Hello and Happy Summer Rowing!

Every year at this time I get caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm of masters rowers as they head off to the races or get ready to attend rowing camp. This is the time of year when all your training during the winter and spring really pays off. Congratulations! If you haven’t found the time to train consistently, maybe this is your year to attend an on-the-water camp or clinic. There are many fine options out there. Take advantage of them; they’ll boost your skill level and renew your enthusiasm.

Personally, I am totally psyched to be escorting a masters women’s eight to England next week to compete in the Henley Women’s Regatta (HWR) Senior Eight, after a pre-regatta training camp. Because HWR does not have a separate division for masters, we’ll be up against much-younger crews. Should be interesting! I’ll write about our experiences in the July MastersCoaching newsletter and post pictures at www.masterscoaching.com. MastersCoaching is grateful to JLRacing for generously supplying the MastersCoaching athletes competing in Henley with new unisuits. Check out their high quality racing gear at www.jlracing.com.

This issue of MastersCoaching is dedicated to the catch.

Here’s to a great summer on the water. Have fun!

Mayrene

In this issue:

¶      Improving Your Catch. Plus, The Shadow Knows

¶      Mayrene’s Toolbox: Catch Drills

¶      Row the Charles -- August 2004: Sign up now! Just a few seats remain.

¶      Coaching Corner: Your Questions Answered (Win a Free Coaching Session!)

¶      Motivational Magic: Quotes to Inspire You

¶      From the Bookshelf: Recommended Reading

Improving Your Catch

In sweep rowing, each hand has its own job. The inside hand feathers; the outside hand takes the catch. When the blade catches the water correctly, it will stay “locked” at the entry point (as though you placed it against a cement block) and the boat is “pried” past the oar. The oar does not move through the water; the boat does.

The POWER PHASE of the stroke is initiated by the legs as the blade enters the water. This connection is made by suspending your body weight from the fingers, lats and feet to the blade in the water. The sliding seat simply allows the stroke to be longer and the boat to move further past the blade. When the catch is done correctly, the rower will actually feel his or her weight become lighter on the seat, and the legs, seat and oar handle will move at the same speed as the boat. 

The most common error at the catch is to open up the back too quickly, that is before the legs have a chance to pick up the weight of the boat. The problem lies in how difficult it is to feel your back opening up at the front end of the stroke. I find this is one of the most stubborn habits to unlearn. In addition to drills (See Mayrene’s Toolbox, below), the best advice I can offer is to row as pairs in eights and fours so the boat is stable and the weight of those sitting out makes the boat go slower. This allows you to focus on the connection. Another tip: Row at LOW ratings. This also makes the boat move slower, again so you can work on your catches.

¶ ¶ ¶

The Shadow Knows: Tom Kiefer, former US Team athlete and rigger for the MIT crew, has developed a prototype of a teaching tool he calls The Shadow that addresses this issue. A simple piece of equipment that attaches to the seat of the erg, The Shadow teaches you to hold your upper body steady, so you use your legs to increase the speed of the boat at the catch. The Shadow received rave reviews from coaches and rowers at the CRASH B’s in Boston this winter as well as from rowers at MastersCoaching camps. I highly recommend The Shadow for both home and club use. Production is expected to begin this summer, and the tools should be ready for shipment in the fall.

Mayrene’s Toolbox: Catch Drills

Here are four drills to incorporate in your warm-ups that will improve your catch.

¶      Legs only for 5 strokes, followed by 5 full strokes. Repeat.

¶      Legs and back only, followed by 5 full strokes. Repeat.

¶      Use only the first quarter of the drive for 5 strokes, followed by 5 full strokes.

¶      First quarter of drive for 5, legs only for 5, legs/back for 5, full stroke for 5.

Focus on your catch for a month and you’ll see a huge difference. Play around with it so that you can feel the extremes at both ends of the mistake.

Row the Charles 2004: August Sweep Camps for Women

Just a couple seats remain in MastersCoaching’s two summer sweep camps, to be held back-to-back on Boston’s Charles River the week of August 8. Limited to eight rowers each, these camps for advanced beginner and intermediate rowers both feature our unique one-boat-per-camp approach. Rowers enjoy the individualized and focused attention of coach Mayrene Earle, expert coxswain Julie Gesch and camp manager Marilyn Watson. These three-and-a-half-day camps include intensive rowing, drills, video analysis, technical instruction and guaranteed fun. Also, optional mid-day clinics on rigging, sculling and weight training. For more information, please visit: www.masterscoaching.com/campsclinics/latest.htm. 

Coaching Corner: Your Questions Answered

Q.  My coach keeps telling me that my legs, back and arms are not finishing together. How do I correct this?

            ~ Robyn, Tennessee

A.  I started by addressing the simplest possible reasons: Was Robyn losing connection with the footboards at the release? “No.” Was she using too much layback?  “No.” 

We had to look elsewhere. Usually when a problem shows up at one end of the stroke, the error started at the other end. So, I asked Robyn about her catch. Is she having more of a problem with the finish as the rating comes up and the boat speed gets faster? She said she was. While it’s difficult to analyze the problem without seeing a video, Robyn’s answer told me that she was making a mistake common to many rowers. At the front end of her stroke, she was opening up with her back too early. This was causing her difficulties finishing with legs, back and arms together.

The tendency to open up too early at the front end of the stroke is particularly pronounced on the erg. Because resistance at the front end is so light on the erg (since there’s no water to work against), in their desire to pull hard, rowers tend to open up with their backs too soon, so they feel the resistance that seems to signal a good strong workout. We tend to repeat the same bad habit on the water. This shows up in an exaggerated form when novice rowers “grab the water” with the arms as the boat starts moving really fast.

To help Robyn correct the problem, I suggested drills that emphasize the legs and help to hold the body position longer at the beginning of the drive. They can be found in Mayrene’s Toolbox. (See above). 

Win a Free Coaching Session!  Do you have a question about training or rowing that you’d like answered? Send your questions to mayrene@masterscoaching.com. Every month I’ll select the best question and award the submitter a free 30-minute coaching session focused on your question. So go ahead, ask. What have you got to lose?

While you’re at it, please share your comments, feedback and suggestions about the MastersCoaching newsletter. What features would help you? Or perhaps you have information you’d like to share with other readers. I love receiving input from you, so send it along.

Motivational Magic: Quotes to Inspire You

¶      “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle

¶      "That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you'd understood all your life, but in a new way." 

            ~ Doris Lessing, author 

¶      "I missed all the shots I never took."  ~ Wayne Gretzky, hockey pro, NHL Hall of Famer

From the Bookshelf: Recommended Reading

ü      “The Ergo Makeover,” by Tom Bohrer, Rowing News, Winter 2004, pp 28, 29

ü      “Learning How to Feel,” by Tom Bohrer, Rowing News, April 2004 pp 28,29

Mayrene T. Earle, M.Ed.

Rowing ¶ Life Coach

“Empowering individuals through the sport of rowing.”

Founder: masterscoaching.com

phone: (508) 896-0076

email: mayrene@masterscoaching.com

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