More About Traits in an Eight

I have always thoroughly enjoyed the "Traits in an Eight" and recently stumbled upon a great article in the latest edition of The Independent Rowing News Inc.

Rowing News Repost

Dear Doctor Rowing,
Could you explain to me what the different seats in an eight mean? Our daughter has just started rowing and we are curious to know if it means anything that she was selected as the stroke. Is the seating based wholly on technique or is there a personality type too? Does she have any future in the sport?
Should we be proud?

Set out the good linen and crystal and then get on the horn to Granny. You, my friend, have hit the jackpot. Surely you have been around rowing long enough to know that your daughter is a rare jewel, a pearl among swine.

Much has been written about what makes a great stroke. She must, of course, have a good sense of rhythm, steady and consistent, so that the seven people behind her can follow easily. She must be strong and powerful, for the stroke is the one who sets the pace of the oar through the water. And her blade work must be strong; this is not a seat for someone who has difficulty getting out of the water cleanly.

But great strokes are more than great technical rowers. It is precisely in the personality realm that a stroke most stands out. Can you say prima donna? The stroke should be someone so competitive, so self-assured that she is constantly annoying her teammates with comments like, “Have you ever noticed that I cut my meat more efficiently than anyone else on the team?” or “I wonder why it takes the rest of you so long to shower?” It’s not just that the stroke thinks that she can do all of these things better than anyone else alive. A coach’s job is to find the person on the squad who really is better at everything and put said person in stroke seat. Don’t apologize or be modest. The person who inhabits the stroke seat really is superior.

Now, what about the girl right behind her, in seven? Coaches often go out of their way to praise the “second stroke.” I’ve often heard coaches say that seven is always the best athlete. “She must be equal in intensity and drive to the stroke, but have the additional task of following and passing on the rhythm to the rest of the crew. It’s the most difficult job in rowing.” Seven seats themselves put it another way: “I am the real stroke. The person in front of me just thinks that she is setting the rhythm. If the coach didn’t have an insane prejudice against starboards, I’d be there, where I belong.”

Six? Inhumanly strong. Competitive. Arrogant. She knows that she’s the most powerful person in the boat. Has there ever been a great boat without a great six seat? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because six doesn’t get all the attention of the stroke that she is cut from more modest cloth.

Five is a kind of reflection of the strong and savage six seat, but watered down—a reflection in an old dusty mirror. It’s not that they dislike being in the six seat’s shadow, they just don’t really notice. They are happy to put up the second best erg scores in the boat and be praised as, “a real leader in the engine room.” It doesn’t take much to make a five seat happy. They’re not all that bright.

Four? Happy, contented people. Gregarious. Well-adjusted. They are the ones most likely to have a stable relationship, a boyfriend who comes to all the races and brings everyone food. If you want to spend a pleasant hour talking about something other than crew, (though why would you want to do that?) this person is for you. So what if they have some rough spots in their stroke. They know that they are doing their best.

Much has been written about the three seat’s plight. In my copy of The Badminton Library’s volume on rowing and punting, published in 1898, it says, “It is curious how often the worst man in an eight rows in this position.” This person was the last to earn a seat in the boat. It seemed like the coach was desperate to find someone else to row in her place. But then, undoubtedly, the coach came to a big realization: no matter who the person was, the boat would still need to have a three seat. Finally, the seat racing ended. That awkward, bumbling rower, the one everyone expects to catch a crab, was in the boat. But you know what? It’s a bum rap. These people move the boat. Show me a good eight, and I’ll show you a skilled rower at three.

Two? The philosopher. Unlike the three seat, the two seat actually did catch a crab once in a big race. She has been tormented by it ever since. This is the girl who might stroke one day if her therapy goes well. She’s got the aggressive personality, but doubt lurks beneath everything she does.

Bow is the artist, the stylist, the best dressed—the one who can tell you what everyone else in the boat is doing wrong. This person has an uncanny ability to breathe through her nose at all times, without ever gasping for air. And how can it be that she is always so articulate, even after an intense session of speedwork? Could it be that she doesn’t ever really pull? She seems to live a kind of charmed life, asked to balance the boat but never criticized if it dips down to one side.

Have I offended everyone? Good. As a former coxswain, my job was to get everyone so worked up that they would kill themselves trying to show their superiority. A great crew has all of these insecurities hidden just below the surface, ready to explode at any moment. Attention? Go!

By: Andy Anderson

I need a coxswain here...

Clearly if blogging were a race, I'd be losing right now. I sat in bed the other night waiting to fall asleep thinking of idea upon idea for the blog. Now as I sit here typing, I feel like those great ideas have left my brain, much like my brain often leaves me in a race. That is where the coxswain comes in...

The coxswain is the brain while the rower functions as the brawn. Racing can be almost primal, stripping us to our core, diverting our bodies' resources from the brain to the physical structures such as the lungs and heart that we call upon in such periods of intense exertion. I used to think of launching to race as almost "going into battle." There is something about racing in rowing that feels strikingly like what I imagined a war or battle scene to feel like many centuries ago.

Rowing takes courage, strength, fire, and will. I believe you need those things before stepping into a boat, but that they may leave us in the stress of the moment. That is where the coxswain must step in, to remind us as rowers what the fight is for -- to reignite or keep the flame burning that represents our desire to prove ourselves on the racecourse -- no matter what our bodies may be telling us.

I just returned on Saturday from a week with my team in Oak Ridge, TN. As my fourth trip to Melton Park Lake and the friendly community of Oak Ridge, it struck me that I feel so comfortable there that it almost feels like another home. The water is as familiar to me as my own river. I can remember how to navigate unconsciously to the marina. I know the shoals, buoys, docks, bridges, and landmarks. It is such a joy to spend a week in a town accustomed to and welcoming of rowers. It is also such a joy to spend a week with my team. Although a hard, long week, spending that time with the crew reinvigorated me after a challenging winter. To see the excitement and energy pulsing through those students allows me to reclaim mine. I learn so much from them and can hopefully share those lessons in upcoming posts! Keep checking back...

Working Out to Get Over Being Tired or Stressed

The one thing that I really appreciate about exercise is that even if you feel tired and lifeless, a good workout can bring you back to life. Tonight I was working late but still made it a priority to make it to the gym.

I am the type of person who once they put their workout clothes and particularly sneakers on, I never decide not to work out. However, there are times where convincing myself to put on those sneakers can be a challenge.

Anyway, I made it to the gym after a long day at work. It's been the type of week where my brain hurts, my eyes feel like they might pop out of their sockets, and I'm always in need of a nap. I told my colleagues today that "my life is a giant spreadsheet," as I am managing a really large department project brimming with millions of details. In fact, the ways that stress is affecting me this week is just crazy.

