Drills - The Coxswains Drill Card

Drills - The Coxswains Drill Card
From www.coxing.com
Download the complete drills description from www.thecoxguide.com/Drillcard_Descriptions.pdf
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Correcting Errors – Analysis of Movement Errors

Correcting Errors – Analysis of Movement Errors

Adapted from www.rish.de/fehler.html

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1.Body too upright. Body angle is not sufficient
2. Body angle is too extreme.

3. Prematurely bent arms
4. Pushing the hands down at the catch
5. Excessive raising of the arms at the catch
6. Giving way of the hips during the drive phase -“Bumshoving”
7. Opening the body angle prematurely
8. Not using the arms through the middle of the drive phase
9. Premature arm employment in the middle drive phase
10. Shrugging the shoulders in the middle drive
11. Unequal leg drive
12. Extracting the spoons too early in the drive phase
13. Over using the torso in the final movement – jerky torso movement
14. Leaning out of the boat

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1. Body too upright. Body angle is not sufficient.

Effects
- Stroke length too short at the catch
- Inefficient drive phase
- Little propulsion of the boat

Causes
- Incorrect footboard height (too high)
- Torso angle too upright
- Torso did not follow the hands forward after the finish

Corrections
- Demonstrate and describe the correct sequence of movements in order to establish an exact concept of the correct sequence of movements.
- Ensure that the footboard height is correctly adjusted.
- Practice the correct sequence of movements from the finish. Use partial movement sequences and pauses in the stroke cycle.
- Hands only making sure that the hands move away until the sculls are at 90° to the boat,
- Hands and body ensuring that the hands move away until the sculls are past the 90° angles to the boat.
- Rowing full strokes but pausing as the hands reach 90°, and as the hands reach past the 90°
- Row with an exaggerated body angle but with head held normally and arms stretched out

2. Body angle is too extreme

Effects
- Inefficient use of the legs
- Allows for “bumshoving”
- Poor coordination of the back lever due to poor position
- Too large vertical movements of the body due to body position

Causes
- Jerky uncontrolled seat movements,
- Movement of the seat before the spoons enter the water.
- Applying the leg drive before the spoon connects to the water at the catch
- Incorrect footboard height (too low)

Corrections
- Demonstrate and describe the correct sequence of movements in order to establish an exact concept of the correct sequence of movements.
- Ensure that the footboard height is correctly adjusted.
- Practice slow controlled seat movements, counting to ensure a correct ratio drive:recovery
- Ensure that the spoon is placed in the water in a quick controlled movement before the change of direction of the seat.
- Row using the first half of the slide practicing slow controlled seat movements and accuracy at the placement.

3. Prematurely bent arms

Effects
- Stroke length to short at the catch
- Immersing the spoons too deeply in the initial drive phase
- Loosing connection through the middle phase of the drive
- Using the torso too late in the drive and encouraging “bumshoving”
- Ineffective use of power for boat propulsion

Causes
- Balance difficulties
- Excessive use of the arms whn connecting to the water at the catch
- Incorrect sequence of movements

Corrections
- Demonstrate and describe the correct sequence of movements in order to establish an exact concept of the correct sequence of movements.
- Balance exercises
§ From the finish balance with hands away
§ From the finish hands away and then roll forward balancing
§ From the finish hands away and then roll forward with the catch
§ Rowing with pauses at various seat positions – balancing
- From the catch slowly increase the length of the slide ensuring that the arms stay naturally stretched
§ Increase force and seat movement gradually

4. Pushing the hands down at the catch

Effects
- “Skying”
- Stroke length too short at the catch
- Immersing the spoons too deeply in the initial drive phase
- Ineffective use of power for boat propulsion

Causes
- Balance difficulties
- Cramped shoulder movement (poor shoulder mobility during placement)
- Incorrect height (too low). Athlete drops hand height to create room for squaring

Corrections
- Balance exercises
§ From the finish balance with hands away
§ From the finish hands away and then roll forward balancing
§ From the finish hands away and then roll forward with the catch
§ Rowing with pauses at various seat positions – balancing
- Mobility and flexibility exercises for the shoulder girdle
- Rowing in slow motion with one scull only
§ With the spoons flat on the water allowing a feel of the hands height required for the placement
§ With the spoons squaring practicing the small movement necessary to execute the placement
- Rowing with both sculls
§ Starting at hands only and increasing the seat movement gradually
- Adjust oarlock to correct height.

5. Excessive raising of the arms at the catch

Effects
- Immersing the spoons too deeply in the initial drive phase
- Too hard movements of the arms at the placement
- Vertical and not horizontal movements
- Does not favour correct squaring and feathering

Causes
- Cramped arm and shoulder movement
- Wrong movement coordination
- Incorrect height (too high)

Corrections
- Row with very low pressure emphasizing the small movements necessary for the placement
- Rowing with square spoon starting at hands only and gradually increasing slide length
- With the seat stopped at the frontstops gently drop the spoon into the water and initiate the drive phase.
§ Gradually increase the slide length from ¼ to full slides with correct arm use.
- Adjust oarlock to correct height

6. Giving way of the hips during the drive phase -“Bumshoving”

Effects
- Little propulsion
- Increases the torso angle during the 2nd half of the drive phase.
- Ineffective power transmission caused by a lack of co-ordination of the drive movements

Causes
- Poor strength of the lower torso and hip girdle
- Torso angle too great at the placement
- Arms used to strongly or bent prematurely
- Balance difficulties

Correction
- Adjust footboard towards stern
- Row with slide only with straight arms, stressing good torso posture
- Row with full slide length, emphasizing torso posture without force being applied by the legs
- Intensify strength training. Increase the proportion of exercises devoted to core stability of the trunk and the hip girdle
- Practice balance exercises

