Launch Exhaust

My last practice on the Chattahoochee

2017-05-25T14:55:00.001-05:00

Granted, this was from two days ago, 5/23/17. ACRA 2- and 4+ start and settle. 4 first time Kaela stroking. 2- still w/o rudder.

From today, 5/25/2017: Beth and Hannah in the 2-. Big tailwind, moderate current, roughish water. Fast time.

2- Weekend before ACRA

2017-05-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

Start and 2' race #1. Yeah, the start was a bit...off. But the middle is ok. Catches are good and timed well. You can advance frame by frame with the comma and period buttons and see the connections are fairly good.

Pre ACRA. Boat fishtails when Hannah on the steer. Think this race was a bit more checked than the first. At 1:37, timing is perfect with connection.

As soon as I said your point was good, you headed for the island. A few strokes a bit off on timing.

First row pre ACRA

2017-05-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

With Liza guest star. For a first row, this isn't bad. Bodies moving fairly well together. Hand heights are a problem, and connection timing. Match with Rachel, and Rachel make sure you're connecting as early as possible.With Liza guest star. For a first row, this isn't bad. Bodies moving fairly well together. Hand heights are a problem, and connection timing. Match with Rachel, and Rachel make sure you're connecting as early as possible.

Liza guest star. Rachel, you can see that I want you to tap down more so you and Mel touch at the same time if the boat is off. Liza make sure you're tapping down as well. Renee, you can see the oar come off the lock here.

Back in the pair. Fairly good boat control. Make sure the hands come out before the bodies come over.

Monday before Vails 2017

2017-05-08T20:01:00.000-05:00

38spm. Catches have to be precise and blade depth can be a problem getting out clean. Jo you can see you're just a little off to stbd at the finish. Mandy a couple bad catches. Not bad.....

Monday before Vails 2017. Nice catches port side. HannahH careful of the finish, a little water in the air.

Started a little shaken as Steph was turning the boat, but smoothed out.

May Day with the Regulator

2017-05-02T16:00:00.002-05:00

Guest stars Steph at cox, Kaela at 3, HannahM at bow. Kaela watch the hand heights. Match to what Blaze does, even when the boat off set. Mel, good change on the digging, not seeing it here.

After I stopped shooting, the boat shifted up a bit to 26-28 and found a great rhythm that lasted for about a mile. I'm not going to pretend this is perfect rowing, but when a crew finds "swing" like this, just hold onto that feeling as long as you can.

A further word on that subject--

My father was an avid golfer. He loved the game and I had absolutely no understanding of why, until my senior year of high school rowing. Dad kept souvenirs of "perfect moments" in his golf life. A hole in one ball, signed by his friends he was with that day, decorated a wall in our home. A ball he shot a double eagle (in the hole from second shot of a par-5) sat on a little pedestal. I've heard golf described as chasing perfection. Players will strive for years and decades for the perfect moment; thousands of swings distill down to one perfect shot, when the player's swing is exactly what they want, contact with the ball is exact and the shot lands exactly where they want.

In rowing, we strive for the same sort of moment. It doesn't happen often. I can count the number of times I've felt that on one hand. It wasn't always in a race. I hope the crew in the Regulator got a little taste of that perfect moment.

Weekend Vids

2017-04-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

Third race Roz second Reg. Lulu timing, catch and release. Reg in general want to see a bit more explosiveness in the drives. Mandy hanging the catch here. In the Roz, you can see how the body motion to the stern on the recovery is just as fast as the time on the drive. Kate, Kelly need to swing through at finish. Kate connection.

This is better than the Saturday morning vid--Beth's catches are a few feet farther back from Rachel's puddle. There's still rush and check. Kelly and Kate, swing through. Beth and Kat careful of the inside shoulder popping up. Kaela get the hands out before the body moves.

Settle to 30spm. Portside timing a little ragged--Mel you can see the dig here and how it might affect your release. Mandy started hanging the catch a few strokes after the settle. Renee, you can see the oar coming disconnected from oarlock b/c of your fallaway.

I got a little close at the start, then had to catch up. RachelB out early on that first stroke. Everyone check where you head is at release--make sure you're on the centerline. Jo, get that tap down so you're not touching right at release. Mel, you can see your depth get better by the end of this race. Be more confident to the body at the finish--tall and strong.

New coaching platform

2017-04-25T08:03:00.000-05:00

Perfect for shallow water operations.

Saturday Vids

2017-04-23T16:17:00.002-05:00

So after today's row being scrubbed and me spending all weekend in various gyms all over northeast Atlanta, I finally got a chance to get these vids up. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to get vid of the 4.