I'm so tired that I fall into a really deep sleep. In that deep sleep, I dream. Supposedly this is a good thing because I am going through each section of the REM cycle. However, I am dreaming about work. Talk about not restful. I wake up in the morning trying to separate reality from my dream world and I feel like I never leave work. This was a real problem for me in graduate school in particular. Sometimes if I had been really concentrating on a specific project or was really deep into work, my professors would come to me in dreams. I had really wonderful professors, but they are not the type of people you want to see in your dreams. I would also write papers in my dreams. Waking up was confusing because I didn't know what I had written prior to falling asleep and what I had written in my dream. It was also a pain because a brilliant idea in a dream can be brilliant, or completely fictitious and lacking sense be seem to be brilliant at the time.

The nice thing about an intense workout is that I get to leave work behind. I drove to the gym and was waiting for my Body Pump class to begin. The equipment changes every class so I asked my instructor, Maria, what we needed -- a bench or a BOSU. These are both things that I normally really enjoy. She asked me what I wanted, and I said that I didn't know. I think I have been in charge of a lot of decisions lately and my brain couldn't process another one, and I was just TIRED. She asked if I was okay and I said I was tired. Fast forward 15 minutes and we are doing a series of side steps, hops, jogs, and jump ropes. I didn't feel like the tired, exhausted person that I had come to class as. I had a little more pep in my step and really tried to get my knees high and pushed harder. It felt really good to have the strength and energy to attack the class in a way I hadn't thought that I would be able to. I even upped my weights on a few exercises.

This same concept was one that I especially appreciated in college. The ten-fifteen minute drive from SU's campus to the boathouse made me feel like I was world's away from the stress of my academics. Coach always used to say to not take your problems with you on the water. I can't say that I entirely followed the rule, as I sometimes used my frustrations or stress to pull harder or push farther in a piece, but that kind of thing is productive. Whether you are erging in a basement somewhere or rowing on a beautiful stretch of river, there is an opportunity to be transported from your everyday cares and worries. Exercise can be so transformative and transcendental.

Story Time: Part I

I've promised a lot of stories on this blog that I actually haven't delivered. I always think a fair bit about things I'd like to write about on this blog, but for various reasons they are never written or posted. This blog has a few ground rules that I have have set for myself, but the main rule that I am not willing compromise on is:

• If [I] don't have something nice to say, [I] don't say it at all

This mostly pertains to things in the present (i.e. no trash talking other teams or people), but as I think about the stories I want to share about the SU team's history, inevitably there is always something less than flattering about someone (some team, some something...) who's feelings I wouldn't want to hurt, since after all it is just my faded memory that the story is drawing from.

So the next few posts from me are stories that tell some part of the history of the SU Crew team, but from my own limited perspective. In almost any crew story I can think of there are always tears involved. Take from them what you will... One such story that I promised was along the lines of "The Lite 8 Journey to Head of the Charles."

It was a very long road, which saw it's humble beginnings in Spring 2003 with an ambitious sophomore having broken 8 minutes, but a seed that was laid later that fall with a junior making a bet with her coach.

It wasn't a bet in the traditional sense -- there are no Vegas style odds on unsolidified boat line-ups. I don't remember it being particularly well publicized, nor reminders given. Aside from a conversation or two, it quietly slipped past the team's radar and life (rowing) went on as usual.

If you haven't guessed, I was the ambitious sophomore turned junior, love sick in her affection for crew. A year and a half of increased exercise and difficulty of workouts led me to return to SU in the spring of '04 a few pounds away from the 136 max of Erg Armageddon. Our team worked with tireless pursuit to compete at Bucknell's Erg Armageddon, the largest/closest indoor rowing machine competition in the area. The competition (always a week or two prior to Spring Break) gave us something to focus our energies on during that long, endless period of time stuck in the "Green Room."

I approached Coach about rowing lightweight for Erg Armageddon. He got that look that people get when they talk about wrestling, diving, gymnastics, or other weight driven sports. It is a hard look/feeling/sentiment to describe, but at it's core says, "this kind of thing can really mess people up, I don't want to deal with that." So, I let it go, but in a few days, he said, "Okay, but if you're going to do this, it has to be right." This included a very lengthy discussion on what to eat or not to eat. Water - good. Pretzels and other snacks - bad. Vegetables - good. Soda - bad. I'm putting it in this binary form to simplify the conversation, but it basically led to me making some big, but pretty easy to adapt to lifestyle changes in my eating. A girl who had once said, "I could never be lightweight because I like food too much," and "I could never be vegetarian because I would miss meat too much," had to totally eat her words (excuse the pun).

So I exercised, ate really colorful salads, still managed to have a cookie (maybe two) for dessert and hit 134 by the time Erg Armageddon rolled around at the end of February. At the time, I thought my foray into lightweightdom had ended, went on our yearly Spring Break training trip and was rowing openweight again. For reasons more complicated than I could ever understand or explain, our openweight varsity eight disbanded. I foggily remember a conversation with Coach next to the trailer after Spring Break, where he told me I could seat race for a spot in the varsity four or that I could have a seat in the lightweight eight. I was hesitant to consider moving to lightweight full time. Sure, I had made my goal but it almost seemed unreal. Even though there were four tiny pounds between me and the Knecht Cup or Dad Vail weigh in, it seemed so huge in my mind. So I thought about it.

It was the best. decision. ever.

I started practicing with the lightweight eight and I don't remember much about the early formation of that boat. I do however remember the harrowing Occoquan Sprints. The weather prediction for that day was 20-30 MPH winds, with up to 50 MPH gusts. They decided to move from the sprint race course to the more protected head race course. The race organizer also wanted to move the events up, therefore it was only possible for us to enter one event, the lightweight 8 or the lightweight 4.

Our coach wanted us to decide which event to enter. I was set to race both events, knowing full well that we had better odds to medal in the four. Standing on the bus that day, medal dreams aside, we chose the 8.

It was the best. decision. ever.

That day turned us into the "Lite 8." We weren't merely a collection of nine women who weighed under 133 pounds, we bonded over making making a tough decision and surviving to tell the tale. This may sound a little bit exaggerated, and in some ways it is, but I don't know if I have ever been as fearful of flipping/dying/losing equipment as I ever was that day. There was pile up of boats in the finish area of the sprint course, waiting to turn and make our way onto the head race course. We were out there forever at a standstill. The wind was picking up and blowing our backwards, which of course the oars are designed to steady the boat the other way. The starboard oarlocks were nearly under water, and there was no way to set set the boat without rowing to right ourselves. It was terrifying. Granted, we weren't in any life threatening danger, but it was still scary as heck.

We raced, we made it, and then another terrifying experience. On the return dock, Kathy Wulderk (our coxswain) called for "up and over heads" when one of those wind gusts came through. There were eight lightweight women holding on to this boat (Meridian) for dear life, as our feet started to pick up from the dock. Looking back, I'm not sure how we didn't go Mary Poppins style into the Occoquan Reservoir with our boat. Luckily Coach (Brian Tomko) and Coach Jim were there to grab onto the boat and we narrowly avoided disaster.

