EVSRA Championship Regatta

The EVSRA Championship was held 27 April 2013. We entered crews in the MV4, M2V4, WV4, WV8, MN4, and Mixed4 events. We had a rough day, with no crew managing to get out of the heats to the grand finals. There were many bright points, however.

As evidenced in the edited score sheet below, our MV4 crew dropped time each race down the course (heat time 5:23.0, repechage time 5:19.3, petite final time 5:15.2.)  In the petites, they finally drew even with our nemesis of the season, Norfolk Academy, finishing a scant 0.1 seconds behind. I also note that the times of both of our independent schools rivals seem to be stuck: NA 5:14/5:12/5:15  and Norfolk Collegiate 5:06/5:07/5:06. This indicates to me that we still have room for significant improvement at that they may have plateaued. I'm looking forward to the ISRs in a week.

In the M2V4 event we only raced once, finishing at 5:50.2.  Coach O'Brien's observations from the ref launch are that this crew could be a solid unit with more work. I need to remind myself that we had a novice in the stroke seat and that none of the four will be graduating seniors so the future looks bright.

 

Our MN4 crew finished third in their heat ahead of both Cape Henry and Norfolk Collegiate, but behind Norfolk Academy. Next weekend will be interesting with another four-way private school battle.

On the girls' side, our WV8 also dropped times each time down the course with a heat time of 5:25.4 and a petite final time of 5:22.0. They won the petites, finishing ahead of James River, a significant accomplish against a large school (2000 students) that rows year-round. I also note that the Cox High School crew did not finish ahead of us in this, the marquee women's event -- they too failed to qualify for the grand finals and then missed the start for the petites. Our crew did what was required: get to the start on time and finish ahead of all the competitors in the race. I'll quote directly from Coach O'Brien: My notes--"Awesome". The technique things we have been working on with this group are there, but they rowed tremendously as a team. Meredith pulls like all get out and I think helped the bow four contribute more to the boat. Anna pulls like crazy but occasionally rushed the catch, she overall was tremendous. Cara much improved with length of stroke, hand position and balance. Megan solid and could get slightly longer stroke. Nealy had good full stroke, probably could apply more power. Airielle, Amanda and Becky had much better synch with the boat and I'd like to see more power and natural body swing from them. I am proud of what this boat has become as a unit. I'll add "well done." Neither CH nor NC entered a crew in this event so it seems to be shaping up as another mano-a-mano  event against NA for the ISRs.

Our WV4 crew also dropped times each time down the course with a heat time of 6:50.5 and a petite final time of 6:33.3. We were in good company in this event since Great Bridge, arguably the premier program in the EVSRA (winning this year's overall trophy for the 13th consecutive year,) also failed to qualify a WV4 crew into the grand finals. GB also failed to defeat us in the petites, having to scratch their WV4 entry in the petites. NC and NA will be schools to contend with at the ISRs but with double rowing allowed we will probably enter both a WV4 and a W2V4 (and perhaps even a WLt4) so I'm still opimistic.

In the W1x event Natalie put up a strong fight. Here are Coach O'Brien's notes to me: Great stroke, she was gaining on the Cox rower up through mid course. I was convinced she would win the event. Her form was tremendous, much better stroke length, good balance and crisp release. I was surprised after I got off the water to hear she ran out of gas and dropped back. She can be one of the best in our region if she gets endurance. Very pleased with her progress. Conditioning has to be a year round process.  I keep reminding myself that Natalie has just learned to scull and has only been in the boat about twenty times and that this was only her second race, with a time of over 27 seconds faster than her previous race. In fact her finishing time was lower than NA's winning M1x entry in the Spring Fling regatta of April 13th. I hope to enter both sculling events in the ISRs.

Lastly in the mixed four event we entered a boat of novices that competed against varsity level crews from the other schools. This was Nick's first race as a coxswain and he did fine. I appreciate Nathan pulling double duty as the stroke of this boat. I do expect to enter the WN4 event next week, with probably Hana taking the bow.

Here are the results. Color coding: Green rows separate events; yellow rows separate the progression in each event. Same colored cells are the same crew.

I'll be uploading videos over the next few days. Below are the videos of the MV4 in their heat race and in the petite finals.

 

 Any still pictures, send 'em my way!

Spring Fling II Regatta report

 

The third regatta of the season saw three heat wins and a 2nd place finish. Starting the day off with a bang was the WV8 crew with a heat win ahead of  Cox and Granby. The finish time was still about 11 seconds off NA's pace in the other heat so we know who we need to be worried about. With continued work and effort I'm sure NA's girls are beatable. Of course, we didn't have Great Bridge, Gloucester or Mathews to contend with so even making the finals at next week's championships is still a goal to be reached. Coach O'Brien's comments from the ref's launch and the video of the girls' eight is below.

     Good start. Overall, very good cadence and teamwork through the stroke. Some of the tendencies that we have worked on in practice cropped back up. Some folks who finish the stroke with the handle in their lap (hence shorter strokes) began to do this under pressure. Quicker slide and less complete stroke than ideal. If all eight could maintain solid connection at the catch, hang on the handle, make their leg drive count and not hurry the slide after release, they could be a force to be reckoned with. Endurance is getting better, but I think they can put more effort in and have much quicker times.


