Transcript Teaching_Technique_to_Experienced_Athletes_Josh Adam

thoughts and suggestions
ASSUMPTION
Rowing is primarily
an endurance-based,
aerobic sport that
simultaneously
requires great power
demands from the
athlete; thus,
conditioning is
critical.
“What? Is that the only boat you have in?”
 “Technique is a way to allow a rower to bridge the gap
from where they are to where they want to be.”
Emil Kossev and Julie McCleery
 “You should try to discern the difference between what the athlete is doing and
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what they are trying to do. Try to imagine what they might look like when they
are not pushed to the breaking point.
A few examples of why this discernment may help you:
The great Romanian sculler, Valeria Racila-driving toward the finish line,
passing her last rival-knees bobbling up just before the finish of the stroke, her
legs no longer able to force the stroke home.
The Hansen brothers of Norway, in spite of blades breaking loose at the finish,
beating a superb Russian double in the last fifty meters simply because the
Russians have been unable to maintain the pace.
A new Zealand eight winning the World Championships in 1983 with four
collapsing toward his handle at the finish of each stroke and number six
finishing early. Neither man has any intention of quitting, but the cadence has
become virtually beyond their strength.
What you see at the finish of a boat race is what is left of technique after it has
been eroded by strenuous exertion and excitement, to say nothing of the
deterrent effect of wind and water.”
Frank Cunningham, The Sculler at Ease, P. 127 Avery Press, 1992
APHORISM #1
Technique is potentially
affected far greater by
conditioning than
conditioning is affected by
technique
APHORISM #2
Technique is primarily
important to the degree that
it allows the uniform
application of ideal human
conditioning to boat speed
APHORISM #3
Uniformity in technique
remains far more critical
than any one technical
“style”
A) Proprioception—This type of training is most difficult to
teach. Proprioception is, basically, the development of an
awareness of ones muscle, joint, and bone movements.
Such awareness is not simply learning the aspect of a new
skill. It is about repeating that aspect of the skill properly
(and more often improperly first) until it is committed to
memory, intuition, or, by its more colloquial name,
“muscle memory.” There are four steps in developing this
awareness: (1) realizing the position of the skill; (2)
developing an accurate sense of the movements involved
in achieving the position; (3) practicing the accurate level
of force to complete the skill; (4) repeat, repeat, repeat.
B) Timing and control—This type of training is
addressed in practice. It refers mostly to executing the
stroke properly in accord with the theory of the rowing
stroke taught at your particular program.
1. You have to go slow to go fast.
2. And you have to go fast to go faster.
C) Mobility/stability—As it relates to technique in rowing,
mobility and stability is often related to “setting a boat.”
However, in my opinion, “set” is a nonsense term in rowing.
Athletes and coaches use the term; but, it involves
hundreds of different movements. Set, in my opinion, is a
generalization that can be referenced only in relationship
to some specific skill that is trying to be achieved. To be
specific, united control up the slide, one roll up, one catch,
one release, balance over the keel of a boat, ratio between
the slide and the drive, and level handle heights, one reach,
matched up layback, focused heads within the boat, etc.
D) Functional activity—This type of training deals with
on the water practice and off the water activities. On
the water practice is fairly self explanatory. Rowing
specific training for off-the-water practices should be
taught and implemented. For example, pace charts
can be used to teach power output on the ergometer.
And weight training workouts can be used both to
teach certain bio-mechanics of the rowing stroke in
relati0nship to controlled vs. explosive power.
E) High-dynamic performance—If all aspects of the
training have been implemented, and if all the work
has been done by the athletes and the coaches, then
practices will be peak training and as a result races will
be peak performances.
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1) Hands on the handles:
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The grip influences all other parts of the stroke, and I think it is essential to learn the appropriate grip and
manipulation of the handle before almost anything else.
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The grip should first and foremost be relaxed, hands applying light downward pressure from the base of the
fingers (the ball of the hand), thumbs applying light outward pressure against the oarlocks, fingers loosely
wrapped around the handles.
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Wrists should stay flat, or slightly above the handle, through as much of the stroke as possible.
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2) Butt on seat:
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Being centered on the sit bones allows a solid pivot as well as engagement of glute and quad strength.
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The pivot should be deliberate but not jerky
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Shoulders should stay in sockets, shoulder blades on back, and the torso stays "quiet."
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Pivoting to bodies over should be done with minimal effort and in one motion
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Releasing the knees for a controlled movement must be felt
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b. Lack of flexibility can cause a loading up of L1-L5 versus glute/quads
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Feet on Footboards:
Power is generated primarily from the glute and quads; but, you can't jump if the weight is not on the feet.
People with flexible hamstrings may strive to keep four corners of feet rooted.
People with inflexible hamstrings can roll up onto their toes then gently push off of them.