The Lite 8 went on to do pretty well at Knecht Cup, we even got to race the infamous Wisconsin Badgers (the Wisco Lights). After racing Coach told us that we had made the US Rowing national ranking poll. He didn't want to tell us at first, in case we got big heads or it messed with our ability to concentrate on the race at hand. All I can remember is a lot of shrieking on the side of the Cooper. At the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Crew Championships (on a less harrowing day) at the Occoquan, the Lite 8 earned first place. We also earned 16th in the US Rowing national ranking poll. Unfortunately that year finals fell over Dad Vail week and we weren't able to prove ourselves on that national stage. This is the one thing - of anything - that I would if I could change about my college career. It was just out of our hands.

I owe a lot to those ladies. Kathy Wulderk, Erica Garland, Alyssa Russo, Erin Toenehboehn, Allison Bankus, Dawn Raskewski, Kate Jensen, and Jess Hibbard. They taught me more about teamwork than almost anyone I can think of in my entire life.

It was probably summer, I was doing research with the psychology department and went to the gym every weekday at 4pm sharp. My coach just happened to be in the cardio loft while I was

on the elliptical machine. He said, "You may not remember, but we had a deal at the beginning of the year if any of our boats placed in the top 3 at Knecht Cup, made finals at Vails, or got first place at MACCCs, they could go to Head of the Charles..."

This. was. it. My boat, the Lite 8, was entered into the lottery for a place in Head of the Charles that fall. I had no idea it would be my boat. Our boat. And it happened. I was beyond ecstatic.

Row-ga

Last Friday, SU Crew took a break from the ergs for yoga, or as Co-Captain Katie Messler calls it, rowga. I've written before about some of the benefits of yoga for rowers and have posted a few links, so I have some more things for you.

Someone brought their P90X Yoga X DVD to practice. I have never actually done P90X, but I have heard that it is a really effective exercise regime. My brother lost a lot of weight at the end of his college career doing P90X with his buddies and my best friend (former SU Coxswain) Jill Sands-Martin '05 started to get into it recently. Sometimes as a coach it can be a bummer to miss a good work out while instructing the team, so occasionally I like to join in and rowga offers the perfect opportunity.

Even on the online videos or infomercial, the spokesperson points out that most people think of yoga instructors as being silly or kooky. P90X prides itself on being intense cross training, and keeps their reputation by teaching the yoga in a really powerful way. Most people at the gym do a couple of sustained planks to work their core, Yoga X has you moving from planks to push ups to downward facing dog to warrior poses in smooth, quick transitions. Your body is never fully at rest, challenging you to breathe through pain, feel your body, and lengthen your muscles.

We couldn't have been very far into the video when I started dripping sweat. The poses are engaging the muscles in such a way that it is challenging without feeling like it hurt so much that you have to give up. I was impressed by how far the team's flexibility has come since we began doing yoga nearly a year ago. There was rarely giggling (except maybe for the "make your body into a triangle and reach your arms underneath your legs and clasp the hands together" ridiculousness) and the focus of the team has certainly improved. I saw many determined, motivated faces in the room that thought very carefully about each position and called upon their body to do things that they maybe had not thought possible.

I really appreciated the chair squats, because as a rower I think the more you can continuously challenge your quads, the better. I would challenge SU's rowers to sit down deeper into the squats, and keep the backs straight. That way if you are ever challenged to a wall sit contest by your coach (e.g. Spring Break '05) to delay getting out on rough water, you know you can be the champion of your team. Even though I hold my share of erg records, Robin Atkins '05 beat me on that one.

I still fervently believe that leg presses are pivotal to a good crew lifting regime, unlike a few guys I know that emphatically believe that it is a "exercise of the nineties." Squats too. I mean really, did Xeno Muller have biceps twice the size of his neck, NO.

Overall, I was really impressed by the level of challenge that the DVD offered and the calm cool-headedness of the instructor.

Key moves from Yoga X if you don't have the DVD:

Runners Pose

Crescent Pose

Warrior 1

Warrior 2

Warrior 3

Plank

Downward Facing Dog

Triangle Pose

Twisting Triangle Pose

Standing Splits

Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon

Tree

Royal Dancer

Standing Leg Extensions

Crane

Frog

Plough into Shoulder Stand

Touch the Sky

Happy Baby

You can very easily Google these terms to make up your own routine!

Group Fitness

You might ask, why are there no posts recently? I've been doing other sorts of writing rather than blogging, which is to help create an SU Crew newsletter. While this may not sound like very exciting news, I am certainly excited to see it debut. We have articles from our coaches, captains, team members, and alumni as well as a ton of photos of our fall season.

As soon as it is ready for print, you will find it right here!


Over the break, I have been working on my own fitness and can't help but wonder what the members of our crew are up to. I find that I am best motivated when I am working out with others or when I know that I need to meet certain expectations.

In November, I started taking "Body Pump" classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with rowers from the Central Pennsylvania Rowing Association. It is a weight-based group fitness program designed to improve strength and endurance in major muscle groups. Since we are unable to row during the icy winter months, I was looking for another group fitness class that would keep me motivated and be fun.

Our trainer Maria has been pushing us a little harder each class, working with medium and heavy free weights, bars, resistance bands, step benches, exercise balls, slo mo balls, and BOSU trainers. There is always a new exercise to learn!

It has also been interesting being a part of a group fitness class with only rowers. Having completed a similar program 2 years ago, I noticed that the coordination required for the class can help rowers become more intuitive on the water. This seems to apply to rate changes and commands from coaches or coxswains. Participating in a fitness routine in the off season can do wonders for balance, control, and endurance later on.

Since this class is only twice a week, I wanted to explore my other options. I came across a Zumba class. It is a fusion of Latin and international music that focus on a few simple dance like moves in each song. I am no dancer - I didn't make it through my first year of dance class as a kindergartner.

I felt a little out of place at my first class, as it seemed like so many of the participants already knew each other. They made a big deal out of my being new, but were reassuring. As soon as the class started, it had a different style than I had been used to. In graduate school I frequented 90 minute Step & Sculpt classes and 60 minute BOSU classes that were very choreographed. The difference between the classes is that there is very little verbal cuing in Zumba. There are hand signals, but you need to really pay attention to your instructor or others in the class to get the moves.

Without previous aerobic class experience, I think that I would have been totally out of my league. Having two months experience under my belt, I am feeling so much more comfortable with the steps. I really look forward to the class because it is high energy, always changing, and I feel like I get a great workout.

So my question for you is:
What have you been up to and what is on your playlist?

Twins. Part Two.

This spring I posted an entry called "Coach Twins." This entry is also about rowing twins, more specifically the Winklevoss twins.


Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of Greenwich, Connecticut placed sixth in the men's pairs event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They are also featured in the new film, The Social Network, based on the rise of Facebook. It is thought that Mark Zuckerberg used code he created for the Winklevoss' ConnectU to later launch thefacebook.com. The Winklevoss' later confidentially settled for $65 million but continued pursuing their rowing dreams.


Dan Boyne of Row2K has a new feature column that will explore what went into filming the rowing portion of The Social Network: Rowing and the Art of the Social Network—Part I - (row2k features).

Blisters.

