oaching as Teaching.
aching rowing fsa job with few
fexrinsic rewards other than the
saniles of the athletes after a particularly
_gpod row. Junior programs are often
‘coached by parents because there tant
anyone else to keep the program going.
and many rowers find themselves coaching
2 variety of programs because they want 10
put something back into the sport that was
so important to them, So off they gp into
the launch with late or no guidance other
than meir oxn roscing expensence and/or
enthusiasm
Life on the other side of the megaphone
is very diferent, as all new coaches quickly
team, and frustration arises when you try
to-cearty explain things you either never
nad to do (in the case of the parent) or dic
automatically as a seaconed rower. While
there isa good suppk of information
available on the tangible side of coaching
such as rigging. rowing technique and
training principles. t seems that new
‘coaches have (o find their own way when i
upils todo
‘comes to actually petting their
what they are beityt tight. While all
students wil learn differently there are
certain genecal pattems of motor skill
leaming that can be expected. andl ceetait
steps the coach can take to opimize
ber ccumstancs:
‘Coaches employ a variety of sles ant
have fnundreds of things ther would Eke (0
‘accomplish. but there are three basic
objectives of coaching that we should all
‘share. These objectives are: 1) Teach a
‘skIL 2) Use oar influence to reinforce and
cendiance our athletes’ performance. an 3)
Produce results. This article wil deal
primar with how to teach stills
Stages of Leaming
All motor (pltysica) stills take athletes
through three stages. Understanding and
expecting them can save sou and your
rowers a fot of frastration.
“The first, or cognitive stage. =
inaroxtuctors. The athletes are figuring out
what they're supposed todo.
start trying to do it. Diferent strategies for
causing aSj0r
how to
attack are attempxee
inconsisicncics that, when resolved,
produce tant perforreusce gins. This i a
goad time to 1s eo o¢ frequent
demonstration of proper technique to give
alhletes a reference of correctness. W's
itiportane to remember thea everstiets
learns differently. and a a differcat re.
By Bebe Bryans"
“Those able to think about the stil, 10
conceptualize it, have aa advantage in the
beginning and will eam faster, but this wil
‘even out with practice.
Ceca kidd
ree ra
Ce Lt iebeaad
‘them responded to,
before you give them. The
athletes don’t know, for
Fe actbcaheaoniel
eta
eid
er
eet aks
es
pesto
career
In the second,
stage. theath-
eves Rave figured
‘na the moat
effective way to
try. zo they can
stant tuning their
performance
Performance
‘gains at this stage
‘are more gradual
‘but more consis
tent because the
rower’ sirateny
thas been selected
and is being re-
fined. I's import-
ant the rowers
tundlerstand the
deve phase of the
stroke by this
point, (0 minimize
theie risk of injury
as they begin
pulling harder.
In the third, or autonomous stage the
il has become mostly automatic and
doesnt take as much conscious thought. At
this e rower can accept moe inptit
and make fine changes while performing.
“The roncer can acrept external staal such,
as race strategy, compensating for water
‘conditions, being asked to pull hander, etc
ssithout sl oss. As the rowers sil level
increases, the magnitude of improvement
decreases. I's important that they (and
you) earn to accept small changes as big
a sites
eee
lacdsusoaenad
ES eked coled
eed
ree)
tes
Po setlsal
Petrone
‘Structuring the Practice
for Success — Before
Launching
Before hitting the water there
are a fese things a conch can hot
increase the effectiveness ofthe
practice
lovee the practice, expbninet
shat drills and poncer work £0 expe,
and the purpase. This weil allie the
Towers to formulate error