7. Opening the body angle prematurely

Effects
- Little propulsion
- Ineffective power transmission by a lack of co-ordination of the drive movements
- Causes the body to fall over the handles at the finish

Causes
- Drive begins before the placement of the spoon by the body angle opening up.
- Head is thrown backwards before the leg drive commneces

Correction
- Attempt to dynamically implement leg drive from the catch
- Ensure torso is at the correct angle on the recovery and that the torso angle is maintained during the placement of the spoon.
- Exaggerate the torso angle at the catch. Row only with the legs emphasizing correct torso angle and maintaining the angle during the leg drive

8. Not using the arms through the middle of the drive phase

Effects
- Over use arms in the final drive phase
- Excessive shoulder employment in the final course
- Spoon moves vertically in the water
- Poor co-ordination of the drive sequence
- Little propulsion
- Cramping of the elbow and shoulder musculature

Causes
- Overstretched arms at the catch
- Poorly developed elbow and shoulder musculature

Correction
- Row with fixed seat at the catch emphasizing naturally stretched arms when placing the spoon, gradually increase slide length
- Allow the spoons to follow the correct course of motion without force being applied
- Strengthening the elbow and shoulder musculature

9. Premature arm employment in the middle drive phase

Effects
- Impairment of the final drive phase
- Decrease of the possible propulsion
- Cramping of the elbow musculature
- Poor coordination of the drive sequence

Causes
- Attempting to maintain connection with the water by using the arms for force production

Correction
- From the catch slowly increase the length of the slide ensuring that the arms stay naturally stretched
§ Increase force and seat movement gradually

10. Shrugging the shoulders in the middle drive

Effects
- Cramping of the elbow and shoulder musculature
- Changing the horizontal movements of the elbows and the position of the spoon in the water
- Insufficient power and insufficient opening of the chest and shoulders in the final drive phase
- Decrease of length in the final drive phase

Causes
- Too strong arm employment with cramped shoulders
- Insufficient use of the back musculature
- Wrong head attitude, head is toward stern and not towards the bows
- Incorrect rigging (overlap too large – span and inboard)

Correction
- Row with low pressure ensuring that the spoon follows the correct path in the water.
- Rowing with one scull only, begin with fixed seat and low pressure ensuring the correct movements of the arms and shoulders and gradually increase the slide length and pressure.
- Row with both sculls, begin with fixed seat and low pressure ensuring the correct movements of the arms and shoulders and gradually increase the slide length and pressure.
- Rowing with loose shoulders, aim at horizontal course of the elbows
- Row with stretched arms as well as exaggerated torso angle, emphasize the use of the back musculature
- Rower requested to complete a certain number of strokes with head towards the bows. Increase the number of strokes gradually

11. Unequal leg drive

Effects
- Spoons move vertically in the water
- Uneven pressure build-up at the spoon
- Decrease of the effective propulsion

Causes
- Uneven force production of the gluteal and leg extension musculature
- Using the torso too early in the stroke

Correction
- See exercises for correction of 7.
- Row with ¼ slide emphasizing the leg drive and the connection with the footboard gradually increasing the slide length but ensuring that the force application stays consistent
- Rower request to drive legs dynamically over 1 to 5 strokes, gradually increasing as the rowers consistency of force production improves

12. Extracting the spoons too early in the drive phase

Effects
- Wash in the final course
- Missing final course
- Ineffective impact structure
- Decrease of the propulsion

Causes
- Insufficient shoulder employment
- Spoon is feathered in the water
- Leg drive is broken off before the body movement
- Hands are pulled down onto the thighs
- Hands away too slow in the crew boat, therefore premature stopping of the leg drive in order to hold rhythm

Correction
- Rowing with fixed seat and torso fixed at the finish position, practice drawing the thumbs through to the lower ribs with the spoons buried.
- Rowing with square blade emphasizing the draw through and the down and away movement.

13. Over using the torso in the final movement – jerky torso movement

Effects
- Torso falls over hands at the finish
- Increased vertical body movement
- Decreasing propulsion
Causes
- Beginning and middle drive too weak
- Bum shoving in the beginning and middle drive
Correction
- see correction exercises of errors 1, 6, 17

14. Leaning out of the boat

Effects
- Uneven leg drive
- Uneven water work between bow and stroke sculls
Causes
- Wrong rigging
- Different force employment between bow and stroke
- Head is inclined to one side
Correction
- Move the athletes position further to the stern
- Rowing with fixed slide ensuring correct body movement. Then gradually increase slide
- Mark finish angles of the sculls
- Fixed seat rowing with low pressure ensuring the correct movement of the body and hands,
- gradually lengthen slide and increase force at the finish

Drills and Word Images

Drills and Word Images Found Effective in Coaching the Four Phases of the Rowing Stroke
Level 2 Technique
Presented by the USOC Development Camp
By J Philip Monkton
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The Release

DRILLS
Rowing with one arm only, either inside arm or outside arm
Rowing with blades square to learn downwards pressure needed to extract oar from the water
Rowing half slide
One person rowing in pair oared boat shows effect f dumping finish into the lap
Pick drill with or without feather to develop finish timing
Release and glide

COMMENTS OR WORD IMAGES

Move the pin by the blade
Uncoil the body on the drive
Keep constant pressure on the foot stretcher and the pin throughout the drive and release
Build the speed of the handle during the drive
Drive the hips into the bow
Pry the boat forward
Hang your body weight on the oar to assist in the pulling

The Catch

DRILLS
Row single strokes, starting and stopping over the knees
Pick drill
High stroke pick drill
High stroke paddle
Row with squared blade and catch on coach’s/cox’s command
Intentionally make blacksplash at catch to reinforce blade near water at catch
Outside hand to set the square
Single man rowing in a pair

