From Finish To Catch

The correct sequence of movement is one of the most important skills for a novice rower to learn early in their rowing career. If you can teach the sequence properly to begin with, you can avoid serious frustration further down the road.

When an athlete has an incorrect recovery sequence there can be ongoing issues with balance and rhythm. More importantly, when the sequence is out of order, the run of the boat can be slowed down, eating into boat speed.

We have all heard the mantra ‘arms, body, legs; legs, body, arms’. Sounds simple right?

Let's break this down.

• Sitting at the finish, the hands move away from the body until the arms are completely extended.
• The body rocks forward from the hips until the hands are mid shin.
• The knees bend and the feet and the seat move towards each other.
• Then the reverse occurs. The legs go down until the knees are flat, the body swings back, then the arms finish off the drive.

As the rowing sequence is definitely not natural to anybody at first, it is often a good idea to reinforce good habits early and often.

Below are two ways to teach and reinforce the correct recovery sequence to all rowers, no matter their level of ability.

Back-chock warm up:

• 10 strokes arms only
• 10 strokes arms and body
• 10 strokes quarter slide
• 10 strokes half slide
• 10 strokes three quarter slide
• 10 strokes full slide

It may seem overly simple, however the back-chock warm up is a drill that tends to get treated exclusively as a warm up. Athletes, especially school age athletes, will often go through the motions of this drill without actually thinking about what they are doing.

Separate this drill out from the warm up. Make sure you, as a coach, are paying attention and are correcting the athlete if they are not hitting the correct positions, or have too much/too little body movement. The number of strokes can be extended to reinforce good body positions and sequence.

Stop, Rock, Roll:

This drill has two checks through each recovery.

• Stop: First check is at arms away.
• Rock: Second check is at body rock.
• Roll: Roll towards the catch and place the blade.

This drill is especially effective at separating each part of the recovery. A very common mistake is to complete all three movements at the same time. This drill teaches patience. Keep an eye out for extra body movement on the Stop, slouched or bent bodies on the Rock, and rushing to the catch on the Roll.

Have the athletes do the drill every stroke until they have correct body positions and control. Then move to every second or third stroke, making sure they have the same sequence during the continuous strokes.

The correct recovery sequence is important in order to have the members of your crew moving together optimally. No matter the level of your crew, it is always a good idea to reinforce the correct sequence often to create good habits within your athletes.