Notice that better catches make the boat more stable as the finishes are together as well. When rowing on the square, make sure you don't cut the body swing off. HannahH better tapdown, Kate and Stacks swing the finish.

HannahH, I think you've been hitting water a bit much and don't have enough room for clean tapdown. Let's add to your height. Kaela make sure you're getting to full compression at the catch.

I think this was on the paddle--looks a bit sloppy and low power.

Ran out of gas midway through this. Checked a lot--look how the hull is dipping fore and aft. That needs to be smoother at the higher rates. Kate, Kelly, need longer finishes with body swing. Too upright and not using your length.

Early in your row. Mandy just a bit behind Blaze. Still learning the steering.

Finishes aren't timed well, prob due to boat being a bit too high out of water. Timing is better here than the other vid. As you can see, being that high makes both of you miss a bit of water at the catch.

A nice evening with the Regulator

2017-04-11T21:32:00.000-05:00

I'm just tossing these up with out much review.....gotta get up early soon.

1st race 6x2'. All four stbds with a bit of a sky. Mel, you can see the dig here. Tera late a bit, Lulu early.

2nd 6x2'. Quicker entries, Blaze, Renee and Allison. Happy with RachelB's. Port side timing better than first race. Lulu sometimes still early. Want stronger finish and send from Mel. Tera need more length at catch.

Let's go slo mo. Timing nice here on port. But you can also see how the finish can be a little longer--the blades are still going to stern with totally out of the water.

Nice work on the digging, Mel. It's better here, not totally fixed but better than the beginning of the night.

Not bad on timing, finishes could be longer, would like to see a bit more altitude control on stbd. Occasional catch hang by Mandy when the rate increased.

Redemption

2017-04-09T19:08:00.000-05:00

I'm not gonna re-post the video here. By now everyone has seen or heard "don't hit the post, Lopa." That happened a little over a year ago, at spring break.

But since then, Lopa has been the consummate teammate. Open with her coaches about her anxieties and riding the launch non stop through the fall to better learn her craft, Lopa refused to hide, refused to quit and worked to get better. She talked with Steph and Sarah about coxing. She talked to me and Rodd. She studied.

When Sarah's shoulder failed her again at spring break this year, Lopa was there. She had come to spring break with no expectation of getting a boat. To repeat: she didn't expect to get a boat this spring but came to training anyway, giving up her vacation to get better. I'll admit I was a little worried and I know she was too, returning to the scene of the accident from a year before.

And she did great. It became less and less necessary to direct her steering during practices. She found me before every row to go over what we were trying to accomplish each session. She earned my trust and the trust of her crew.

In another wonderful team-first attitude, Allison scheduled her surgery the earliest she could and even got an airplane ticket halfway through spring break so she could attend as many practices as possible. She could have stayed home, but she wanted to row with her boat. When we had to turn that boat around to get Allison on the dock in time for her flight, Rodd and I trusted Lopa without hesitation to get the crew back from the bridge alone.

Lopa coxed a lightweight 4 at FIRA that had never practiced together. It was a second (or third) entry for everyone in that crew. Lopa got the crew on the start without drama, kept a great point into a strong crosswind and got them off the line in good order. I had the great opportunity to follow that event in my car and watched as they put on a beautiful race. From 3/4 of a length down at the 700m mark, the lightweights stopped the other crew's momentum, walked back through and broke them at the 1500. A race like that takes all five people in the crew, because the athletes must believe the cox and the cox must trust the athletes. If that bond isn't there, that crew falls apart when the opposition gets that far ahead.

They threw her in. It was perfect. It was redemption.

Pre-SIRA Gluckman

2017-04-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

This is a quick vid upload. Make whatever comments you would like for me to address if you all like, I've got a lot of running around for William tonight but I can come back to watch these again.

Takes a few strokes in each build to get the oars going in together. Catching Jo a few mistakes on the entry, Rachel early once or twice. Second 20 was better than first.

A few entry bobbles by HannahH. Just a touch of digging in the bucket. Kate timing good. Catches good.

Few entry bobbles by Jo and HannahH. HannahM make sure you're at full length. Like the glide finish. Good workout today.

How to: Row in a headwind

2017-04-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

First, let's get this out of the way: I hate Princeton. Hate them. Always have, since my first visit on their soulless campus in the middle of a New Jersey field. If there was ever an Ivy League campus that had not one thing interesting about where it was located, it's Princeton. The best part about Princeton is the train station that takes you away from there to New York.