COMMENTS AND WORD IMAGES
When coach says quicker at the catch it usually means earlier in the stroke cycle
Take the catch as you reach front stops not when
Roll the wrist up at the catch
Balance of the oar makes burying of the oar automatic as oarsman mearly guides the oar in
Pick files off a table
Unweight the hands as you approach the catch
Loop the blade in
Put the blade in a slot in the water
Anchor the blade behind a peg
Don’t kick, push
Make sure that the wheels are still rolling forward when the catch is started

The Recovery

DRILLS
Pause with hands over the knees at extended back position to demonstrate position of body out of bow
Pick drill
Fractional use of slides to develop awareness of control ¼, ½, ¾ slide
Alternate power and paddle strokes to maintain relaxed recovery on power similar to paddle
Ultra slo-mo rowing
Stop on coaches orders during recovery
Row with feet out of stretchers
Stroke play at ¼ power with strokeman raising or lowering the stroke at will
Turn oar full revolution of oarlock during the recovery
Row with eyes closed

COMMENTS OR WORD IMAGES
Let the knees rise slowly
Don’t lift knees until you feel a slight pull on top of thigh behind kneecap
Watch the knees come up
Listen to the wheels on the recovery
Rebound out of the bow
Sit lightly on the seat, feel weightless on the recovery
Keep posture natural
Pivot forward on the cheekbones
Curl out of the bow by doing a sit up

The Drive

DRILLS
Pick drill
Drive with feet out of stretchers
Row single strokes with concentration on the drive
Draw with the outside arm
Accelerate through the drive
Feel the tension in the lower back and hold the back against the leg drive
Pinch the shoulder blades together


COMMENTS AND WORD IMAGES
Move the pin by the blade
Uncoil the body on the drive
Keep constant pressure in the footstretchers and the pin throughout the drive and during the release
Build the speed of the handle during the drive
Drive the hips into the bow
Pry the boat forward
Hand your body weight on the oar to assist in the pulling

Careful with Drills

Just some observations from my coaching yesterday:
1. Drills are designed to help athletes grasp the concepts that the coach wants them to apply to their normal rowing. The actual motor pattern in the brain is quite different. The athlete must conciously try to integrate the drill into their normal rowing in order to create a better, more correct, motor pattern. This will then become automatic over thousands of better strokes.
2. The drill on its own will not automatically create better technique.
3. Overdoing the drill can actually cause more problems in the normal rowing technique if the athlete makes changes to try to "row the drill" all the time.

I recommend the following:
1. Do the drill for 10-15 strokes maximum and then return to normal rowing and try to integrate the elements learned during the drill into normal rowing.
2. Repeat the drill in sets so: 10-15 strokes drill - 10-15 normal - 10-15 drill - 10-15 normal etc.
3. Row 1 stroke drill, 1 stroke normal or 2 drill, 2 normal.
4. Return to normal rowing but thinking about the emphasise of the drill in normal rowing

E.g. Rowing Square Blades
Objective:
To emphasise holding the spoon buried to the extraction, emphasizing the hand movement down and away to ensure clean extraction
How To Do It:
1. With a stable boat (1 pair balancing in a four) row with the spoons square the whole way through the stroke for 10-15 strokes
2. Then row normal for 10-15 strokes. Remind the rower to move the hands down (and have a clean extraction) by pushing the fingers of the outside hand down.
3. Repeat twice
4. Then row 1 squared - 1 feathered for 20 strokes
5. Increase the complexity by rowing all four so the boat is now more unstable. Repeat the sequence all four.

Drills: Crescendos and Accelerations

I did these exercises with the RSA JW2x today and we had one of our best sessions of the season so far so I thought I would share the drills.

A bit of background to the recent training. We have just had a camp where we did a lot of speed work as we practiced our World Champs schedule and I wanted to do something that focused on rhythm and feeling rather than flat out speed and rate.

Exercise: Crescendos – After the warm up paddle we started doing crescendos at fixed body, body pivot, quarter and half slide. Normally when we do these it is about building the rate up over 15-20 strokes to above race rate in order to practice getting the hands away and body pivot happening loosely i.e. not sitting at the finish with the handles stuck in the lap, and to ensure that the hands and body pivot are still in the right sequence at high rates.

Today I decided to change the emphasis from rate to power. I asked the girls to do crescendos raising the power as high as possible as they went and still using of rate but not as the main factor. There comes a time when the rate goes up but with no more power and then as it goes up further the power actually drops off as the athlete starts to scramble. If you drew this it would probably be a parabola shape with power in the y axis and rate on the x axis.

I wanted them to feel where the feeling of weight in their hands and push in their toes dropped off and became less effective and then to try to find ways to increase this drop off point. I did not speak to them much at all and only encouraged them to talk to each other and feel it out. I also encouraged them not only try again if they felt it was a bad one and improve but to try the good ones again to find if they could repeat the feeling.

By the time they were getting to half slides they were hanging so well off the handles yet when we stopped to turn they said that they had almost no perception of pulling hard, but had had to really focus on pushing further in order to keep the feeling of power as the boat speed increased.

Exercise: Accelerations – We then moved on to more full slide rowing with accelerations for 10 strokes followed by 10-15 strokes lighter paddling in between. I started thinking about this after reading Drew Ginn’s Blog article Boiling Frog where he talks about the effort needed to raise the boat speed versus maintaining the boat speed. I wanted to get the girls to feel the connection with the water and to find out how to maintain this as the rate/power went up, particularly with regards to what we will need to do in the start of the race.

During the accelerations the girls were asked to try to keep the feeling of power they had in the Crescendos but to build the rate and power up until they felt the power drop off and loss of connection. Obviously with full slides they would need to focus on this from much earlier in the stroke and to think more about holding the developed power through the finish as the boat speed would be significantly higher.

I also did not say much and just let them feel it out and talk to each other to make changes based on what they felt rather than what I saw.

