There are a couple of things I realize about myself going into this venture. If i keep them in mind, I think I will do better.

First, every beginning coach has the tendancy to talk too much, and I am certainly no exception. The amount of material that these guys can digest is limited. If I said the same thing 100 times one day, then asked what it was the next, I might or might not get a proper response. Instead, I have to condense the whole of basic rowing technique into a sequence of basis drills. They should reinforce only the things that are truly important, and all of the things that are truly important. And I should let them row. For miles and miles.

Second, I should worry less. Of course I have a tendancy to overthink everything. Right now, I'm concerned that we aren't getting enough volume. In training language, volume just means going a lot of miles. And then I remember these guys have only been rowing for a week, and I've put them through a lot in that time. I have to trust my own training plan. Volume will add itself in as the time comes.

So week one was good, if a little lacking in water time. I set the bar for technique high last Friday. I pushed them past the failure point, although not intentionally this time. Tuesday I backed off and did some basic work with the brand new guys to bring them up to speed, then went out and did the same drills I intended to do that Friday. We succeeded, and moved on. As the focus for last week and the first half of this week, I chose the simplest of the basis drills I mentioned above. The idea with these drills is to reduce a complicated motion -- release the blade from the water with the outside hand, spin the inside away with a flick to feather the bottom edge bowward, rock hands and body over with the speed of the boat, roll wheels at one speed towards the stern, keep sitting up rotate around the pin while squaring down, add weight over the feet arc.to.the.water.break the.eggshells.hang.on.the.handle pry.with.lats.into.the."box" swing.shoulders.until the blade leaves the water, squeeze in the hands, rinse, and repeat -- into the first simple motion. Push the oar handle down until the blade is above the water. Now push it away from you whilst keeping the blade still out of the water.

We will do this again tomorrow, then move on to step two.

-Coach A

High school athletics is a serious venture. For that matter, athletics in general is a pretty serious venture. Our society places a huge premium on winning, and often winning at any cost.

For many, the serious introduction to competitive athletics comes at the beginning of high school. Millions of 9th graders "go out for the team" in August and September. Unfortunately, many are cut. Schools hire just enough coaching to cover their varsity squads, and the kids that can't make that group for any reason are left out to dry. The system is ruthless. I want to do my part to change this. I have a no-cut policy. Anyone who comes out for my team should have the opportunity to succeed. If you are willing to learn the game and work hard, you deserve a spot. This is high school, not the national team. I also have a no-bench policy. If you practice, you race. The consequences of this are that it will be not be easy. Not easy for the athlete because the only way to regulate team size to a manageable level is to push everyone a little harder until some aren't willing to commit. Not easy for the coach because I don't want to see anyone quit. It also wreaks havoc on the logistics of running an organized team. Not everyone can succeed under every coach. I want my system to emphasize the rewards of hard work. When an athlete comes out of my program, I want them to understand the value of effort and believing in the seemingly impossible. I also want to see some gold medals around their neck. In a general sense, that is what I want to see as the mark of athletes that come out of my program. Maybe not right away, but I will plant the seed.

Back to the present. I am a freshman rowing coach at a public high school. This is the athletes' first year rowing, and they come to me with little or no experience. It is also my first year coaching a program for an entire season.

My background includes a rather poor athletic resume in high school, but with persistance and good coaching, some resulting collegiate championships. This August, I fulfilled another one of my dreams with a North American Henley Championship. On the coaching end, I've worked with some singles and doubles with reasonably good results, but nothing as organized as this.

Practices have begun, although I gave them Labor Day off. Entries will likely come when I have something to say, and not when I don't. Next time, perhaps the first few days of practice and my thoughts on the makeup and possibilities for this team.

-Coach A, until I can think of something better.