Time Off

I've mentioned this multiple time in past posts, but time off for the team really doesn't agree with me as a coach. I sit around during normal practice times and brood about the guys eating junk food, playing computer games and getting into trouble. (Skiing anyone?) It's ironic, given my memories of my own precious time off from training in days long gone. They were precious, wonderful events, sometimes little mini-vacations taken to New York City or other states in New England. Mostly, I would sit around and rest my mind.

Surprising? Shouldn't be to anyone who understands the sport. Intense mental concentration is required for good rowing training. Up to 90 minutes per day of ignoring your body's pain threshold while concentrating on perfecting a full-body motion. That takes a lot of mental energy. It's a "grind" that doesn't injure, but slowly saps the joy of the sport from the athlete. Simply put, indoor training isn't fun.

So why do I as a coach now hate time off? Two reasons. For every training day skipped after three to four in a row, the athlete loses double of the progress made over that time. Thus, two weeks off will set the athlete back one month, and so forth. Kind of makes one wonder why do the training in the first place.

Second, there are days like today. High 50s, partly sunny and a calm, flat river. I wanted to go on the water so bad. I know that the guys probably wouldn't gain anything much from one day out there in December; rowing teams need several days on the water in a row before a measurable gain in technique or boat skills is evident. I just wanted to be out on the river in a launch, watching a boat. It's been a long time already and I'm antsy for the spring.....

....And it's only December. Blast.