First a few caveats regarding blisters:

1. Never wear gloves (unless you want to get laughed at).
2. Don't bandage your hands with white medical tape like you are an Egyptian mummy. This will only promote more (possibly even more painful) blisters in the millimeters between tape.
3. Never pour shampoo, soap, or other cleaning product directly on your blisters. Wash carefully or suffer the consequences.

Here is some handy information from SU Crew Team Captain Katie Messler:

I heard a few novices asking what to do about hot spots, blisters and open sores on your poor hands. Here's a quick fix for those pesky ailments:

1. Lose the lotion! The softer the skin, the more frequent the blisters. Stop applying lotion to your hands to build callouses.

2. Soak 'em!- fill a bucket with warm water, add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt (Found near the Advil in Walmart), stir until the salt dissolves and let your hands soak for 20 minutes. This will dry out your blisters and sores, and keep it clean.

3. Wash your hands! More washing means less bacteria, which means happier hands. Use spray disinfectant or hand sanitizer to keep your hands clean and to dry out the blisters when you're not near a sink. It will sting for a second, but will help overall. This will also help toughen your hands.

4. Use protection! Use nu skin (liquid bandage) or athletic tape to ward off blisters during long rows. Don't use too much tape because this will constrict your hand movement and it will be harder to get those beloved early roll-ups. Gloves won't help, so don't bother.

Number 5 comes from SU Rower Rob Pennaherarra:

5. Popping blisters -- When new blisters form on our hands we always get the urge to tear them right off! Now, although it may be a fun and entertaining thing to do during class to keep you awake, it is not a good thing to do; it can allow for infection in your hands. The proper way to take care of blisters is to poke a hole through the center of the blister, drain it, and then wash it. This will make sure that the skin hardens and helps you to form callouses but will also make sure that your blister is nice and clean!

As a new rower (or even a returning rower), here are my personal tips for a rowing first aid kit:

• Needles
• Wooden Matches
• Neosporin
• Fabric Band-aids
  
• Small Pair of Scissors
• Nail clippers
  
• Epsom Salts

A blister is fluid that accumulates between two layers of skin. For simplicity's sake, blisters boil down to three categories. The first is the type of blister that fills with a clear serum or plasma. The second is a blister filled with blood and the third is a blister filled with pus. Blisters are created from friction -- in rowing it is the oar handle rubbing against the palms and fingers of a rower. In the case of a pus filled blister, I suggest finding the nearest medical professional, as sometimes antibiotics are needed to treat those types of blisters.

Blisters can be painful, especially if they tear. Take care in examining your hands each day. For large blisters, I suggest draining the liquid by gently pushing a needle (use the match to disinfect the needle first) into the blister at the edge, perpendicular to the movement of the skin. Make the smallest hole possible and use a cotton ball or paper towel to absorb the liquid. Leave the excess skin, as in time this can build up to form a callus. In the case of a ragged blister, sometimes you need to use a small pair of scissors or nailclippers to prevent further tearing of the skin. Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap or hydrogen peroxide. This will hurt, but it is important that the wound is free from bacteria. Apply a small amount of Neosporin and cover with a bandaid.

Most rowers have their own preferences when it comes to blister care and bandaids. I prefer the fabric bandaids, as they seem to hold up better during a rowing practice. I also like the elastic medical tape (it is beige colored, with rouching and used in many athletic training offices). The elastic tape isn't as gummy as white medical tape, holds up better in practice, and creates less friction. I've never found a good use for pre-wrap, except maybe to tie back a pony tail.

Whatever your choices, just use a little tape and as few band-aids as possible.

Extreme Cross Country Rowing

I often describe the difference between fall head racing and spring sprint racing to the difference between fall cross country and spring track. Red Bull has managed to improve upon this metaphor by actually combining the sports. Below is a video of what can only be described as "extreme cross country rowing." The event begins with a men's eight competition on the water in Switzerland, transitioning to land where the rowers carry their boat and oars through a challenging trail run, get back on the water and row back to the other dock, and then run their boat to the finish line. Check it out!

Crew Couples

One of the interesting things about SU Crew is how closely the men's and women's teams work together. At many schools the teams may be separate, or could be in totally different classification systems (club versus varsity). There are some schools where the lightweights travel to completely different races than their heavyweight counterparts (such is the case with the Wisconsin Badgers and the Radcliffe [Harvard] women). But at SU, we practice, travel, and spend time together regardless of gender. This means: Rowing relationships. They happen.

As a team member from 2001-2005, I saw my fair share of rowing relationships or "crew couples." I was not left out of the trend either, as I was in a rowing relationship for close to three years. I thought that I would write a quick update on couples of the past.

Pete Haberkost '04 (starboard) and Erin Toeneboehn '04 (starboard) met on the crew team and dated through out college. Coach Jim managed to snap this cute picture of the two of them rowing a mixed double during their senior year.


In 2006, Pete and Erin got married. Jess Hibbard '05 served as the maid of honor and had previously been stroke seat of Erin's Lite 8. Pete and Erin currently live in Woodbridge, Virginia where they are teachers. Pete also coaches with the Prince William Rowing Club. They are expecting their first little crew baby this fall/winter.

Pat Johnson '03 and Laura Lindberg '04 also met on the SU Crew team. They were both lightweights on the team. They married in 2009 and live and work near Philadelphia. Laura is a registered nurse and Pat works as a recruiting consultant for Comcast Cable. They are expecting their first baby this fall.

Ashley McConnaughhay '08 and Andrew Addison '08 also met on the team. Ashley rowed in high school and coached during her college summers on the Hudson River in New York. Ashley and Andrew were married during this past summer and currently reside in Reading, PA. Ashley works for a bank and Andrew works for the Army and is also a volunteer firefighter.

I found this funny blog posting called "All's Fair in Love and Rowing" which posits that rowing relationships are actually "crewcest."

Upping My Game

I very clearly need to up my game. To be honest, there is not a day that goes by that I don't remind myself I haven't posted on this blog for quite sometime. I had a whole list of excuses, but then I remembered that real rowers, "Row hard. No Excuses."

I thought that I would share a video that I came across this summer. I'm kind of in love with the Canadian Men's Heavyweight Eight national team from the 2008 Beijing Olympics who won the gold medal. I'm particularly infatuated by their coach, Mike Spracklen and his coaching demeanor. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so in a news story for the Toronto Star, the rowers were asked to impersonate their coach.

Adam Kreek (with more world gold medals than I can count) says in his Spracklen impression, "Well you may look tired Adam. You can go into the dark, that's fine. Not everyone can be a champion. Not everyone can be an Olympic gold medalist." The impersonation is so nonchalant it is almost insane that someone can talk about something so important in such a calm manner. However, it comes down to a set of choices that a rower can make. You can have excuses, or you can commit and find glory.

As a college rower, it is easy to let a lot of other things in life get in the way of rowing. IF you want to be good, IF you want to row on a strong team, you have to make the commitment. That means making every practice (regardless of your other campus involvement), working out at the gym outside of practice, and making every stroke on the water count.