Blades in the water:
Scullers relax the blades into the water, almost as if the elbow joint is producing the motion.
 Simply put, the finish is the
extraction of the blades from
the drive sequence.
 To achieve a strong and
powerful finish, the body
should be in a comfortable,
layback position (nose just
passed the handle). Layback
should be upright, not a
collapse of the torso onto the
sacrum and tucking of
sacrum under the hips.
 The wrists and forearm
should be horizontal (parallel
to the water) with wrists flat
and in line with the rest of the
forearm.
 The key to a good finish is to
be connected to the water via
the face of the blades via
suspension in the feet.
The beginning and end of
the stroke is actually at
the “body over” or “pivot”
position. This is where
the legs are flat down
and the arms and body
has pivoted at the hip
into the forward
position. It is here the
rowers begin to shift
body back onto the feet.
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Body position on the recovery is critical for several reasons:
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It sets up and prepares the body for an effective movement onto the balls of the feet
It allows the boat to run out on the recovery
It helps to set the balance of the boat
It makes it easier for the rower to feel the oar balance in the oarlock
A good ¼ slide position should be body angle maintained, only a small break in the
knees and the momentum of the seat toward the catch must be controlled by relaxing the
glute while drawing the seat to feet.
 At ½ slide, body angle is still maintained, the knees continue to rise as the seat moves
toward the catch. As the hands move over the feet, the hands start to rise subtly in
anticipation of the catch, beginning to move the blades closer to the water. At this point
in the stroke, the blades should begin to be squared up in preparation of the catch.
 At ¾ slide, the rower must “creep” into the catch (pressure on top two corners of the foot)
without causing the shell to “check.” Watch for control of the final turn of the wheels of
the seat into the catch. If there is a lack of control, then momentum will cause the rower’s
weight to be “rushed” to the stern, checking the boat, and thus slowing the run of the
hull.
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 The catch is the most difficult part
of the stroke because it requires the
rower to execute a number of precise
movements in the blink of an eye, all
while the boat is at its most unstable
point.
 The first requirement for a good
catch is to maintain the correct body
position from the recovery as the
seat moves toward the front stops.
Then, seat/legs should be at full
compression, as denoted by shins
perpendicular to the line of the
water.
 Pressure should be up on the feet
(top 2 corners or all four corners
depending on flexibility) and ready
to press off the footboards.
During the last inch or two of the
recovery and while the blades are still
moving toward the bow of the boat, the
body weight should transfer onto the top
two-corners of the feet and the hands
should “unweight” from the handles,
thus allowing the blades to slip into the
water at the same instant the slide
reaches the “front stops.”
 “Front stops” are not bounce points.
 An effective catch has the blades
entering the water as the rower rolls into
full extension with the upper body
relaxed and legs at full compression.
This allows the glute, legs, and lats to
“lock” the blade to the water via the feet
on the footboard. There is a brief
moment when the body get suspended
behind the face of the blades for the
drive sequence.
 Be patient here. We are the slowest fast
sport in existence.
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 The instant the blades are locked to
the water, the rower must shift seat
directions while suspending their
body weight behind the blades via
pressing through the feet.
 A briefest moment of hang: We are
the slowest fast sport in existence.
 Next, by using glute and quad
strength, the rower must begin
accelerating the boat. The best way
to do this act is to keep connected to
the footboard be keeping pressure
on 2 to 4 corners of the feet.
 If the hips and handle are not
connected through the footboard no
crew will achieve maximum
acceleration.
 After the legs have gone ¾
of the way down, the upper
body begins to "swing
open” using the hip as the
pivot point.
 It is important to pivot
from the hip and the rower
should continue to feel
some force in the feet as
the body swings to the
layback position. Swing
should be thought of as
attempting to continue the
acceleration of the handles.
 With the legs locked down
stabilizing the boat, and
the back swinging through
the perpendicular position,
the arms begin to pry the
oars toward the body.
 Like the legs-back
transition, the back and
arms work together for a
brief period by continuing
to press through the
footboards during the drive
to attempt to maintain the
handle speed into the body.
Also, understand that the speed of the
stroke (on both the drive and recovery) is
directly related to the speed of the boat.
On the drive, if the boat is going a speed
of ‘X’ then the blade, and thus the handle
speed should be only slightly faster than
‘X.’
 If the speed of the blades and handles
are significantly faster than the speed of
the boat, then that is an obvious sign
that the blades have not been locked
onto the water and are slipping through.
 If the speed of the handle and blade on
the drive are slower than the speed of the
boat, then they allow the vortex to close
behind the blades causing a feeling that
the blades are sticking in the water.
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Sculling (or rowing for that matter) is
not just about rushing back and forth
on the slide and pulling hard…it is
about applying pressure effectively with
the other members of the crew to make
the make the shell go as fast as
possible.
 World Rowing - The Perfect Stroke - YouTube