But.......this Princeton 1V blasts into a headwind like it isn't even there:

Watch 6 seat especially. Headwind? What headwind. He has no fucks to give about your headwind. Upper body under perfect control, rowing very long, legs first then the body and arms are just follow through. Look at 5's catches. Entering the water at full extension, with backsplash, Every Damn Stroke.

Fuck you, Princeton. But nice rowing.

The geese are too lazy

2017-03-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

Good timing here, want better catches. We saw better catches later in the row. All the screaming is Kaela's attempted goose murder and it distracted everyone.

Run up the seat race course on Tuesday 3/28/17. Tail wind, medium current. 4:22. Kate roll up timing. A lot of low finishes in the early high work: HannahH, Kate. Kelly you can see the digging. Overall, this looks rushed and not as long as we'd like. My swearing is from a high school 8 that started turning right in front of the crew.

I didn't get good video of the Roz this evening, but I was really happy with the high 20s as we went downstream. The extra length emphasis and the power that required at 38 really got the boat moving well.

In the Regulator, I think the "new" starboard lineup with Renee in 7, RachelB in 5, Melanie in 3 and Allison in bow is the way to go this weekend at FIRA. I want to get that crew out for practice on Friday while the heats are going on.

Sunday after John Hunter

2017-03-26T14:29:00.001-05:00

I didn't reach human until after noon today. Hope everyone else got a similar amount of sleep.

Looking ahead to FIRA, we can expect heats on Friday necessary in the Varsity 4, Varsity 8 and pair. That's a lot of work to be done on that afternoon, especially given the weather is calling for 20mph winds from the south/southwest. That's a screaming tailwind.

Fill out your availability for this week so we can plan out practice times.

I get a little close sometimes

2017-03-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

Jessie joined me in the launch on Sunday evening. She mentioned later on how nervous she got with my launch driving, but didn't say anything because I seemed to know what I was doing. None of the athletes have ever complained......

V8 PCB Tuesday PM on way back from beach. THE BUCKET RETURNS. Looking for where the bodies are during drive and up to catch. Stay on centerline until just before catch as the arc of oar takes the inside shoulder over the gunnel.

PCB Tuesday AM. GLUCKMAN workout. Look at these catches. I'm pleased. Nice work Sarah in a tough position.

Tuesday PM @ PCB If they get only one thing from this vid, I'd like to see more length at the catch. Too vertical with the bodies, not reaching out with courage for long strokes.

Monday PCB mid-day

2017-03-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty tired and pressed for time--didn't get a lot of chance to look these over. Comments are short.

Monday afternoon seat racing lineups:

Gini(Sarah) Phoon(Steph) Mollie(Lopa)
Beth(str) RachelS(str) Tera(str0
Kate Kaela Kat
Lulu HannahM Jo
RachelB Renee Allison

ARG: Mandy/Blaze Midnight: HannahH/Kelly

Boat sitting on port both tonight and Monday AM. Make sure everyone is releasing at the same time with the stern pair. Renee out a little early in these first strokes. Happy with with catches here on Stbd.

5' @ 30. Blaze get out cleaner @ finish. Renee a bit late. RachelB chin up at finish. Stbd catches start rough get better at :16. Good port catch at :36 Tera you can see you're a bit short at catch.

Kelly late occasionally here. Look at the shoulders, Jo and Kate. HannahH a good example of body control.

Spring break Sunday

2017-03-19T13:09:00.001-05:00

Some vids from Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. I think the team was really tired and not "home" on Saturday. Rowing was distracted and missing some power. Sunday morning was better. Concentration on catches seemed to help both boats.

Less said about Saturday afternoon, the better. But I'm putting this here for comparison to the next vid:

End of catch practice. Immediate improvement over the evening before. Tera, you can see why I'm asking for a bit more length at the catch to bring you in line with rest of port side. Renee, catch you a bit late on square up occasionally. Allison, I'm happier about your release. Perhaps a tiny touch early, but mostly where it should be. Overall, I'm really happy with the improvement in this boat in just one day.

Now the same treatment for the Roz. Saturday time trial:

And then Sunday:

Time 2:53, 5" faster than night before. Kate digging occasionally now. There's improvement. Watch roll up timing. Esp nice stbd catch at :22. Ports very nice at 1:07 and 1:13 Kelly still digging. Fast catch doesn't mean driving the oar deep. Jo--freeze at :1:24. Need stronger upper body--sitting tall at the finish and swinging through.