"Success in rowing is based on the time that you put in." -Adam Kreek

Welcome Back!

Welcome back SU Rowers! August marks the beginning of a new academic year and the latest rowing season. Take a look at our tentative fall schedule:

August 23-27: optional pre-season practice
August 30-?: practice each weekday at 4:30pm on the river
August 30: display a double and ergs at Deg to recruit new rowers
September 1: meet and greet with experienced and potential new rowers in the Apple Room
September 2-9: new rowers will meet in the erg room for training
September 3: 5k fun run at 9:00am - meet in front of the gym
September 9: safety video and swim test, experienced rowers will do a stadium run
September 10: everyone to the river at 4:30pm
September 24-26: Susquehanna Family Weekend
September 25: Selinsgrove Street Fair
September 30: Dues must be paid
October 9: Navy Day Regatta in Philadelphia
October 15-19: Susquehanna Fall Break
October 22-24: Susquehanna Homecoming
October 23: Susquehanna Crew Alumni Race at 9:30am
October 31: Dual meet with Penn State University at Howard Lake
October 6: Head of the Occoquan in Virginia

Rob Penaherarra - Guest Blogger

I am so excited to introduce my first guest blogger post. I am happy to write that SU Sophomore Rob Penaherarra spent the summer rowing and is so excited about his experience that he wanted to share it on our team blog.

While this is a team blog, I would like to welcome anyone to the site that may have stumbled upon it, purely of their love for rowing. You are welcome to be a part of our team, by submitting things, by commenting, or just dropping by!

After a summer full of rowing, I was really excited to share my experiences on our very own rowing blog. My summer of rowing started before the summer even started when Coach Rachael helped me during Spring Training to find a boathouse (using the Row2k website) close enough to my house to row in during the time we were off the good ol’ Susquehanna. She and Row2k led me to the Navesink River Rowing Club, where SU alum and former rower for the SU crew team, Chris Meharg, coaches (for those of you who do not know, Chris Meharg is the rower with pretty much all the records in the Erg Room). I was able to speak to him at our scrimmage in Conshohocken, and he told me that I’d be able to take out a single for the entire summer for $200, so after coming home from school in May, I took that deal and became a college rower and member of the NRR.

In the beginning of my time at NRR, I had to take an “orientation” lesson before being able to go out on the water whenever I wanted, and during that test a coach watched me row in a single (or in this case a bath tub with oars—they make first timers take out a very steady, stable…and large single). I also had to take what’s known as a “tip test”, which involves jumping out of the single, so that the coach can make sure that the rower knows how to get back in the boat in case he or she flips in the middle of the river. Although in many rivers it may not be necessary to do this because you may be able to swim or even walk to the river bank, but the Navesink river is pretty much the ocean (actually sometimes when I went out on the water, it was more like ocean rowing than anything else). Also, all the jellyfish in the river around mid July-August is good motivation not to flip! Luckily though, when I went out in the water that first time and jumped into the river, it was jellyfish-free (by the way I am proud to say that the only time I flipped was when I did it on purpose).

After the orientation row, I was home free and able to take out boats whenever I wanted. In the beginning of my time rowing I would take out singles, which was a great experience. The single is a great way to improve technique on the water, even without a coach right next to you, and that’s because even if you mess up some part of your form-you miss some water with your port oar, your oars aren’t level at the catch, you move around a little during the recovery-you feel it instantly and you are forced to fix it. As varsity rower Katie Messler once told me, “rowing in a single is a very humbling experience” and it’s very true—you have no one to blame for your mistakes but yourself, and you have to fix them yourself. It’s a very different experience from being in a boat with other people, and only certain people are made to be in a single. After rowing in a single for a little while, I learned that I’m not the type to race in a single, and I craved to be in a boat with other rowers.

Lucky for me, there are quite a few college rowers at NRR to row with. The last half of my rowing experience (actually the majority) this summer took place in doubles, quads, and even a four! I was able to get in contact with other college rowers, and we set up times for all of us to go out on the water together. Most of the time, I’d row in a double with a coach at NRR, Yang Chen, who just graduated from Notre Dame and rowed on the Men’s team (he was at Spring Training in Oak Ridge with us-what a coincidence!). I also rowed in a quad a few times, I actually stroked a quad for a race on August 8—we came in second, and only a few seconds away from first. I was really happy with the way it turned out as that was the first time all four of us rowed together. I even rowed a four once during the summer (the only time I swept over summer), I was stroke in that boat also, which was fun but it was a little challenging for two reasons: the boat was port-rigged and although I have experience on port side, I am more experienced with a starboard oar. Also, towards the end of the row, the water became very choppy (one of many times I might add, I guess that happens a lot when you row on an oceanic river).

Rowing this summer was an invaluable experience. It gave me the chance to be on the water whenever I wanted (which will hopefully help me during the academic year when we’re training for our regattas), I made friendships with fellow rowers that I wouldn’t be able to make anywhere else, and I also learned to scull which was awesome—I’m still trying to decide if I like sweeping or sculling more. And even though I had all these great experiences on the Navesink River, I missed my teammates. And rowing in the summer got me really excited to row with them and train for regattas again! I’m looking forward to it all—not too long now!- Rob

In need of rowing inspiration...

This time of year is always an exciting, yet sad time of the year for me. Working in higher education, August signals the end of my rowing season and the beginning of school. Luckily for me, that also means my team returns. While I won't have much time to row myself, I get to work with a new crop of college rowers and also have a chance to push the rowers I have worked with even further.

As a part time coach you have to make the decision to invest time and energy into your own exercise regime or your teams'. For me, coaching does not mean living vicariously through my rowers. My accomplishments are my accomplishments, just as their accomplishments belong to them. Coaching comes from a desire to impart knowledge, love, and passion for the sport unto others. While I am still working on the knowledge part, I know that I have the love and passion part down pat.

Rowing is something that has the ability to suck you in, so deep that you cannot imagine life without it. Having lived without rowing for two years, I can tell you that it was a sad experience! Arriving to graduate school in fall 2005, my first day in Student Development Theory I, I announced to the class that a large part of my identity was that of a rower. While we often talked about the impact of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, spirituality, socio-economic status, and ability, sometimes we failed to recognize that there are other experiences that really make us who we are.

Rowing has without a doubt informed my values system -- when it comes to health, leadership, teamwork, trust, integrity, work ethic, and so much more. The term "student athlete" became very important to me, even if I had never identified as that in high school. I can't express how much rowing has taught and influenced me. I'm going to attempt to compile a non-comprehensive list...