Over the course of several dozen attempts they were able to build this up higher and higher each time and finished their last set at what is normally their race rate with absolutely huge run on the boat. This also filtered down into the lighter paddling as they were trying to keep the feeling of power/connection (good feeling) even though the pressure was quite low.

Their feedback was that it felt easier to do this that what they would normally have to do at race rates. So I think that it was successful in teaching them/allowing them to feel, a better way to get boat speed.

Their warm down paddling was awesome to watch, real goose bump stuff. Simply the best sculling I’ve seen in RSA this year.

Drills: Left Arm - Right Arm

Exercise: Left Arm Right Arm

The purpose of this exercise is to establish the correct sequence of movements of the hands as they move away from the body on the recovery. The objective is to have the right hand closer to the body than the left hand and the knuckles of the right hand in the palm of the left hand at the cross over.

The sculler sits at backstops and extends the left arm fully, and then only follows with the right, aiming to slot the right hand into the palm of the left. The sculler then draws the right hand in and when it is against the ribs draws the left hand in. The sculler then repeats this. Once the coach sees that the sculler is starting to get the order quite naturally they can begin to row both hands moving together always ensuring that the left hand leads away and the right hand is closer to the body on the recovery and that the right hand draws in first on the drive.

It is probably best to do this exercise at a spot where steering is not crucial as the boat will zig-zag quite a bit, but should generally go in a straight line.

Think about your drills

Think about your drills
From Coach Boat View – Canadian Coaching Newsletter, Fall 2001.
By Carolyn Trono, Coach and Athlete Development Consultant pp 18
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THINK ABOUT YOUR DRILLS
Drills play an important role in helping sport participants learn motor skills. Whether the participant is a beginner or an elite athlete, coaches
and instructors are notorious for inventing creative drills to help athletes perfect a motor skill. Normally, coaches and instructors have a good reason for asking rowers to do a drill. Sometimes a drill can help the rower isolate and work on a certain movement pattern. Sometimes, a drill is used to teach skills to a novice rower. And sometimes, the drill is used to help an athlete correct incorrect movement patterns.

Here are a few considerations about drilling that coaches and instructors should be aware of prior to giving athletes drills to do.

1.UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE ASKING PARTICIPANTS TO DO A DRILL.
You should be able to communicate this to the participants. This is important so that the rower can focus their attention on the correct part of the stroke and the movement pattern that is being refined.

2. RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF LEARNING AND THESE STAGES REQUIRE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS FOR LEARNING.
When someone is learning a new skill or changing a motor pattern, they are considered to be in the “early” stage (cognitive stage). At this stage, the participant is concentrating so hard on mastering the skill that any type of distractions (wind, noise, rough water) can interfere with this process. If the boat is rocking and unstable, the rower will have difficulty focusing on the skill that is being taught. Another important consideration at this stage is that the dominant sensory modality is visual. The participant needs to be able to get a visual sense of what is required for the skill. Therefore, demonstrations are helpful and the participant should be encouraged to watch his/her oar when doing drills. As a participant gets more experience, he/she will appreciate more auditory and kinesthetic cues.

3.ADAPT THE DRILLS TO THE SKILL/EXPERIENCE LEVEL OF PARTICIPANTS.
The Canadian National Rowing Team may do a drill that is suitable for them and helps these athletes to refine skills. However, this doesn’t mean that all athletes at all levels should do it. For inexperienced rowers, it is important to minimize the variables that the rower has to contend with when doing a drill. Here is an example. The pause drill is used very frequently. I have seen National team rowers do this drill with a double pause every second stroke. For an inexperienced crew, I would suggest having half of the crew, not row and concentrate on holding the boat balanced. The rest of the group would row and do the drill, with one pause every stroke. In this way, the rowers do not have to worry about balance. They only have to pause once and don’t have to worry about counting every second stroke.

4.TRY TO IDENTIFY THE PREFERRED SENSORY MODALITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
Researchers suggest that everyone has a preferred sensory modality - auditory, visual or kinesthetic. By using a variety of modalities in the coaching repertoire, the coach is likely to provide cues for all three modalities. For example, a visual learner learns best by seeing demonstrations, looking at videos and watching his/her oar. A kinesthetic learner learns best by doing. Sometimes this means that the coach must adjust positions to help the rower get the “feeling” of the correct movement pattern. An auditory learner does quite well with verbal cues and feedback. Sometimes listening for the correct sound helps such as the “plop” sound when the blade drops into the water properly.

Good Blade Depth at Your Fingertips

Good Blade Depth at Your Fingertips
By Marlene Royle.
From Rowing News, July 2003

Blade depth is one of the aspects of technique that needs careful attention. Rowing too deep causes a myriad of problems such as getting caught at the release or increasing the amount of vertical motion in the stroke. I recently did a group lesson with some intermediate scullers and here is how we worked on blade depth to help move the boat better.

First, to get a sense of where the blade will sit naturally, I had the scullers sit at the release and hold the scull only using their thumb on the end of the handle. By keeping pressure against the oarlock, they had control of the handle but also allowed the blade to sit at its natural depth in the water. They then lightly placed their fingers on the blade without disturbing the height in the water.

Next, we did a drill where we rowed in circles. With one blade feathered flat on the water and the boat balanced, I had them row with one oar. The boat moved in a circle, but the advantage of this drill was they were able to watch what the blade was doing during the stroke. I explained that by accomplishing the right action in the water your inboard handle levels would also be at the right heights. I asked the scullers to keep the top edge of the blade level with the surface of the water; this way had a concrete reference point for where the blade level should be while in the water.

Allowing the blade to sit in the water requires light hands while making sure you don’t overpower the stroke and lift with the upper body during the drive. I like to use two finger rowing as a way to demonstrate how little effort is required to control the oar. I instructed the group to use regular hand placements while on the recovery; place the blades at the catch and once their in the water lift the middle, ring and small fingers off the handle so they are drawing the handles with the thumb and index fingers only. In this drill you can’t actually pull hard so you automatically can feel where the blade wants to sit. Another variation we did with this was to row with only the middle fingers, where after the entry, they used only the middle fingers to draw the handles through the stroke.