For comparison, here's last year's V8. Note the short finishes.

When you realize you've got the sculls in backwards, it is not usually a good idea to try to switch without docking.

Spring break plan

2017-03-15T22:51:00.002-05:00

I've tried to plan out spring break every year. Some years I keep closer to the plan than others but I'm expecting to follow this to the letter. A change from many years is the Gluckman workout much earlier in the week and the peak work coming early as well, with a slight taper towards the end. As I've said, I'd like to see higher energy levels at the John Hunter regatta this year. Traditionally, we have not performed well at that race and I'd like to change that outcome. Some of our old friends from Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Rollins will be at John Hunter this year. On with the show:

Friday 3-17

2k Erg Test

Purpose: Evaluate the fitness and mental toughness of each athlete

2:30pm start: Mandy Renee

4pm start: Allison RachelB Tera Blaze Lulu HannahM

4:30pm start: Beth HannahH Kelly Kate* Kaela Stacks Kat Jo*

*currently sick/injured

Everyone please confirm if these start times work for you and if not, when.

Saturday 5pm 11k goal

Long row 4' on 1' off turn at 6pm or end of the Grand Lagoon Marina past bridge, whichever comes first. TIME TRIAL over 800m course w/ start and 20, settle 32-34

Purpose is to work the kinks out of the travel day and knock off the sand from beach Olympics. Sightsee a bit--welcome to PCB

Sunday 9am 10k goal

Purpose: to concentrate on catches and length at the catch.
DRILLS: Half boat row (Lulu knows this one), back down drill, 1st 3" drill, legs only rowing
2x19' pyramids 18-24 and 20-26 Lower rates to give boats time to concentrate on the catches and make positive changes

5pm 14k goal

Purpose: Catch concentration and aerobic fitness work. Introducing catches at higher boat speeds and ratings
4x10' 1 at 22-28 spm, 2 at 24-30 spm 1 at 26-32 spm.

Monday 9am 10k goal

Purpose: Concentration on core body control throughout stroke. The position of the body at the catch must be the same as at body over. Shoulders on top of a stacked backbone, chin up and inside shoulder low and over the gunnel. The body should draw the athlete up the slide with the hips and core, instead of toes and feet.

DRILLS: Cut the cake, Accelerate 5s, Pause at body over, feet out rowing
6x5' 20, 22, 24, 24, 30, 32 Lots of time in early races to get on the centerline and set the boat.

5pm 5k goal

SEAT RACING Expect 5-6 runs over the 800m seat race course.
Purpose: identify difference between athletes with eye toward selection of top 8, 2nd 8 and/or LW4

Tuesday 9am 16k goal NOTE: Practice time changeover day.

GLUCKMAN 34-36-38
Purpose: Comfort at higher ratings, timing and body control carried over from earlier outings

2pm 16k goal

Beach Row 4' on 1' off 20, 22, 24, 22, 24, 26, 24, 26, 28, 24, 24, etc
Purpose: Improve boat set and physical fitness. Concentrate on body control and finish timing

Wednesday 6:30am 12k goal

Purpose: Reinforce body control.
DRILLS: Cut the cake, pause, outside arm only, feet out rowing
2.19' pyramid, 18-24, 24-30spm

2:30pm 5k goal

Jay's patented start workout.
Purpose: Polish up our start skillz.
Expect 4-6 runs up the 800m course
TIME TRIAL

Thursday 6:30am 10k goal

2x2k 1st at race pace, second at 26-28 w/ starts Lots of drills in between. 1st 3", half boat rowing, legs only

Purpose: Comfort with the 2k distance, comfort with settling. Practice of race moves like triple 7s, power 10s, Reinforce catch skills

2:30pm 16k goal

Beach Row 4' on 1' off 20, 22, 24, 22, 24, 26, 24, 26, 28, 24, 24, etc
Purpose: Improve boat set and physical fitness. Concentrate on body control and finish timing

Friday 6:30am

Swing/pop 2k. One final 800m TIME TRIAL

Purpose. Buh-bye PCB. Get ready for John Hunter. Positive final row before de rig and load for home.

Sunday morning vids

2017-03-12T17:24:00.003-05:00

No, I have no vid of Rachel flipping.

Start with the pair:

Hannah a lot of water flipped into the air at the release. Swing through a bit more. I catch you early on Beth at the end. Both of you keep thinking about swing. I know it's difficult to find in a pair, but the longer the knees stay down the longer the boat runs.