Balance. Harmony. Rhythm. Synergy. Laughter. Trust. Limitlessness. Passion. Technique. All about the two most important wrenches (7/16 and 3/4). How to change a tire and tighten a lug nut. Nutrition. Yoga. Pilates. Running. Frisbee. Sledding. Splits. Race plans. How hitting a buoy before a race can be good luck. How similar Susquehanna and Virginia Tech look on the water. Knowing that when someone is cheering for Virginia Tech, they are cheering for you. Always send someone to hold the cafeteria door or you will miss dinner. Spandex can be fashionable. Epsom salts are not just for the elderly. It is possible to fit six people in a two door car. Fresh new boat smell is better than new car smell. Always bring your own tissues or TP to the port-o-potty at the end of a race day. The weather will be as nasty as possible during a race. Oar locks can freeze shut. Lightweights usually travel with a practice scale. Teammates last forever. The races you win might not always be the most memorable. You are only as fast as you practice. Erging. Rowing is yoga on water. Head of the Charles is magical. Guts. Lactic acid hurts a lot less than giving up does. Switching sides is not the end of the world. Coaches never stop moving on race day. Bubbles under the hull can lift your spirits. Rowing looks effortless but is dirty, smelly, and not for the faint of heart. A real rower is a McGuiver. Good rowing is like meditating. I always know the height of the Susquehanna (usually the discharge too). I assess weather based on rowability. I watch people at the gym who are erging incorrectly. Sometimes that means I give them an impromptu lesson. I can raise my voice easily. I always wear layers and carry around a water bottle. I believe a group is stronger than an individual. I thrive when I am working toward the greater good. I used to have "race plans" for writing papers (writers block was always the "third 500"). I check Row2K almost daily. I am proud to have a strong work ethic for all that I do. I want to know your 2k time and I will judge accordingly. Good rowing gives me goose bumps.

The Sweet Single Life

My rowing confession of the day -- the only time (before last week) that I have rowed in a single was on Spring Break this past year. As a college rower, the emphasis was on team boats, and Susquehanna only had access to a training single that took on way too much water. It was orange and was so slow that we jokingly referred to it as the "Orange Blur," which somehow implied that it was fast. Pat Johnson '03 was the only person that I knew who rowed the Blur. Pat had excellent technique and as a Philly native, spent the summers rowing small boats with one of the clubs on Boat House Row.

I was always in awe of Brian Yocono '04, Pat Johnson '03, Joe Gibbons '03, and John Cerniglia '04. They rowed an amazing lightweight four that seemed to literally fly on water. As lightweight men, they understood that their strength stood in their technique and execution, rather than in raw power. They had a poetic grace, but could leave you in the dust on the race course.

I took out the "Bob Long" last Wednesday, a single bequeathed by a former CPRA member. I suspect that Bob takes on an awful lot of water too, since I picked it up there was water sloshing inside that made it incredibly difficult to handle. It wasn't too heavy, but the water shifted the balance of the boat while carrying it. Luckily I had a little help in lowering it into the water. It is an older boat, but is still very smooth.

My first experience in a single was so focused on not flipping (who wants to take a spill in early March?) that I wasn't able to fully appreciate the experience. With all of the coaches on the water helping with four Learn-to-Row boats and an additional four of experience CPRAers, I had the lower part of the Susquehanna all to myself. My first shove off of the dock wasn't exactly successful, but the wind and a little hand paddling helped me get back to the dock. Take two was much better.

The water was unsettled at first, so I stuck below the intake in order to quickly get back to the dock in case the conditions worsened. The Susquehanna is the type of river that can change quickly. I often watch the flags on the Rt. 61 bridge to determine the wind direction and watch for any strange cloud patterns. The longer I stayed out, the better the water became. It was a new experience having so much river all to myself and the calm quietness that comes with not having a launch or boatmates around.

The single offered me a chance to really listen and every so often I like to close my eyes to hear and feel what I am doing in the boat. Without a coach nearby, that is the easiest way I know to correct my own technique. I am much more technically proficient with my starboard blade, so I do have a tendency to pull slightly toward port. I have been focusing in the larger boats on cleaning up my port finishes and continued to do the same in the single. My only mishap of the day was squashing my left thumb between the handles, so I considered it a very successful row.

I still haven't decided if I am the type of person who rows a single. Everyone always talks about how it takes a special type of rower to be self-motivated enough to be able to push themselves in a single. Coach Steve Loaiza firmly believes that I am too social and chatty to be a single sculler. However, I love the freedom of spinning the boat around by myself and knowing that am the only one that needs to make corrections to make the boat fly. I can see how a single could be frustrating, but at this point I think it is a terrific training tool to help me become a better rower.

Too Hot to Row

What a sad week... it is too hot to row. With temperatures way above average, I am sure that the last three days have reached 100 degrees. With next week beginning our second session of CPRA Learn to Row, I sincerely hope that the weather cools down.

Like Nails on a Chalkboard

I began the summer coaching the Central Pennsylvania Rowing Association in an intensive week long back-to-the-basics rowing camp. Head Coach Steve Loaiza and I created a "lesson plan," and spent each day with a different focus. The aim was to help experienced rowers dust off their skills and prepare rowers of all levels to have a successful summer rowing season. We received a lot of positive feedback from members and as a coach it was helpful to break things down to essential skills and sections of the rowing movement.

I coached a little more, until I went on vacation and returned to the river to find that someone had swiped my launch motor. At first I thought that someone was playing a joke on me or that the motor was being serviced. Unfortunately that was not so, but on a positive note, it did enable me to get back to rowing.

I spent much of last summer rowing in a double with a Bucknell graduate student who had rowed in high school and part of college. Physically and technically, Renee and I were a good match for each other. We even had the opportunity to compete at the Navy Day Regatta and the Masters of the Susquehanna. I say with great certainty that I am in no where near the shape I was in in college, but really appreciated the opportunity to compete once more. In between rowing the Empacher, I coxed a lot last summer, specifically for Learn-to-Row.

Each year, CPRA hosts two "Learn-to-Row" sessions, each session has five days to teach community members how to row. Adults of all ages sign up, usually out of their interest in kayaking, water sports, interest in exercise, wanting to do something for themselves, or having always had a fascination with crew. For some, LTR equates to a fun, week-long camp and a new skill that they learned. For others, their LTR experience encourages them to join the club and row for the rest of the summer (and future years).

This year, we had our first LTR session about three weeks ago. I got to cox and be an "exemplar" rower. I'm a bit of a Chatty Cathy, so coxing during LTR is always a fun opportunity to share stories with new rowers and help talk them through the motion. The nice thing about sitting in the coxswain's seat, as opposed to the coach's launch, is that you never have to worry about shouting over the motor, drifting too far away from the boat, or leaving the boat alone. The downside to coxing new rowers as an experienced rower is that sometimes you just want to do something yourself - like turn the boat around.

I have had to cultivate a certain kind of patience for Learn-to-Row, that I probably didn't have as a young rower. In college, my team had one coach. Every boat had to share one coach, and even with several practices a day, attention may have been difficult to come by in the fall season when it was time to teach novices how to row. Boats were separated and dived up to run land practices or teach in boats. Varsity boats were sent off to practice on their own. This is a common issue even today on the SU team, even when there are two to three coaches on the water. It was frustrating to want to get faster but not have the help, but it was also understood that this was a sacrifice that needed to be made in order to grow the team.