The final drill we did during the session was half blade rowing. The goal of this drill was to feel how to control the blade keeping only the lower half of the blade in the water. This requires focusing on the point of contact between the lower edge of the blade and the waters surface. Learning when this happens helps you to understand the sense of the blades size and action. It will also help you learn an important frame of reference for developing good catch timing and for improving your racing starts this season.

Rowing Technique

Rowing Technique For Coaches – Catch, Drive, Release, Recovery
by Adair Ferguson, Sports Development Officer, ACT Rowing Association
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A series of four practical workshops including aims, teaching points, common errors, and fault correction exercises

Introduction

There are many rowing textbooks available outlining the points of good rowing technique, and any good coach should acquaint themselves with a few. The Rowing Australia Coaches Corner Store is a good source of these texts.

Texts, while very useful, are sometimes a little too comprehensive and sometimes have rather “mechanical” descriptions in their efforts to achieve an air of objectivity. It can be hard to sort out the essential practical points of teaching good technique, and, where texts differ (and they do), to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

What I have tried to do with this series of workshops is to distil all the theories into some basic aims, some practical teaching points, common errors and fault correction exercises. I’ve mixed what is in the texts with what is endorsed by Rowing Australia and incorporated some ‘tricks of the trade’ that I have picked up in my own rowing career, during which I have been coached by a number of very good coaches.

I have also learned from experience that with any advice on rowing technique there are two major provisos:
People are different—in body type, motor skills, limb lengths and strengths and weaknesses. What works really well for one person may not work quite so well for another. Effective variations on basic good technique can and do exist—there is often more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

It is difficult to isolate one element of the stroke from another when they are all so interdependent—for example a major reason for a poor catch may lie in how the rower comes forward on the slide.

Part 1: The catch
The Aim of a good catch is to put the blade (s) into the water at the maximum point of reach and to take up the drive directly without “missing water”, and without disturbing the run of the boat.
The catch is the last thing you do on the way forward. A good catch drops vertically and directly into the water at the end of the slide forward. The hands reach forward and up and almost let go as the blades drop straight down. This is the quickest entry the blades can have. There is an instant of stillness as you reach full slide just before you change direction—this is the instant that the blade must enter the water. It requires perfect timing which in practice means that the movement must begin earlier than instinct would tell you. It helps to think of dropping the blades in as you are still coming forward.

Teaching points—the catch
(1) As the seat slides forward to the catch, the body position is stable and the arms, while straight-ish, are relaxed rather than ramrod straight.

(2) Only the hands need to move up and forward slightly to drop the blade(s) in. This is achieved by stretching the arms and shoulder girdle “up and away” from you in a smooth and coordinated way while simultaneously letting the blades fall. (We are not talking big movements here—it should be barely perceptible from a coaches speedboat.)
(3) The splash from the blade as it drops in should be even on each side of the blade.

(4) The blade should drop so that the whole of the blade is just beneath the surface of the water—the blade is designed to float at this level.

(5) When the blade has dropped the legs/feet should initiate the leg drive, which should be in tune with the speed of the boat (e.g. faster leg drive for quads and eights, slower leg drive for single scull).(Note: If you were to let the blade go entirely as you were dropping it in, the blade would drop slightly below the surface of the water then bob up again before settling in its floating position. A good trick is to think of initiating the leg drive (smoothly) before the blade can bob up).

(6) All the above should be executed in a way to minimise disturbance to the run of the boat. (This means being smooth into the front and having a momentary period of calmness as the blades enter the water before the leg drive is applied.)
(7) With a good catch where little water is missed, the blades make a ‘gloop’ sound as they enter the water (rather than a smacking or splashing sound).

Common faults—the catch
(1) Hands dip before the catch resulting in “skying” of the blades (i.e. blades are high off the water) and then blade is chopped into the water. Usually a lot of water is “missed”.

(2) Overreaching into the catch where the body keeps moving over the knees in a general downward trajectory. The shoulders are then used to initiate the catch as they open back to a more upright position. Invariably much of this part of the stroke is in the air, resulting in “missed water”. The initial dipping of the body tends to push the stern of the boat down in the water and check the run of the boat. The lifting of the back to put the blade in the water results in a very weak and inefficient beginning to the stroke as the legs are not being applied.

(3) Arms bent at the catch and early in the stroke, which will mean a weak stroke at this point because the full power of the legs cannot be applied if the arms have to be held in a bent position. Alternatively the arms snap straight after the leg drive is applied, which is a waste of the leg drive as the legs have been applied with no resulting movement on the oar.

(4) Racing into the catch, causing overreaching, with the same effects as in (2) above.

(5) Late squaring—blade is not squared until after the full slide is reached, causing a late entry of the blade into water and missed water.

(6) Leg drive is initiated before the blade is in the water, resulting in a stopping of the boat at every catch.

(7) Blades carried too high off the water, resulting in chopping into the water as in (1) and (2) above.

(8) Blades carried too low to the water, resulting in a dipping of the hands and skying of the blade (as in (1) above) to make room for it to square before dropping it in.

(9) Hesitating at the catch, rather than having a smooth, seamless change of direction. Inevitable result is an initiation of the leg drive before the blade is in, and a chopping of the blade into the water and with all the faults outlined in (1) and (2) and (6) above.

Disadvantages of missed water or a late catch
shorter effective stroke, hence less acceleration developed, hence lower boat speed
wasted time at catch means having to rush forward in order to attain a high rating. Rushing forward means that the change in direction at the catch is sudden and severe and results in a checking or stopping of the boat run
blades go too deep into the water, applying unwanted vertical forces, and inevitably resulting in a dirty and untidy finish which will also slow boat run.
leads to poor legs/body/arms coordination during the drive phase of the stroke with the final result being that the second half of the stroke is taken with the arms only, which results in a weak finish and poor acceleration of the hull.

