC oarsman, he making this a far bigger deal that it was prior to today. This comment is going to sear the event into everyone's mind now.
As a parent, I can certainly understand wanting to stand up for your child, and my guess is that his post was written in anger.
Third, I believe that both the CC and FC coaches responded similarly to the oarsman who showed unsportmanlike conduct at this event. Both Jays reprimanded the rower, so it would seem that both coaches are to blame them. Of course, I'm not sure what this parent is angry about: the blog talking about the race or what was said that day.
Finally, I must agree with Drew, profanity and sports go hand in hand. I have heard collegiate coaches as well as some pittsburgh high school coaches say much worse to rowers.
Okay, I must apologize for the unusually high number of typos in that post. I was angry and frustrated, so I was more careless than usual.
I counted at least 5, so guys, you don't need to point them out to me!
my son has pitt on his list for engineering. and crew. what chance does a "snot-nosed, high shool brat" have to get a seat in your crew?
Looks like this post is going to have a great effect for both coaches this winter. CC Jay will put this up for his guys to get geeked up about all winter and I'll be trying to prove them true. I suppose everyone will be happy.
Nothing like a little spice for a rivalry.
Audrey:
Though I don't know exactly what your tone or meaning might be, I'll assume that you were in jest.
Pitt welcomes any student to the club, because it is a club sport, run by the students. In many ways, their dedication superceedes what Varsity D1 athletes put forth, because they fundraise and organize the team as well as train very hard. Any student diciplined enough to join the team and be a contributing member will be a valuable addition to the squad.
We would love to have him.
Hehe. This is a joke right? Just in case it's not why don't we take this one point by point.
1) Youthful indiscretion. Yes. Poor sportsmanship can easily be written off that way. But as the great Albus Dumbledore once said, "We must choose between what is easy, and what is right." Why don't we actually call it poor sportsmanship and try to teach our kids to show respect in wins and losses?
2) "Whining about his loss on a blog site" Again, yes. Jay was quite the whiner. "Lesson learned: Central is still fast." Wow, he is just piling on the excuses. What is he going to say next, "My crews just weren't good enough to beat them."?
3) Yes, he called the Central kids high-school brats. Yes, he calls the FC kids high-school brats too. Oh yeah, he coaches FC too. How deliciously evil of him. How could he ever try to make Pitt more aggressive by calling the crew they race against "brats"? It just seems not nice at all. Cough*bulls**t*cough
4) Masked profanity? Not too masked. Not too profane. Sometimes I feel like crying when I get sworn at. Then I remember that there is someone screaming very inappropriate things about my sister and a barstool at me for 2 hours a day.
Unprofessional? You realize he is a rowing coach, right? If calling your team's loss "unacceptable" and chastizing poor sportsmanship is unprofessional, then there is just no hope for those of us still pure. Ask Jay sometime about how they treated the rowers at Yale, and what they thought of Harvard.
Finally, What I would give for the Pitt AD to care in the slightest about me. You see, no one cares. Not the school, not the city, not even my parents. You know why I pay $200 a semester to wake up at 4:45 am and get screamed at for a sport I'm not even good at? To beat the s**t out of some pipsqueak, snot-nosed, high-school brats.
Well, there were three posts in the time it took me to post my last one. You can tell when I have a paper to do, I put it off by typing in this comments section.
And Audrey, I was a "snot-nosed" highschooler. I am now an idiot college kid. I would love to have some company. Seriously, if he does have Pitt on the list, go to www.pitt.edu/~crew, email our captain or coaches, we welcome anyone who is willing to put the work in.
Marty O'toole. I want to fight you. You and your son.
Steve R., I don't know you but I like the style. Well put.
And, oh yes, Marty O'toole... You've made your comment and we've responded. If you would like to defend what you said feel free. It appears now as if you have made that comment and ran away. At least acknowledge the fact that you have read the responses from both of the teams (University of Pittsburgh and Fox Chapel Crew Clubs) whom which our Coach is involved with, as well as from his wife.
First of all, I assume you have some affiliation with Central Catholic but I don't know what it is and don't feel the need to speculate. What I do know is that our coach has the overwhelming support of every rower he coaches on the Fox Chapel team and I'm sure the same goes for the Pitt team. The man is entering his THIRD year as a coach and is already at the collegiate level. It only took him two years in high school to get scooped up by a University. He obviously knows what he's doing. You however, do not obviously know what you are doing. I would really though like to see if you disagree with any of the comments made by myself or any others. So please, if you get the balls to defend yourself, I'd really love to hear it.
jay--what happened to dr.b? i'm guessing he turned the foxes over to you but i missed that announcment. i sometimes scrub with him in the or (not lately though) since i have to ask.
No, Dr. B is still hear, and incharge of the whole club. But Jay and Jesse run the day to day practices and racing for the guys.
wow, once again, i suck at proof reading. previous post should read
No, Dr. B is still here, and in charge of the whole club.
Joe I thought you were going to be a teacher!!!
Not just a teacher, Steve, a phys. ed teacher. You know how the saying goes.
ooooo burn.
No I was just a GYM teacher for Gov. school. and I am more careful when doing stuff with kids
"Those who can't do, teach. And those can't teach, teach gym."
We're still waiting to hear back from you marty otoole.
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