Back to the idea of patience --- I really think that in order to work with Masters rowers, it is important to be understanding, relateable, and positive. For many of the people who are taking LTR, this is the first time that they are trying something new in years. I liken it in many ways to what it is like learning how to drive. I remember being scolded by my driver's ed instructor -- "don't move your whole body to look in the rear view mirror". At the time, it seemed so hard. Now, how many years later, I can be looking directly at the road, subtly glance to my rear view mirror and have an understanding of what is around me without missing a beat. What I once had to train my brain and body to do is now natural. Rowing is very similar in that it takes time, but once you learn to row, it is ingrained in your muscles and brain. Just like riding a bike.

So, to learn how to row, you need to give yourself a free pass to make mistakes. A lot of women tend to obsessively apologize when they are in the boat. As an experienced rower in that boat, you have to help them understand that you are willing to give them time to help them develop their talent. While it is important to be personally responsible for what you are contributing to a boat, if you make a mistake, just make the next stroke better.

Now the part that can sometimes be more trying to me... listening to and feeling the boat are two very important sensory activities for a rower. As a rower, I fully recognize that I am chasing perfection, striving for equilibrium, and oneness with all things. The only things that I really want to hear are the smooth journey of wheels and squaring on the recovery, one crisp catch and strong drive, and a clean release, only to repeat again. You just know when you hear it. It's the sound as a coach that gives me goosebumps as I see a boat racing down the course. (Check out the 22-42 second mark of the Canadian Men's 8 video below).



Remember that I said "perfection." This is not something I'd expect to hear during a LTR session, so instead I usually hear blades flapping on the water, multiple different catches, a barrage of comments from the coxswain and coach with a motor humming in the background. Sometimes it seems like so much background noise I can't even hear what my own blade is doing. That is when things start to sound "like nails on a chalkboard." Bad rowing is painful to listen to, as well as experience. However, this type of experience has challenged me to work on my own skills (I'm not perfect!), rather than blaming or being accusatory toward new rowers.

Coach Steve looked at me last week and said, "boy, I can tell you are a Susquehanna rower from all the way down the course!" Apparently I have taken to pulling into my lap with my port blade close to the finish. He thought for sure I would catch it, just by listening to my finishes. With the LTR din of various sounds, it totally escaped my attention. It didn't necessarily "feel" wrong and I couldn't hear it. It was such a small change, but I definitely have to use my body markers to more consciously think about where I am pulling in to. With infinitely more sweep experience than sculling, I still have a bit more to learn and internalize before I acheive technical prowess as a sculler. So yes, I even need some paitience with myself, in addition to others.

Trailer Monkeys

Surely it looks like I could up my game when it comes to posting. I supposed I haven't been feeling that inspired to write. I have been moving apartments and offices, and can tell you when my physical space isn't in order, I can't expect my head to be in the right place either.

I am a huge proponent of keeping equipment organized. I give Coach Jim some serious praise for the order he has kept our shed in. Not only does he know where things are, but it isn't difficult for any team member to find something that they need.

Susquehanna also has the tradition of having a leader to load the trailer. The position goes by many names, but is a nod to the art of learning just how everything can fit onto the trailer. I like to think of this position as being an apprenticeship of sorts, passed down from one Varsity rower to the next. It takes a lot of stress off of coaches and puts more of the responsibility onto the rowers for their own equipment.

Spring Break 2005 - Sarasota, Florida at the Osprey Oars Rowing Club

I think it is funny how people tend to naturally fall into several categories on derigging days:

• Organizers - they are the ones that know if the bow numbers are packed, where the electrical tape is, which oars still need to be loaded, which riggers belong to which boat, and where the tarp gets strapped. They are the ones others look to in order to keep the loading going. They are the question answer-ers and the ones usually able to keep others in line.

Rachel Fetrow, Tim Barnes, Rachael Gebely, Ashley McConnaughhay, and Andrew Addison - March 2005

• Trailer monkeys - the first ones to climb the trailer when the boats are being loaded. The ability to stay balanced while holding expensive equipment, dangling from a metal frame is most desired. Usually eager and good spirited, but the ability to crack jokes is optional.

Andrew Addison, Tim Barnes, Brian Nalls, and Brendon Wirth - March 2005

• Brute force - the first ones people look to in order to get the eights on the highest racks. These are usually the rowers most likely to be seen in the weight room and are some of the most competitive team members.
  
• Worriers - someone who has to double check the shed to make sure everything was loaded, double check the straps to make sure the boats are secured, and reminds everyone what time the bus is coming. Coaches can be both thankful for and worried by such behavior.
  
• Go with the flow'ers - always willing to lend a hand, grab a wrench, or carry a boat. Often these are your novice rowers, who are interested to learn, but aren't yet able to discern the priorities of what needs to be done first.

Katie Messler and Nick Fritz loading oars - Spring 2009

• "I'm trying to look busy, but I'm not really doing anything" - these are the team mates who skillfully avoid work and dirtiness of any kind. If a motor needs to be carried, suddenly their shoelace is untied. They conveniently have to go to the bathroom when boats are being loaded, or have to review some paperwork or go talk with the coach during an informal boat meeting.

Joe Klass, Chris Chizeck, and Christine Magee (Boat Mastress) - Spring 2009

Personality Traits in an Eight

A piece of writing by Mike Sullivan that has stood the test of time...

Sully's Personality Traits in an Eight - Feb. 1976

"Here's my long awaited theory on personality traits of the different seats of an eight. This assumes a straight port-stroked stern coxed eight.

I would guess that a straight starboard stroked boat would be fairly similar, but that ports and starboards are as different from each other as men are from women - I know from personal experience being bi myself (sided not sexual). I've long noted differences in personality from port to starboard in myself. This for another day and perhaps when under the influence.

Therefore, a bucket rigged port stroked bow coxed eight is not included in this theory.

From the stern:
Cox: It's pretty obvious what traits a cox must adopt and tries to learn to do a good job in this most unique position in the athletic world. I'll pass on the leadership stuff, napoleon complex garbage, and point out a secondary characteristic or two that coxes unintentionally inherit after riding in the box for a while.
They can't drive a car anymore. They take 10 miles to change a lane, oversteer, can't find the brakes, and yell to the car a lot. This has nothing to do with the coxes' former driving ability. Stick Richard Petty in a cox seat for awhile, they'll take his driver's license away. Coxes also begin to squint a lot, no loss in vision, they just squint.

Stroke:'It's a tough job but only I can do it.' The meekest, most frightened non-rower in the world; when plugged reluctantly in the stroke seat, stays meek up until the first few strokes. The first few paddle strokes, a thought grows in the wimps' sniveling little mind that this job is his/hers for life. Back on the shore, the real personality will percolate back to the surface. 'I hope you guys could follow me ok.' In the boat they're thinking: 'stop rushing, you weenies!' Strokes are born and made to be the most competitive person in the boat by far, and if they stroke long enough, become overly competitive in everything they pursue, or don't pursue. Don't expect to finish a game of Monopoly, Risk, or Golf with a stroke. The only one that can beat him to the chow line is the three man (more later) because the stroke was delayed trying to put more oars away in the rack than anyone else.