Fault correction exercises—the catch
1. Catch slap
Description: In a normal stroke after arriving at the catch position lift hands up to put blades in but keep the blades feathered so that they “slap” the water then square and put them in the water.

Purpose: To assist in learning to raise the hands to drop blades into water; to assist timing of the catch in a crew boat; to stop the legs coming on before the catch, i.e. to separate the catch from the leg drive.

2. Roll ups/strikes
Description: Starting at the finish with square blades, extract the blades, feather, and slide up to the catch position making sure that the crew goes through the recovery smoothly and with the correct sequence reaching body over by about half slide. From here they simply keep the seat moving to the front without any extra body swing. The catch is then taken with the hands only and is not followed by the leg drive. Try to make the “gloop” sound as you put the blades in at the catch.

Purpose: To slow down the preparation for the catch ensuring the body position is set and stable before taking the catch so that the catch is taken with the hands only; to reinforce the idea that the catch is part of the recovery and is the last thing you do on the way forward rather than the first thing in the drive; to separate the catch from the leg drive (good for correcting crews who get their leg drive on before the blades are in the water).

3. Feet out
Description: Row with the feet out of the shoes.

Purpose: To encourage relaxation and balance on the way forward; to stop the rower racing into the front by pulling themselves forward by the foot stretcher. Racing into the front always leads to a poor catch.

4. Early squaring
Description: Squaring the blade earlier than usual.

Purpose: An exaggeration exercise for rowers who square late and consequently have slow catches.

5. Double catches
Description: Place blades in at catch then take out and place in again.

Purpose: To reinforce the idea that only the hands need to be used to put the blades into the water.

6. Catch drop and hit
Description: Drop the blades into the water in the catch position and initiate the leg drive before the blades bob up to the surface.

Purpose: To encourage good timing of the catch and the leg drive; to separate the catch from the leg drive (in that order) by as small a gap as possible.

Part 2: The Drive
The Aim of the drive is to impart maximum work (force times distance) to the boat in the direction of travel while minimising any forces that may retard the run of the boat (i.e. maximum total force with minimal disturbance).

The drive involves the legs, body and arms working together in an overlapping sequence (in that order). The drive should be in tune with the speed of the boat. The bigger the boat the faster the initial leg drive and quicker the build-up of force should be. Smaller and slower boats such as singles and pairs should be moved with a comparatively lighter catch and slower build-up of maximum force.

Teaching points—the drive
(1) The leg drive should be initiated directly after the catch when the blades are in the water (NOT before).
(2) The pick-up of the drive at the catch should be in tune with the speed of the boat.
(3) The sequence of movements is as follows:
(4) The drive should be taken with the legs first—the upper body and shoulders remain over the knees while the feet press into the stretcher.
(5) This creates what is known as the Hang where all the tension is in the legs as the prime movers—they are by far the most powerful muscles. The arms and shoulder girdle are drawn forward and body feels light on the seat, suspended between the feet and the hands. This arms are not exerting any force at this early stage of the drive.
(6) At mid-drive maximum force is being exerted on the boat because the blades are exerting force on the boat directly in the direction of boat run. The angle between the trunk and the horizontal has opened (unrolled) a little, and the body weight is still suspended between legs and arms.
(7) As the stroke comes through mid drive the arms start to come into play, the movement being initiated by further opening of the body and drawing the shoulders back.
(8) Legs, upper body, and arms all work in an overlapping sequence and should finish almost together for maximum accumulation of force and acceleration. (In actual fact the legs finish slightly before the arms, but it feels as if they finish together).
(9) The leg drive should accelerate through the stroke as does the boat speed.
(10) The speed of the handle(s) accelerates through the drive, reaching maximum speed just before the release. This will result in a clean finish as there is a “pocket” of air formed behind the blade which makes it easier to take the blade out of the water.
(11) The blade should be just covered throughout the stroke at an even depth. This can only occur if the draw is “flat”, i.e. horizontal.
(12) The force applied to the boat during the drive should be smooth throughout, without any “two-part” action. This will result in the maximum summation of forces possible from the legs, upper body, and arms working smoothly together in correct sequence.

Common faults—the drive
(1) The blades “bounce” through the stroke, bobbing up and down in the water—indicating an uneven, i.e. a non-linear and non-accelerating application of force.
(2) The blades go deep at the catch then come out before the finish of the drive (“rowed out”).
(3) The leg drive finishes well before the arms so they can’t work together. The finish is sluggish and the blades don’t come out cleanly and easily—this slows the run of the boat.
(4) Taking the catch with the shoulders and upper body (see section on The Catch).
(5) “Bum shoving” where the legs are extended and the bum goes back, but the upper body is left behind at the catch position and the oar handles don’t move. This often results in the blades going deep as the body swings open quickly to “catch up” to the legs. An unnecessary and energy-wasting vertical force component is applied to the blades/boat. and boat run is diminished
(6) Jamming the legs on hard at the catch so that the boat is checked at the catch and stops every stroke.
(7) Swinging to one side or other during the drive, unbalancing the boat.
(8) Raising the shoulders (hunching) during arm draw, resulting in less than optimal horizontal force being applied.

Fault correction exercises—the drive
1. Catch drop and hit
Description: Drop the blades into the water in the catch position and initiate the leg drive before the blades bob up to the surface.

Purpose: To encourage good timing of the catch and the leg drive; to separate the catch from the leg drive (in that order) by as small a gap as possible.

2. Taking the drive with the legs only
Description: The upper body is left in the catch position while the leg drive is taken to point where the legs are fully extended and the body is still in the catch position. The blades are extracted at this point.