 

Next up were the Mens Novice Four events. We're still juggling to find the fastest combination. The good news is that our faster boat dropped a second; the bad news is that Norfolk Academy's "A" boat dropped 3 seconds so the delta went up a couple of seconds. Continued practice and a more shuffling of seats may get us closer. Coach O'Brien wrote "Same challenges we saw in practice. Balance, oar handle too low for some at finish, lack of consistent body swing. Good potential in this group."

Kudos to Russell for completing his first single race. He'll be back in Single-Minded at Mathews and at the ISR after taking next week off from sculling (no double rowing allowed at the championships.) Both he and Natalie, and anyone who wants to learn to row the single over the summer, should watch, study, and absorb the instructional videos from Calm Waters Rowing.

In Heat A of the WV4 event we finished fifth. Natalie had back problems (and ended up scratching in the W1x event.) It is important that all rowers learn to listen to their body. As Bill Manning wrote in his article (the one I keep sending you and the one that folks keep not reading...) "Know the difference between the discomfort of exertion and the pain of injury. College coaches expect this maturity from their athletes. Only you know what you're feeling, what is tolerable and temporary, and what is a problem. Speak up if you're injured...It's your responsibility to not let an unfortunate annoyance become a real problem."  I do give props to Natalie for making the decision to scratch before her single event. For the WV4 race (recorded on video below,) Coach O'Brien wrote these notes: Out of sorts here. Natalie was jumpy and quick throughout the stroke. I understand her back hurt—it was noticeable that she couldn't get pressure on the oar. We need to get back to basics—drive at the catch, solid long stroke, controlled recovery. The various technique challenges hurt balance in the boat. They can do much better. Meagan Prokoprius was awesome here and in the 8. 

Another win came in the W2V4. Here are Coach O'Brien's comments: I wrote SOLID!! on my ref sheet. Airielle, Taylor, Becky, and Nealy were very very good. They put in hard strokes, and did much of what we stressed in practice, and just got a little hurried from mid point on. Good boat. Grace made me smile at her coxswain calls. She just about repeated all my reminders from practice verbatim. She obviously is very observant and intelligent. She is calm with the crew. I guess I like what she’s doing. These girls don’t realize how much faster they could be with just a little more focus and effort. Very gratifying to see their progress.

    I note that often fatigued crews can drift away from the basics. The race only lasts about 6 minutes and yet during that time period many rowers forget what we drill for hours during the weekly practices. When coxswains help rowers to focus on proper technique, even "repeating reminders from practice verbatim," the boat can get back into balance, times can drop , and finish places can improve.



 The MN8 crew finished second in their heat.

   Here are Coach O'Brien's notes from this race: These folks are coming along. Lots of common errors cropped up, but they really put in an effort and looked very good for a group of novices. ... Anthony cannot keep his head in the boat, but he pulls hard so there is good news there."

    I'm reminded of a classic poster that hung in many a boathouse during the 1970s and '80s, that of Tiff Wood hammering his oar so violently that it bent with the force. More on Tiff is available here.

 

 

The next Tiff Wood?

 

   Yep, hammering can be effective (Tiff won a bronze medal in the world championships) and I suppose you can look at your oar (but we really don't want you to!!!) but the bottom line is that the blade must be locked in the water and not creating lots of froth or splashing.

 

   Our third win was in a MV4 heat where we finished ahead of Broadwater, Maury and Cape Henry. When looking at the finish times of all three heats I realize we still have a ways to go. Here are Coach O'Brien's observations from the water: “Uneven handle height; no body swing,” and his comments to me: Can’t argue with a good result in the heat, but they could probably have knocked 20 secs off their time with better form and effort.  That would have gotten us closer to NA but still a bit off their time. More work on technique this week is in the plans.

 

  

Our last event was the Mixed eight, with a start that was hampered by being well off point at the go signal. Even though as a team we do a good job of locking onto the stakeboat in a timely manner, we can improve on the sculling of the bow to achieve the point. Watching the first video on how Amanda (seat 3) takes Natalie's oar (seat 2) shows how quick and effective this technique can be. We'll work on it some this week. Here are coach O'Brien's comments: As Pilar mentioned, they were off from the gitgo. Pointed 45 degrees left at start, got off the line slow. Pilar adjusted well and brought the boat up the course correcting as she went. They were gaining on Maury most of the first half of the race and then lost steam. I was pleased with how they did despite the rocky start. Under different circumstances and with more umph they could have knocked 30-40 secs off that time.

 

   Overall I'm pleased with the day. Below are the complete results and the section of the Virginian-Pilot that reported the high school sports scores. Every mention of  Bishop Sullivan is the paper is noticed and appreciated. 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Spring Fling Regatta

Our second regatta of the 2013 season was a small affair on Lake Whitehurst at the Norfolk Botanical Garden with only seven schools participating: four from our conference (including Norfolk Collegiate, Norfolk Academy, and Cape Henry),  two from our boathouse on the Lafayette (Granby and Maury), and one school from Chesapeake (Hickory.) This was the first regatta for our novice crews; our top boats were hampered by ACTs and prom appointments. I thank Will for stepping into the cox seat for three races. Without his help we couldn't have rowed some events. Our results were mixed and we learned a lot of lessons that can help improve the team as we progress through the balance of the season.

