New Season - 10 things to do
So, its preparation time for the new rowing season. Here are 10 things each coach should think of doing while planning the first few months and the kick-off.
1. Have a squad meeting and find out what they felt went well and not so well last season. Honesty and open-ness. LISTEN.
2. Organise a boat house clean up and tidy. Sweep out the old leaves. Clean and wash with hot water all the club boats. Replace missing bolts, nuts, washers, rudder wires etc. Buy in a load of spares for the purpose.
3. Check the rigging on all club boats. At least start the season with the spans, heights and pitches perfect.
4. Hold a rigging master class to teach everyone how to set up a boat to a standard rig. Check this out for a superbly full summary of the subject in 11 easy slides FISA rigging presentation
5. Set a ‘get fit again’ programme for the first 2-3 weeks. Consider adding more rest days for athletes who haven’t trained through the summer.
6. Think about testing for fitness as well as strength gains in the run up to Christmas. I have a sub-maximal test that can be done weekly / fortnightly without having to cut any other training sessions (takes about 10-15 minutes to do).
7. Get each individual’s personal aims for the season written down for you.
8. Ask one squad member to do the phone list / ARA card numbers / group email setup. Don’t do the admin yourself(!)
9. Plan one bit of fund raising for your squad for the season. This can be for something specific you need or for general club funds. I think it’s good practice for each club member to participate in ‘putting something back’ into the club. They benefit from work done by others in this way. It’s a good discipline.
10. Go and drink beer together / eat curry / have some fun after the hard work cleaning up. Bond.