Purpose: This is a tricky exercise to perform and is meant to correct taking the catch with the upper body. It is an exaggeration and not meant to be the correct way to execute the stroke. Many novice rowers “bum shove” and this exercise is not suitable for them. It is meant only for those who take the catch with their shoulders.

3. Working up the slide
Description: Starting at back chocks row with hands only for 20 strokes , then 20 strokes with body swing, 20 at 1/4 slide, 20 at 1/2 slide, 20 at 3/4 slide, then full slide.

Purpose: To correct bum shove by helping to coordinate the drive so that the legs and upper body/arms finish together.

4. Ergometer rowing
Ergometer rowing is a good way to correct bum shove or other major sequencing problems through the stroke, especially if there is a mirror wall available for the rower to check his/her position.

Ergometer rowing is also good for demonstrating the Hang during the drive. Get the rower to slide up to the catch position. The next step is to secure the handle so that the rower cannot pull it back towards them. A rope securing the handle to something solid would do, or if the ergo is a Concept model B, a long screwdriver can be wedged between the fan blade and the surrounding cage. Get the rower to push with the legs so that the bum feels light on the seat, the shoulders feel pulled out of their sockets and the weight is suspended between the balls of the feet and the hands. If you have used the jammed screwdriver trick. the screwdriver can then be released when the rower is hanging correctly.

5. Building the pressure applied during the drive
Description: Row 20 strokes with very light catches building to light finishes, then 20 with light catches building to 1/2 pressure finishes, then 20 building to 3/4 pressure finishes, then 20 with light catches building to full pressure finishes.

Purpose: To correct taking the catch too hard and to demonstrate the rhythm in the leg drive. It is also especially good for getting the leg drives together in a crew boat.

6. Resistance rowing
Description: This can be done with a resistance strap of some kind around the boat or rowing in a crew boat with some of the crew not rowing to provide resistance. It can also be done on an ergo with the resistance turned right up.

Purpose: Is useful to demonstrate effective application of force, e.g. if arms are being bent too early the stroke will not be strong and it will be more apparent when the resistance is much higher than normal. This will encourage correct use of the legs to initiate the stroke, and hanging the body weight through the draw because the arms alone will not be strong enough to do much effective work.

7. Looking at the blade moving through the water
Description and Purpose: The rower looks at the blade while rowing to check the blade depth through the stroke, whether the finishes are clean and the type of puddles made. Optimum force is being applied if puddles are deep and swirling but not splashy.

8. Taking as few strokes as possible in a set distance
Description: Try to take as few strokes as possible to complete a set distance or conversely take a set number of strokes (say 20 or 30) and see how far you can get in comparison with another crew. This can be done at any level from beginner to elite level and is similar to set rating pieces but is more easily managed. (It is very hard to ensure that a set rating is being adhered to if you are coaching a number of crews at once).

Purpose: These exercises reinforce that an effective stroke has a very powerful drive phase which comes mainly from the legs, and a very relaxed recovery.

Part 3: The release
The Aim of an effective release or “finish” is to extract the blades from the water at the completion of the drive with as little disturbance to the run of the boat as possible.

Teaching points—the release
(1) A good release should be part of the continuous acceleration of the drive so that the air pocket created behind the blade doesn’t fill in and create a “dirty” finish where there is a lot of water splashed around the blade as it is extracted. A dirty finish will slow the boat down just where it should be accelerating. (The fastest speed that the boat achieves is just after the release and it is important not to disrupt this acceleration.)
(2) The power of the finish should derive mainly from a strong leg drive with a coordinated opening of the body and arm draw to add to the total force applied.
(3) The release should be flat, in line with the rest of the draw, not drawn down into the lap. The rower needs to feel that he/she is pulling the handle up into the finish.
(4) The release should be executed with flat wrists or a slight downward rotation of the wrist (inside wrist in sweep-oared boats) to help feather the blade, with minimal tap down of the handles for sculling blades (just enough to clear the blades from the water). This is because with cleaver blades most of the blade hangs below the shaft, and once the blade is feathered the shaft does not have to be lifted very far to clear the water surface. Try to feather the blade in the air pocket created behind the blade, which will ensure a clean release.
(5) With sculling blades learn to feather by rolling the handles into the fingertips rather than by dropping the wrists. With sweep blades use the inside wrist to feather (although many scullers use both wrists with sweep oars)
(6) At the release the elbows should be drawn back past the body, with forearms parallel to the water. The shoulder blades should also be drawn back (and should feel as if they are meeting in the middle of your back in sculling boats). In sculling boats it is okay to follow the handles round their arc at the finish and draw the elbows slightly out to the sides (but still keeping the forearms parallel to the water).
(7) The release should be smooth, not jerky
(8) At the finish the hands should come in, around the turn, and away without stopping—it keeps the finish smooth and saves time when rowing at high ratings, so that there is less need to rush forward up the slide (thereby introducing a whole range of boat-stopping movements).
(9) A strong stable body is necessary for a strong finish because the body must be held steady while the blades are drawn to it.
(10) At the release the body should be just leaning back from the vertical about 25 degrees but not slumped, and the head should be looking straight ahead (not thrown back or with the chin on the chest).
(11) In a sculling boats the hands should be approximately 14–16 cm apart at the release, depending on the size and build of the rower. Sculling blades should not be able to be pulled past the body.

