“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not at Stotesbury anymore.” Experiences and Lessons Learned from Coaching a Pair to the Junior World Rowing Championships USRowing Convention, Dec 2016 Marc Mandel, [email protected] Overview ! Two extraordinarily strong, size-mismatched, 17-year-old Gonzaga College High School teammates embrace the challenge of qualifying for and racing the pair at the Junior World Rowing Championships. ! Athletes and coach inexperienced in this boat class and international competition. ! 9 weeks to Rotterdam from our summer training start date. ! Ultimately finish 4th (tying best-ever finish for US) 2.5 Years Out: How did these guys get involved in rowing? 18 Months Out: Sophomore Year – Opposite Ends of the Development Spectrum 9 Months Out: Winter of Junior Year – Potenal and Experimentaon January 15th 6 Months Out: C.R.A.S.H. – B. Gold and Silver 3 to 4 Months Out: A few pracces here and there April 17th May 1st 9 Weeks to Roerdam: Training Begins in Earnest on June 18th Training Overview ! 10 sessions per week. 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1 – off. ! Two-a-days were early AM and late AM. ! Focus on nutrition, fueling between workouts. ! Roughly half UT1/UT2 steady state work, half AT/Race Pace. ! With only 4 weeks to trials, felt pressure to progress the rating fairly quickly. Major Consideraons Guiding the Process ! Just focused on trials ! Seek advice ! Get comfortable. Figure out how to move the pair. ! How to account for height/weight difference ! Increasing rating ! Video review ! Learn how to steer ! Be race ready – find competition Get comfortable. Figure out how to move the pair. ! Learning to “work with the boat”. Can’t row it like an eight. ! Light on the feet, patient, feel ! Trying to get rid of unnecessary, extra motions ! Feet out to start most days ! One-person rowing/drilling in an “S” pattern most days Get comfortable. Figure out how to move the pair. How to Account for Height/Weight Difference? ! Significant size discrepancy ! Who sits where? ! Attempts at individual rigging. Hesitant to experiment too much with “deadline” of trials. ! Style evolved naturally over time as a way to simply make the combination work. How to Account for Height/Weight Difference? Increasing Rating ! 99% of “pre-season” work done at 16 to 18 spm. ! Had to be ready to race at IDR in two weeks and trials in four weeks. ! Found large increases in boat speed as rating came up. ! Ideally would have liked to progress more slowly to allow for technical improvements at lower and middle rates to carry over to race rates. Did not have the luxury of time. Increasing Rating Video Review ! Kiwi Pair ! Drew Ginn’s “Will it make the boat go faster?” ! Moe Sbihi (GB, 6’8”) ! World Rowing videos of pair races ! Internal video review ! 60+ videos shot during the summer Steering ! Much less of an issue than we anticipated ! Rowing alongside walls ! Two weeks on the Occoquan (1k buoy line) Finding Compeon ! Master’s 2- ! Independence Day Regatta ! 2 weeks in; 4 X 2k ! Gonzaga Alumni 4+ & 2X ! Potomac Boat Club/USA LW4X Trials, July 26th Post Trials ! 5 days off ! Post-trials “hangover”, sluggish first week back ! Research (medal winning times, race profiles, US Results) ! Making it real – putting faces to the competition ! Posting fast splits just before departure Welcome to Roerdam ! Very windy most of the time. ! Much windier/choppier than any conditions we trained/raced in at home ! Trying to make slight technical adjustments to a style which we had engrained over countless meters. ! Impacted what we could do in training as we tried to adapt to very challenging conditions. Preliminary Heats Semifinals Three Days Later – Strong Headwind Final A – Strong Cross Tailwind Lessons Learned ! Rowing the pair to the absolute highest level requires a huge investment in time over a long period. Difficult to “cram” for this boat class. ! The pair is a highly responsive boat. Small adjustments to rigging, rate, and technique have a significant impact. Make sure you have time to experiment. ! Know the prevailing conditions of the racecourse well in advance. Seek out rough water. ! Leverage the experience of those who have been there . whether boat builders, college coaches, mentors, whomever. .