Sunday, 29 March Practice

Focus of the practice was on preparation and getting the blade in at the catch at the end of the recovery and not missing water. The sweep boats were supposed to row with outside hand only by pairs and then row all four (or all eight). What I want to see in the video is getting complete body angle by 1/4 slide, getting full compression and having the blade dropped in at full compression.

Fitz is rowing very well in this capture. His preparation is good, and his trunk locks into a good solid position by 1/4 slide. His catch (although hard to see is at full compression). John Greenwood is getting body preparation but then does not get his blade placed in by full compression. John also has to work on a very horizontal drive which will come by using the legs first, not lifitng the back and keeping the head very steady. In the stern pair, Tom and Brian are getting good preparation. Tom with better reach than Brian, with a consequently longer stroke. However Tom's catch is not as good with consequent missing of the water. This video does not show that stern pair with a representative stroke so I will comment on that next week.
Terry is getting great preparation. He can however get a little more compression at the catch, which can also be quite a bit quicker. He does drive after getting his blade buried. Terry should relax the lower back a little bit more and not keep it so stiff. John Scott is getting preparation and compression but the compression gets used up without the blade being in the water and so causes check in the boat.
Greg Stefan is rowing very nicely. His stroke and finish is very relaxed. His preparation is excellent and his drive very horizontal. I do think his hands on the oar could be closer which would give more leverage. Greg in bow is getting good preparation but losing a lot of what he has gained by not catching by full compression. If he gets a lighter grip and places that blade with a relaxed shoulder, his blade would go in quite a bit earlier in the drive.
Tom is getting excellent preparation and I like his catch. Could be a little quicker but looks relaxed and he is locked at full compression. Kevin as a MUCH younger guy should be much more limber and get much better forward reach. Also the blade should be closer to the water before the catch and it should be locked in at the end of the recovery.
I like the preparation here. Now we need to work on the catch and the drive after that. The catch should be at the end of the recovery and here the blade is going in well on the drive after the seat has changed direction. The second part is that the back is being used more than the legs and I would like the start of the drive with the legs. See Toland in the earlier video for sculling or Greg Stefan or FItz in the four.
My general observation here is that we really need to get the catch in at the end of the recovery. We are missing lots of water. The only person on the port side with enough stroke length is Willeman in the bow seat. Lets get good reach from the hips and get the blade in before we drive..just like John.