Common faults—the release
(1) Pulling the handle down into the lap, causing the blade to wash out and resulting in a shorter, less effective stroke.
(2) “Lugging it in” at the finish, i.e. leaning back too far and pulling the handle heavily downwards to finish off the stroke. This causes the boat to dip at the finish, slowing the boat run.
(3) Handles slowing down at the finish—usually caused by lack of coordination between the legs, upper body and arms through the stroke so there isn’t an efficient summation of forces culminating in maximum acceleration. Often the leg drive is finished early, leaving the weaker arms to finish the stroke—a two-part drive and weak finish result.
(4) Slow finishes can also be caused by lack of skill with feathering. This is common with beginners.
(5) Elbows “winging” out at the finish—this will not result in maximum force due to an inefficient pulling angle, making arm draw weak.
(6) Drawing the body to the handle rather than the handle through to the body.
(7) Drawing the handle too far past the body, or not drawing the handle far enough through (cutting it off).
(8) Leaning too far back at the finish or not leaning back far enough.
(9) All the above are common faults with beginners. It is very important that rowers form a mental and sensory picture of correct body posture at the release. Videos and work on the ergo in front of a mirror are very good for this feedback.
(10) With beginners a lack of core stability strength may be contributing to the incorrect posture at the finish. Gym work on abdominal strength and upper and lower back strength will help core stability. Even elite crews do work on developing and maintaining core strength as it is very important for injury prevention.

Fault correction exercises—the release
A good release is the product of a good coordinated drive phase, so it is difficult to separate release exercises from exercises for the drive.

1. Tapping down and away exercise
Description: Sitting at finish and tapping the handle down and away repeatedly.

Purpose: To develop tap down and feathering skills. For crews it also good for coordinating the timing of the release.

2. Square blade rowing and delayed feather
Description: As per title. A delayed feather is when you extract the blade vertically, then feather the blade once it is clear of the water.

Purpose: To develop tap down and feathering skills; for separating the two actions.

3. Building abdominal and back strength
Description and Purpose: Sit-ups are effective for building strength in the abdominal muscles. There are several exercises with and without weights for developing back strength.

4. Rowing hands only
Description: Sitting at back chocks rowing hands only without any body swing.

Purpose: Helps to establish a strong finish position and cement that position in the mind.

5. Quarter slide work
Description and Purpose: Quarter slide work with squared or feathered blades is good for coordinating the finish. Starting at 1/4 slide and progressing down the slide to full slide is also a good exercise for this coordination. All 1/4 slide work will improve the stability at finish if done correctly. Quarter slide work is also good for improving feathering skills.

When done at speed 1/4 to 1/2 slide work is a good warm-up to bring crews together in the timing of the release.

Part 4: The recovery
The Aim of a good recovery is to carry the blades forward to the catch position with minimal effect on the run of the boat. It is also a time for recovery from fatigue and provides a time to relax the prime moving muscles.

Teaching points—the recovery
A good recovery should be in tune with the speed of the boat and take at least twice the time of the drive. It sets the rhythm of the boat and a top crew will always have a relaxed efficient recovery.
A good recovery will set the rower up for a relaxed but sharp catch, with little missed water.

The sequence of movements is as follows:
(1) The hands come away smoothly from the release, with the knees held down to give the boat stability and allow the boat to accelerate from the release.
(2) As the hands pass over the knees the shoulders follow the hands forward, followed by the seat moving smoothly up the slide as you let the boat come all the way under you. The body angle for the catch position is achieved by 1/2 slide
(3) The speed up the slide should be constant or slowing slightly all the way to the catch with no jerky movements or pauses at any point.
(4) The hands should come forward at the correct height with blades just above the water with enough clearance to square before the catch without having to make room by skying the blade before the catch.
(5) Hand heights in a crew should be even as should bow and stroke sides in a sweep boat.
(6) The upper body should be as relaxed as possible (“rubbery” or “like a blancmange”) on the way forward. This allows the muscles a chance to recover, be replenished with oxygen and have waste metabolic products cleared (more difficult if constricted). This is also useful in rough water where if the rower is tense the movements of body and boat will be exaggerated.
(7) Above all the rower should develop a “feel” for the boat and be sensitive to the way the boat runs under him/her so as not to disturb the run.

Fault correction exercises—the recovery
1. Exaggeration of the recovery time
Description: Ensure a very slow slide by counting “1000, 2000, 3000” for the recovery, then “4000” for the drive. Alternatively you could have an experienced stroke in the crew who will stick to this slow recovery time. Progress to counting “1000, 2000” for the recovery and “3000” for the drive.

Purpose: To encourage a smooth controlled recovery; to encourage crews to let the boat run on the recovery.

2. Feet out rowing
Description and Purpose: Rowing with the feet out of the shoes will ensure a smooth recovery in tune with the speed of the boat because rowers will not be able to pull themselves forward by their feet and will not speed up as they come into the catch. It also helps boat balancing skills, as the balance has to be achieved with the hands only and hand heights have to be perfect.

3. Square blade rowing and variations
Description and Purpose: Square blade rowing will ensure a consistent handle height on the recovery and guard against carrying the blades too low to the water to feather without skying.

A variation on the exercise is the delayed feather where the blade is feathered between 1/4 and 1/2 slide on the way forward.

A further progression from this exercise is the double feather where the blade is squared and feathered twice on the recovery. This is really only suitable for experienced crews.

4. Checks or pauses during the recovery
Description and Purpose: A very useful sequence of exercises are checks or pauses during the recovery, then rowing on. These can be made at various positions depending on the problems with the rowers/crew.

Pausing at hands away is good for crews who do not sit back at the finish and do not hold their knees down while the release is made. It is also good for crews who need work on the timing at the release and the “hands away” beginning of the recovery. Many crews have problems here with different hand speeds which, in turn will cause different slide speeds as the crew members try to get into synchronisation with each other on the way forward. Different slide speeds will result in a wobbly, unstable boat.

Pausing at “bodies over” is a very good exercise for those rowers who don’t have much body swing forward from the finish. Without this they will not be correctly set up for the catch and may dive into the catch. It is also good for rowers who do not hold their knees down while their shoulders come forward. Holding the knees down while the upper body swings forward allows the boat to be more stable and gives the boat time for maximum run from the release.