Here is a clever hack for one of the more common problems that the height of the fall "learn to row" season brings to schools and colleges all over. Yep, we are talking about the bane of the newbie sweep rowers, that inexorable urge to feather with both hands. You may have a drill or a special magical way of explaining why that outside hand stays out of it, but we heard of a Coach Trick that might just merit a try: the Cup-ed Outside Hand.
This is a problem that does merit some kind of nifty solution, because you see it all the time as folks learn to row. And why wouldn't you? You give folks an oar, tell them to hold on with two hands, tell them to pull with two hands, but then--just when you get to the coolest bit of blade work, that synchronized squaring and feathering that paves the way forward for rowing all eight--all of a sudden we demand that things go all one-handed. Getting your novices to master this nuance, switching from the two-handed dynamic of the drive to the mono-method of the release and feather, can involve all manner of drills from rowing inside arm-only to using flat outside hands, but this hack offers a quick work around to illustrate the concept sans drilling.
The hack itself is pretty simple: Coach George Repicky sent it to us as an "out there" idea that he has had some success with it. He gave his novices a hard plastic cup to hold in their outside hand, had them put the end of the oar in the cup, and then off they went: the cup--being just a bit wider in diameter than the handle--allowed them to pull with their outside hand, but kept them from being able to do any feathering with it. Viola: the "Cup-ed Outside Hand" trick provided instant grasp of the idea that the outside hand "hooks" on the oar and keeps pulling while the inside arm feathers the blade--or, at least, a clever illustration of same.
This Coach Trick could be a quick way to make the concept of keeping the outside wrist flat a little less abstract--and maybe make this one part of the learning curve a bit more fun. We also think it is a bit less punitive than the "you can't bend your wrist now" hack that sometimes sees coaches taping plastic forks or tongue depressors to novices' wrists--and might save your rookies from the usual, and incessant, reminders from the novice coaching launch to "feather with one hand!" that fill the fall air on rivers and lakes all over.
It would be great if you could get this job done with some cheap red plastic cups, but Coach reports that they are a bit flimsy and had to be abandoned in favor of something harder--though not before a certain catchy song about red cups became part of that novice class's fall memories, and maybe helped them think a bit more about how to do this bit right, to boot. Kid-sized drink cups that are non-disposable work well and of course PVC pipe, another Rowing Hack staple, could also fit the bill: a hands-width worth of PVC pipe would keep the handle free to rotate, too, and would be even closer in feel to the actual handle for your novices.
This idea may be goofy to be sure, but like any trick or gimmick that gets your athletes to really think about what they are doing while they are pulling hard--witness the Check Checking Tube and the Bungee Front Stop--this cup idea could be just the thing to make the difference between a a novice with potential and one that really gets it, and then goes on to some great things for your program.
Have a slam dunk trick for learn to row season like this one? Share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below.
Have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion here? Send it to us!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkeAPV-8ZBA