USRowing Board Meets Saturday

[jrd]

We know what Teti can do. Teti knows what Teti can do. Why not use the U23 job to develop the American college coaches that we may need to turn to in the future? Clark, Harstuff, Amerkhanian, Bordeaux....

It is a small idea but easy to implement if developing coaches is a priority.

I think all of those guys have been involved in the past, with some success too. The question is, why haven't they been retained?

[Slim]

We know what Teti can do. Teti knows what Teti can do. Why not use the U23 job to develop the American college coaches that we may need to turn to in the future? Clark, Harstuff, Amerkhanian, Bordeaux....

It is a small idea but easy to implement if developing coaches is a priority.

Clark coached boats to 2 golds, 2 silvers at U23s, pan-am gold, worlds gold... not sure he needs to be developed. I think the bigger problem is a guy like that having no interest in being involved in directly coaching the US National Team.

[speedpantsdonnie]

Clark's the MAN!

[crewu]

Clark coached boats to 2 golds, 2 silvers at U23s, pan-am gold, worlds gold... not sure he needs to be developed. I think the bigger problem is a guy like that having no interest in being involved in directly coaching the US National Team.

He doesn't need developing - although everyone can always find ways to improve. The point is that a college coaching job and a senior national team job are two completely seperate beasts. You can't do both and expect to win at both over the long term.

McLaren needs high end help (he'll get it in the short term from Teti) and frankly Terhaar better be given the help he needs too before the rest of the world starts to focus more on their women.

[Mango]

if usrowings issue was mclaren they would have gone to chula. the issue is okc hasnt replaced mediocre parker. volp is floundering, some guy named jeremy is the assistant. daly and lacava (best guys) are trying to row the 2x with cambell (although both at the same tc). the only lm2x there left for cali as well. no lightweights qualified for the olys. crc is open for business again and guys are literally flocking from oklahoma to get out, and the largest reason according to them is.....yup, from the horses mouth...they arent getting any coaching. i am assuming the issues remain the same for lacava and daly.

in the wings are a u23 that walks into a sr oly boat to make the c final. the other 3 (4 if you include the other kid who gf in the u23lm2-) literally cant beat anybody in the light 8, and the other u23 light 4 did extremely mediocre with the strongest erg on the course. my guess is the meeting is about the lack of viability of okc on all levels, especially the lights. not to mention the lack of improvement from literally almost everybody. okc doesnt have to turn everybody into a gold medalist, but literally nobody is getting better erg or results from the day they got there.

its a total cluster and i assume the tc (coaches?) is in serious danger. usrowing i am sure has its issues with time, but i assume volp and company are the issue for this visit

[Mango]

Clark coached boats to 2 golds, 2 silvers at U23s, pan-am gold, worlds gold... not sure he needs to be developed. I think the bigger problem is a guy like that having no interest in being involved in directly coaching the US National Team.

He doesn't need developing - although everyone can always find ways to improve. The point is that a college coaching job and a senior national team job are two completely seperate beasts. You can't do both and expect to win at both over the long term.

McLaren needs high end help (he'll get it in the short term from Teti) and frankly Terhaar better be given the help he needs too before the rest of the world starts to focus more on their women.

this is underestimated. at the same time there are significantly less womens oly events so for 1 person it is easier

[TomH]

I think the board will take action to give our USA athletes a chance to compete by applying to join Canada as the 11th province. Just think how well the Canadian team would do with 340 million people in their selection pool instead of just 33 million from whom to select 8 guys plus a coxswain worthy of a place in the Olympics.
Or maybe we could save everyone a huge expense and effort and have a system whereby we would pick a national team from the USA rowers on the varsity teams of CAL, Harvard and Washington with each college coach taking turns to coach for every third Olympics.

[lt.wolf]

If you are a lightweight male rower you should be trying to row in Boston with Campbell and under Butt. It is the best chance in getting to the Olympics. The numbers show it is easier to make a double than a four.

The men and women could be headed in opposite directions as we head to 2012. man I hope not. looking from the outside in has me concerned.

[The Stig]

I never thought I'd be quoting Micheal Ray Richardson, but the ship be sinking.

The good news is that USRowing could put all the pieces back together quickly after 2012. We have a lot of young talent, but the structure needs to be reestablished. The team needs new leadership, and not just from the coaches, but from USRowing. USRowing needs to be cleaned out. All of them. New energy and talent must be brought in. The athletes are there; it's the organization that's letting them down.

If the organization isn't cleaned out, it'll be a long time before we see consistent good results again. We may have successful flukes, but on the whole the results will be inconsistent and poor. It will be difficult to retain athletes, and even fewer athletes will take the plunge and decide to continuing rowing after college when their buddies are moving into the real world, and starting careers and families.

The disaster that's unfolding here has been, easily, a decade in the making. Teti may have been heavy handed (and I'm certainly not one of his biggest fans), but he created a stable predictable environment where the standard was high and most people understood what it took to be fast. I'm not advocating that we wholesale return to that, but there are hallmarks we can take from what Teti was creating.