Now the Mollie:

Both starboards are digging here, with makes getting out of the water clean at the finish difficult. Don't drive the shaft into the water. First couple of catches are good, then rowed in and then improving later.

Second catch was good. But if you freeze at :03, you can see both HannahM and Lulu out of the water before the handles get close to the body. Need to hold the finishes in more. At :11, watch the body control in the Gini. Jo and Kelly falling away, Kate mainly on the centerline. Renee, careful to hold the knees down a bit more to let the body get over at :32.

Issue here is catches being rowed in. Kate, this stroke is short--missing at catch and release. Four different catches at :19. This is only at 32--need more precision and control at higher rate. Gotta keep going up there to get comfortable.

Kelly, digging too deep. Lots of water trapped on the shaft. Jo, after this was when I talked about tapdown. The first and third strokes, you can see how you hit water immediately after the release. A good thing--at :31 you guys respond well to a power ten.

A personal request, in memoriam

2017-03-10T21:58:00.001-05:00

I don't usually care about rain. I've got two different types of rain gear so I'm usually as comfortable as possible. I have learned not to row in wild thunderstorms. It came from an incident during my high school career that is best forgotten. Suffice to say my mentor tossed caution to the literal wind and we ended up walking an 8 a mile back to the boathouse without shoes over a gravel road.

So I cancelled this morning's practice as I saw storms rolling in. The howling wind and crashing thunder outside made the decision a little easier and also woke the dogs. So not only was I awake at 4am, but everyone was.

Sunday morning will be at 6:30omg in the morning. Don't forget the time change! We will be rowing in the dark, as usual. I'll figure out lineups out of the survivors that make it.

Now.....on to a personal request I have for you.

This is my sister-in-law and her fiance, Tony. He's step-father to my nephew, the father of my two nieces out in Salt Lake City and Sammi's next child that is on the way. His car hit a truck a high speed and Tony was killed yesterday morning, 3/9/17, at 6am on his way to work.

They didn't have a lot. Tony was the sole provider for the family due to Sammie staying home with the kids, 3 year old, 18mo and 7mo. We've set up a GoFundMe page to support Sammi through this as much as we can and try to get her on her feet. Now, I'm not expecting a lot of donations from a bunch of college students that already scrape and save just to row. I see how many of you have to be "reminded" to pay your drivers, semi-formal tickets and everything else.

I am asking for you all to please post that page on all your social media. The more views that campaign gets the higher it appears on the GoFundMe directory. That would be the greatest help we could get Sammi and the kids at this point. Jessie will probably fly out there at some point soon and so you'll get to see me as a starving bachelor again. It has been well established that I can't cook anything beyond breakfast anymore.

Thanks for your help. Enjoy your semi-formal and the aftermath. See you all on Sunday morning.

Friday 5am prax lineups

2017-03-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Remember to get all your erg work done on Thursday. Steady state and other work that might be owed.

I'm seriously considering making Monday the OYO day next week. Also, remember the 2k is gonna happen on Friday next week.

Oh, this is gonna be painful. There's not enough coffee in the world for this.

Workout is 8x2' or 8x450m in the short course. Some in the middle with have starts. First few will be at lower rates, because I'm really worried about slide rush. But the middle to end races will be at race pace 32-35 spm. There will be a staggered start on some races.

Lineups:

Roz(Steph) Regulator(Blaine)
Beth(str) HannahM
HannahH Blaze
Kelly Lulu
Kate RachelB
Jo Tera
Kaela Renee
Stacks Mandy
Kat Ro

Wednesday 3/7/17 Seat Race lineups

2017-03-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

Molly(Sabs) Gini(Sarah) Polar Bear/Lee/Edmonds(Steph)
Renee Stacks Beth
Kat HannahM HannahH
Lulu Jo Mandy
RachelB Allison Blaze

Let's do three boats tomorrow. Because, what could go wrong? Leave campus 5pm.

Update: I PUT YOUR H ON YOUR NAME SARAHHOWARD.

UPDATE #2: Looks like departure might not happen until around 5:30. Make sure everyone makes it. And everyone knows there's no space between Sarah's first and last name. It's all one word.

Flipping

2017-03-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

Coach: "It's nearly impossible to flip an 8. Be aggressive out there, you guys will be fine."

Melbourne grammar school: "Really? Here, hold my beer."

Somewhere, there's a crew without a coach. That coach is dead, because he facepalmed himself to death.