Here are the results; the color coding is the same as last regatta: blue for first, red for second, yellow for third, green is also ran. Comments and video follow.

Below is the WV8 event where we finished 3rd behind Granby and Norfolk Academy and ahead of Maury and Norfolk Collegiate. In this first sparring of conference and boathouse rivals it appears that NA will again be our biggest challenge in three weeks at the Independent Schools Regatta (ISR). It's interesting that NC had trouble with their "new" light eight. There is no guarantee that they will stay out of the running. We should have a couple of full length scrimmages with that crew on practice days to be certain that we stay faster than that crew.

Looking at our other finishes, it's gratifying that one of our MN4 crews finished first in their heat ahead of Maury (who has been rowing since August...) and with the third best time of the eight MN4 crews that rowed down the course in this regatta. While comparing finish times between heats is not typically done, I see that we're just about nine second slower than the faster MN4 time, that of Granby, who again like Maury, has been rowing since August. I also note that we're just a tad slower than Norfolk Academy so I anticipate that they will be our stiffest competition at the ISR. Both our MN4 crews will only improve over the next few weeks. I may shuffle the composition of these crews to try to come up with the fastest combination. Of course, all eight guys will be in the MN8 (more on that crew at the bottom of this post.)

 

I give kudos to Russell for attempting the M1X. He has only been in a single for a total of about six times, and only three times this spring. His capsize goes to show that this is a tricky boat to row, with just one slight error in technique causing major balance problems. I hope to keep entering the single events (so far, only Natalie and Russell have stepped up to try this boat...) for the remaining regattas (except for the EVSRA Championships in two weeks where double rowing is not permitted.)

In the MV4 events we were hampered by having both Joe and Juan unavailable due to ACT testing. With thrown-together crews, it's not surprising that we we off the pace in these events. I thank Anthony for stroking the M2V4. I'm sure the experience will benefit him and our novices in the future.

In the WV4 events we entered two crews. In heat A, Granby nipped us at the finish by less than half a second to place third. Remember that that particular crew has been rowing and ergging since August and that our group has only been active since March. We should be able to get past them over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, both Hickory and NA (again...errrrrr) finished 1-2 meaning we has our work cut out for us. I think continuing to stress conditioning and focus will both help our performance. I'm sure thinking about the prom didn't help the girls' focus on this morning...

In heat B we entered a thrown-together crew that had never raced together before and yet still finished ahead of Norfolk Collegiate. It's interesting that even when there's open water between 2nd and 3rd, if two boats are vying for that third place position, the racing can be exciting and if finishing ahead of another boat by about a second, very gratifying.

Our second win in this regatta came in the W2V4 event with a crew of all 10th graders. The times were slow, but a heat win is still a win. Congrats. In the second entry in this event we had our two novices. Throwing Rebecca and Lily into a varsity event was sorta a trial by fire, but I'm sure they learned a good bit. Again, hopefully we will enter a WN4 in future regattas if we can get a full contingent of novice girls.

Lastly, the MN8 event, the second video recorded in this regatta. This was the first race for this crew (but the second or third times various members raced on this day.) Fatigue was evident and shows that we need to continue to stress conditioning. There were some technique issues that we can work on. Holding the point is easy with a varsity crew that supplies even pressure but a real challenge when strokes are missed and if the pressure from one side to the other varies greatly. Pilar had a challenge on her hands, even if Maury didn't encroach into our lane (note that the ref call them twice before the "Sullivan" call.) Even with all the errors, we are only 14 seconds behind NA, an amount that can easily be made up with additional practice.

Lastly, a few comments about the need for more teamwork. As noted in the article I sent you, all should be thinking of being coachable, being persistent, being smart, and maintaining perspective. This sport allows for tremendous growth and enjoyment. We all need to keep focus and to support each other. Success in rowing is typically regarded as requiring the epitome of teamwork (heck, it's used in many motivational posters in the corporate world.) So how does this apply to our group? You should first of all be responsible for your position in the shell: check the rigging bolts, the shoes, the stretcher position, the heel ties, and the seat all well before you are called to the launch. Coxswains should check the coxbox, the speaker system, and be able to organize their assigned crews well before the first call of their event. Of course, as events are being launched and recovered, other members of the team should be aware of the need for help in carrying oars and shoes, etc. As boats are finishing races, all should be aware of our school's events and should be cheering on the crews. Winning crews, in particular, should be aware that their teammates watched and appreciated their win by hearing the roar of our crowd. Our crews that finish out of the top (maybe even more so) also need to know that their efforts are appreciated. Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results (even if we don't have a giant in the stroke seat ;-).

 

Oh, yeah, from Mrs Maloney, the now traditional prom picture of those on the crew team (sorry we missed you, Joe, Will and Jules.)