(1) Pick a training location and make people go there. Don't change it. If Chula Vista is it. Fine. Have all the coaches, and all the athletes there. It's not essential that the lightweights be at the same place as well, but it can be beneficial having them in close proximity. Make the benefits of being in the "camp" out weight the negatives. People should be desperate to get the invite.

(2) Build boats around individuals, don't pick a priority boat and then try to fit individuals into it. If you have two great athletes, maybe they should be in the pair together. Give them time to develop. The fastest boats aren't the ones that you picked three months before the worlds because you have a new big erg in camp and you want to stuff him into the mix. The fastest boats are the ones who have been rowing together for years. At the same time make sure those individuals continue to prove themselves periodically (not daily or even weekly -- the internal evaluation events must be known well in advance).

(3) Fund fewer top athletes with more money. Make it transparent what they are getting, and why they are getting it. Reward success.

(4) Run the camp year round with automatic selection from Fall and spring speed orders, and erg standards throughout the year. If you pull sub-6, invite the individual, maybe they can't row, the worst that happens is that you send them home.

(5) Make the national team testing mandatory again if you want a camp invite (I wouldn't make it mandatory for trials boats -- they've chosen their path). For everyone. Not every month, but the camp guys need to pull and post them just like everyone else. Make the camp guys all race at Speed orders. They need to be out there showing everyone where the bar is.

(6) Can the NSRs. Move trials to the first or second weekend in May. That gives people enough time to get on the water (let's be honest, if you're committed to making the team, you need to find a way to row as close to year round as possible) and still gives you 3 to 4 weeks before the first world cup. Allow the winners of trials in olympic categories to be able to go to any one of the world cups they want to expenses paid. Encourage everyone to go to as many world cups as possible. Those who are worried about what will happen to the camp athletes who don't make a big boat but are cut out of trials (because they wouldn't know they are out of the mix until the middle of July), fear not. If the fastest two guys in the camp are focusing on the pair, they'll go to trials and get selected for the pair in May. If two guys didn't make the eight and they think they want to throw together a pair -- tough $h!t, if you're throwing together a pair at the last minute, you probably weren't going to do well at worlds anyways.

(7) Move the naming of the camp boats to one week after the final world cup ends (right now it's two weeks), roughly the third weekend in July. If you need another two weeks to figure it out, you're not going to, or you're over thinking it. I think one more week to try things out and maybe get in a final seat race or two is already pushing it. I mean seriously, you'd have all year to work with these guys.

There are a couple of ideas for starters.

[Long'n Strong]

Gets my vote.

[lt.wolf]

http://www.usrowing.org/Libraries/Natio ... .sflb.ashx

[wowwee]

usrowing i am sure has its issues with time, but i assume volp and company are the issue for this visit

Meeting in OKC was scheduled by the BoD at their December 2010 meeting. The location of the board meeting has nothing to do with the issues that are facing the National Team. Also, regardless of the issues that may or may not be present in OKC, I wouldn't be surprised if usrowing takes the opportunity to re-emphasize their commitment in/to OKC. In addition to be a designated training center by USOC, it also has local financial supporters who have been "out donating" each other.

[crewu]

So what happened? Anyone know what was discussed, if anything at all, about the men's team/coaches at the meeting? I guess we still have Merry and McLaren and a now new selection procedure. But what about specifics? What has substantially changed?

[Long & Low]

Re Stig:

He is on to something. 7 rational ideas. No budget impact. Easy to implement. Could be put in place the day after London. Nice outline for a broader Rio discussion that the Board should take up this spring.

The only change for London is the camp got moved up so the boats can be ready for the last Chance Qualifier.

Start looking down the road because London is a pot-hole in the road that can't (or won't) be avoided at this point.

Re Wolf:

Spoken like a true Charles River guy. Bad idea. That 2x has only two seats in it and Campbell is gonna be in one of them. (See Stig's idea about building boats around people.)

Everyone (lightweights) else should be at the light camp. If you are not a Camp guy, you have to be in Cali with a doubles partner getting ready for the Trial the first week of April. If you are not in a warm climate rowing with your partner Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, March, don't bother shipping a boat to Chula in April.

San Diego is sending a trailer to HOCR. So is Cal. All the Boston doubles should be on one of those trailers after the HOCR. Plan on 5 months in Cali.

When you call Teti for a spot on the trailer ask if any of the CRC apartments are available in the old boathouse. If you go Diego rent a shack on the beach during the winter (cheaper than you think) and walk to the boathouse. Or settle in the middle and chase the Graves around Newport. But no cross-training on cross-country skis this winter.

It is a really short porch this year. It will be all over for lots of guys in April. Don't waste a minute in the snow.

[crewu]

LOL Glenn Merry's now doing a Study Abroad program?

Motion [Cipollone]
To approve Glenn's participation in an executive management program in sports management. The
program is sponsored by the USOC and is offered through the University of Poitiers in France.

June minutes of the USRowing Board meeting here:
http://www.usrowing.org/Libraries/Gover ... .sflb.ashx