Entries

2017-03-06T15:54:00.002-05:00

Back in 2012, my first year coaching at Georgia Tech, I pushed all season and entered a varsity 8. It was the first V8 entry for Tech since 1998. It was also eliminated in the reps on Friday afternoon. Their technical ability was average, but they just didn't have the horsepower to be really competitive.

This left us with nothing to do on Saturday, as the novice 8 had been eliminated as well. This was my first time at the Dad Vail regatta, so I relaxed on the embankment and actually watched races. I wasn't in the best mood about our results, despite a lot of the athletes expressing happiness they had all been able to race together. Then the JV womens' 8 came down the course.

I wanted that race. Everything a JV 8 represented, I wanted for my crew. Here was a chance for younger, less experienced athletes to race against others at their skill level. Strong programs had enough athletes in the program to put a second 8 out on the water. There aren't that many programs like that. Those boats are the markers of healthy, sustaining programs. I wanted that future for Georgia Tech.

Historically, Tech hasn't focused on the open 8. 1998, 2012, 2013 and last year are the only entries I can find for a womens' 8 from Tech. Varsity programs that can field a competitive 8 usually need a second boat to practice with. Beyond a simple sparring partner, that second eight is the incubator for athletes that will take spots in the first 8 in the following years. It also provides competitive drive throughout the season for members of the top boat. They know if they underperform, there is usually someone from that JV that is happy to take their seat. That was lacking from my first two 8s.

More importantly, a JV 8 is an opportunity for more members of my crew to race on Saturday at Dad Vail. Consider the following numbers from last year's Dad Vail: Half of the 32 total entries in the varsity 4+ were eliminated immediately in the time trial on Friday, including our own. 90 total athletes and coxswains were told, "Thanks for coming, hope you enjoyed your time trial race, but you're done." There were 24 entries in the pair, with six eliminated immediately.

In the JV last year? 9 entries. Three eliminated on Friday, in one heat of 5 and the other of 4. Everyone else to the final.

Now I'm not going to try to fool anyone. It won't be a cakewalk from the JV heats to the final on Saturday afternoon. The boats that made that final came from good, deep programs. The overall level of racing in the event has gotten a lot better than what I saw back in 2012, as you can see:

Even given this higher level of competition, what is the greater good for the athletes on my crew that don't earn seats in the top 8? Facing that horde of fours and pairs? Or racing together, as a team, in the JV? Looking at those numbers, I want to avoid the open fours and pairs.

As always, life doesn't give me simple choices. There is one other event that we could enter. The lightweight 4 had only six entries last year. They went straight to the final on Saturday. The last time we did that boat, it went well. Won SIRA and 4th overall at Vails after a terrible row in the rep. You might recognize some faces in that boat. Their race in the finals was possibly their best of the year, but they just didn't have the horsepower to catch the crews ahead of them, even with two mid 7:40 ergs in the stern pair. We don't have lightweights with that sort of power output this year, so it's difficult to expect that sort of outcome.

So I'm really down to two choices for my second boat. The top boat will be an 8, without question. After that, either almost everyone in a JV 8, or a light four/open four. The open four would face a very, very tough road at boat SIRA and Vails. Same for a pair/single combination.

This is why I've been pushing for the JV 8 so hard this year. If that boat doesn't happen, we are going light 4/ open 4, and those boats will have a very, very tough road. With our current injury situation, it might be a light 4 and pair with the same sort of outcomes.

The JV is supposed to be fun, a place to get better and something to make life occasionally miserable for the Varsity. I really, really hope we can get that sort of boat together.

Saturday 3/4/17 vids

2017-03-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

Allison especially, but all four need to look at where the body is when the knees break to start up the slide on the recovery. Holding the knees down as long as possible keeps the majority of the bodyweight in the bow. Once you come up the slide, you're changing the center of mass of the boat, introducing a vector against the direction we want to be going.

Kelly and Kate, watch the dig. Jo, need more tapdown to match altitude of the others. Tera a little short of the other ports. Kat, hands a little slow away. Boat sitting on port a lot.

Caught Renee late a few times here. I like the catches going to the water. You can see how high the boat is sitting, causing finish issues. Because the boat isn't moving as fast as an 8, you can see the catches are going in well. Once boat speed increases, these will need to be faster.

Kaela, you can see the occasional sky of the blade. Kate, rollup timing good here. Jo, watch what you're doing with your outside hand vs what Beth is doing. Try to match how she keeps pressure on the blade all the way to the body.

Catching Lulu early a few times. Jo and Kelly late occasionally. Want to see Jo and Kelly catches with more backsplash. Kelly, you can see how the dig sometimes causes issues on the release.