Seven: the seat is the Bitch Niche. I don't know if whining, overly bossy, big-mouthed complainers are born, and I can't believe that the cosmic effect of this seat could possibly be so instantaneous, but you could teach Mother Theresa to row in a tank, stick her in an eight at seven for the first time, and as the stern four is rowing away from the dock, she'll turn around and yell at the bow four to 'set the f*cking boat.' The longer one rows at seven, the more sophisticated and complex the bitching becomes, changing from a crude verbal rowing suggestion to the six man in the early stages to long winded level- voiced reasoned treatises after every piece explaining why the crew is slower now than last week. Ever wonder why when a coach drives up shell-side to ask how a piece went he says: 'So how did that go, fellas? -not you seven.' I was a team captain, looked up to leader of my college crew, kept my mouth shut and did my job. I raced one week at seven, my coach told me to 'shut up Sullivan' in a post race meeting. Women who deal with severe PMS mood swings will find those swings totally disappear after some time at seven. Permanent OTR.

Six: If you bred Arnold Swartzeneggar with a Golden Retriever, you get a six. Six is also Seven's yin. The gentle giant, gorilla in the mist. Six absorbs most of Seven's bitching and keeps it from moving through to the rest of the crew. Six nods and agrees a lot. It is a hard thing for a normal person to row Six. It seems like such a great seat, your're in the stern, the boats more stable here, but when you are done with a rowing career at six, you find you have been used. Sixes are characterized by great competence in execution of rowing and life, but poor self confidence and a propensity to self-flagellation. Take your 3 year stroke out of the stroke seat and stick him/her at six for a week. This will be the first time you ever hear him/her say: 'My fault, fellas,' at the end of a poor piece. Sixes meditate. Sixes marry, go to work for, and lend their power tools to sevens. This support system keeps sevens with thriving businesses, mates they can walk all over, and a garage full of power tools at their disposal that they don't have to fix when they break.

Five: God. Yahweh. Allah. Buddha. It's not that the five seat IS those things, its just that's how (s)he gets treated. Five's stool don't stink, the catches don't hang. They're the older brother or sister that gets special treatment, and has no idea. If a photo is taken of the crew, five will look great, everyone else is caught with shirtails out, and snot on the lip. At heart and soul, five forgets to change oil, pay phone bills, and turn in forms to the IRS. Five is an example of what happens to a bum that is treated like a king, they act like one. Five has the greatest delta between image and reality. The fortunate thing is that the unearned unabashed worship lasts only as long as the time on the water. Five's on his own back at home. Five wears aviator glasses.

Four: The Amnesia-seat. Take a genius with a photographic memory. Row said genius at four. Listen to him ask for the third time in the same warmup, 'How many of these 500s are we doing?' Four seat is not stupid, just has immediate and catastrophic memory loss. At a start and 20, four settles at 21 because in the time the cox yelled 'settle in two,' he forgot. In a Novice boat where the seats have been removed and cleaned, it'll be four's that went back in backwards. Four will forget to tell the boatman about his(her) stripped rigger nut - usually from the time he is told by the coach, until he arrives at the boatman's bench wondering what he's doing there. On that first day on the water as the ice is breaking up, who is rummaging around the back of the boathouse looking for a sweatshirt? Four is why racing shirts are handed out on race day.

Three: Late in the water. Late to practice. Late to class. Late to work. Late out of the water. Late to his date. Late to the team bus. Late for everything but chow line. There is no competitiveness involved here, just an uncanny knack to have the first three rowers into the dining hall stopped by friends for a brief discussion while three breezes on by to the tray stack. Three generally gets assigned a sitter.

Two: Lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down, fight fight fight. Cheerleader. What is amazing, is to sit at four or five after a particular piece - seven is whining about the balance, the spacing, no swing, rushing: two is back there with pom poms saying: ALL RIGHT GUYS! LETS DO THAT AGAIN!... Two calls out names of power 10s. 'Awright guys - OAR CLASH TEN!' If he says something funny, he repeated something the bowman prompted him with.

Bow: Comedian. The bow seat creates a strange fatalism. They know that in a catastrophic collision, they'll be the only one to die or get paralysed. Consequently there is a constant quiet stream of one-liners that two or three could probably hear if two were not cheering loudly. If the bow is joined by a cox in a front-loader, this trait completely disappears, since someone is now likely to hear him joke about three being late, five not pulling hard, or the coxn's course looking like a signature. (S)he can be humorless and witless off the water, but on the water when there is breath to spare, you're sure to catch a chuckle if you listen.

Conclusion:
There is no possible use for this info. You don't necessarily stick your most competitive athlete at stroke. Stick anyone there and they'll get competitive. It takes a long time for some of these seat traits to manifest themselves in personality disorders, but you can usually catch subtle differences the first day.
Just this fall, doing a temp coaching for the first couple weeks of the season, one of the crew was sick one day. I'd laid out a plan of drills to reinforce what we'd spent some intense teaching time on the day before. We were also going to get a couple few hard miles in at a low rate by sixes. I had a sense that I'd do the crew more good by filling out a seat for them than by yammering from the launch. It makes the transitions go smoother in the sixes rotation and I figured I could watch them while not rowing. I told the crew what the work and goals were of the day. Then I told them I'd row four (missing port). I left the clipboard behind knowing what we were going to do. We rowed away from the dock, the cox started us going with what I'd verbally laid out. Halfway through the workout, she asked me 'what's next.' 'What's next what?' says I. 'What's next in the workout, coach?' (I honestly wondered why she called me coach at that moment, and couldn't remember the workout.)

I also suddenly remembered I was supposed to be watching rowers' blade depths while I was out and hadn't been.............. Four. "

I'm a self-professed rowing nerd. Rarely a day goes by that I don't check Row2K, Rowing Illustrated, or some other rowing related site. I enjoy catching up on the Boards at Rowing Illustrated every so often, and like this thread about who goes in what seat.

Filling a boat line up takes strategy. I like to think about both the physical and mental aspects of each rower when determining where they go. There is a lot to be said about technique and power, but sometimes it just takes a certain personality to make things fit. Also, the boat line up needs to end up working all together, so interpersonal relationships tend to influence how I set a boat.

Everyone can argue about who should the boat be built around -- the stroke? six? For me, one of the most pivotal seats to get "right" is seven. It may be the "bitch niche," but I also have come to think of seven as the bouncer of the boat or protector. Seven is in charge of stopping any rush from bow six -- the bodyguard that makes sure nothing gets to stroke. If seven isn't in time, the rest of the boat probably isn't either. It's a good seat for someone who needs to be in control.

In my entire college career, I was never stroke. I fully identify as combination of five and six (where I finished my career). Where do you fit in?

Future Blog Post Topics

Here are some of my thoughts on future posts:

• Hand Care for Rowers - epsom salts, Neosporin, fabric band-aids, New Skin liquid bandage, and taping secrets


• Lightweight rowing


• Susquehanna's travels to Head of the Charles


• Celebrating our graduates


• Personality traits in an eight