Let the far bottom corner of the blade fall in like a knife under its own weight, instead of placing the blade as you see fit. Helps with relaxation. Allows you to accelerate handles through the drive instead of a single speed. Heavy stiff load could lead to tense shoulders protecting the back instinctively. 16 though, looks great.
I think it might be worth it to have a look at the rigging. Looking at the height of his hands and the blades, I'd say the oarlocks might be a bit too high. Also, it might be the camera-angles, but that catch-angle looks awefully long (the blades are very close to the boat and oarshafts are almost perpendicular to the boat) which could contribute to the tightening of the shoulders. There are some strokes where he seems to shorten up a bit at the front, and those strokes look a bit more natural/fluid compared to others.
My "guess" is that the rower is not that comfortable yet in a single scull; the boat rocks a lot and his knees wobble on the recovery. Needs to just try and relax overall. But I am not a coach.
Lots of good comments. Your student in this video is going over his knees, just like with the previous two. Raising the shoes one stop should fix this. If one was to take a close look at the top HWTs for the past 20 years or more, they don't get close to vertical shins - short of front stops by 2-3 inches. Another observation would be boat trim. The stern dips more than the bow. There appears to be too much weight in the stern, so shifting the work point and station to the bow one stop or more, would fix this. It may also be caused by check by accelerating into the catch.
Just took a second look at the video and the hips of the sculler is going a long way through the work point. Suggest setting the seat butt holes and front stops such are in align with the work point which would help with the over reach at the catch and boat trim. The footboard may have to be brought towards the bow a bit.
First off, I would definitely change his rigging. Oarlocks are pretty high, hes having trouble keeping his blades in till the end cause he has to pull them so high up his chest. And his foot stretchers seems to be too much to the bow. Oars are at a very inefficient angle at the catch making the first part of the leg drive really heavy. Catch needs to fast and easy. Also the way he goes up the slides. He seems to be throwing his body to the bow instead of pulling the boat underneath and making the catch come to him. Make the boat work for you, dont try to work for the boat. This also makes you 'dive' in the boat just before the catch. What you dont want.
At such a young age, especially for boys (because they're late growers), it can be really difficult to separate muscle engagement to the fine level that is needed for rowing. The tenseness in the shoulders might be an unintentional addition to the intentional front core (stomach muscles) engagement and lat engagement. 1) On the erg first (without the erg handle), focusing on front hip flexor engagement (think "high knees" or no weight on the bottom of your feet) and the lower core sandwich (stomach, hips, back, and lat muscles), pause at the catch with the arms in the catch position as they would be in a sculling boat, take a really deep breath. You can't take a really good, deep breath with shoulders and upper back that tense. 2) Then do some reps coming up to the catch while taking a steady inhale. The lungs should feel maxed out right before the catch, and then push it to 110% if you're not getting that (almost) forced shoulder relaxation. It might feel "weak" at first and that's ok. The separate engagement of the lats will come with intentional practice off and on the water. That exercise should be a good building block to getting the comfort of the arm bend & relaxed shoulders on the water.
Also, keeping the weight off the feet throughout the recovery (especially into the catch) will help with boat stability a ton! And another good exercise for that is "gluing the knees together" throughout the recovery. Some guys might need a tennis ball or rag in between their knees to feel comfortable, but it isolates the movement in the pelvis and has worked wonders for my students in minimizing side-to-side boat movement! Hope it helps :)
My first cheap shot: move the footstretcher towards the front. About 5 centimeters. His oars are almost parallel to the scull. Now let me watch the rest of the vid..
He has no real contact with his hands in the recovery (balance problems) And in the recovery he is moving forward on the slides (stopping the boat just before the catch) in stead of pulling the boat towards the finish line during the recovery Ins&Outs Rowing
lots of that could be improved. His stroke looks rushed and tense. Too much movement of his center of gravity. Not utilizing leg drive effectively. At no point is the boat actually balanced, he looks in control but he is actually never in control.
Always good to have others eyes to assist and comments to guide.
Combine with a couple of positives makes it easy to take on board.
Well done
Amazing explanation as usual, thanks Aram
Let the far bottom corner of the blade fall in like a knife under its own weight, instead of placing the blade as you see fit. Helps with relaxation. Allows you to accelerate handles through the drive instead of a single speed. Heavy stiff load could lead to tense shoulders protecting the back instinctively. 16 though, looks great.
I think it might be worth it to have a look at the rigging. Looking at the height of his hands and the blades, I'd say the oarlocks might be a bit too high. Also, it might be the camera-angles, but that catch-angle looks awefully long (the blades are very close to the boat and oarshafts are almost perpendicular to the boat) which could contribute to the tightening of the shoulders. There are some strokes where he seems to shorten up a bit at the front, and those strokes look a bit more natural/fluid compared to others.
I agree with the rigging. The catch does look pinched
My "guess" is that the rower is not that comfortable yet in a single scull; the boat rocks a lot and his knees wobble on the recovery. Needs to just try and relax overall. But I am not a coach.
Lots of good comments. Your student in this video is going over his knees, just like with the previous two. Raising the shoes one stop should fix this. If one was to take a close look at the top HWTs for the past 20 years or more, they don't get close to vertical shins - short of front stops by 2-3 inches. Another observation would be boat trim. The stern dips more than the bow. There appears to be too much weight in the stern, so shifting the work point and station to the bow one stop or more, would fix this. It may also be caused by check by accelerating into the catch.
Nice analysis!
Just took a second look at the video and the hips of the sculler is going a long way through the work point. Suggest setting the seat butt holes and front stops such are in align with the work point which would help with the over reach at the catch and boat trim. The footboard may have to be brought towards the bow a bit.
First off, I would definitely change his rigging. Oarlocks are pretty high, hes having trouble keeping his blades in till the end cause he has to pull them so high up his chest. And his foot stretchers seems to be too much to the bow. Oars are at a very inefficient angle at the catch making the first part of the leg drive really heavy. Catch needs to fast and easy. Also the way he goes up the slides. He seems to be throwing his body to the bow instead of pulling the boat underneath and making the catch come to him. Make the boat work for you, dont try to work for the boat. This also makes you 'dive' in the boat just before the catch. What you dont want.
At such a young age, especially for boys (because they're late growers), it can be really difficult to separate muscle engagement to the fine level that is needed for rowing. The tenseness in the shoulders might be an unintentional addition to the intentional front core (stomach muscles) engagement and lat engagement.
1) On the erg first (without the erg handle), focusing on front hip flexor engagement (think "high knees" or no weight on the bottom of your feet) and the lower core sandwich (stomach, hips, back, and lat muscles), pause at the catch with the arms in the catch position as they would be in a sculling boat, take a really deep breath. You can't take a really good, deep breath with shoulders and upper back that tense.
2) Then do some reps coming up to the catch while taking a steady inhale. The lungs should feel maxed out right before the catch, and then push it to 110% if you're not getting that (almost) forced shoulder relaxation. It might feel "weak" at first and that's ok. The separate engagement of the lats will come with intentional practice off and on the water.
That exercise should be a good building block to getting the comfort of the arm bend & relaxed shoulders on the water.
Also, keeping the weight off the feet throughout the recovery (especially into the catch) will help with boat stability a ton! And another good exercise for that is "gluing the knees together" throughout the recovery. Some guys might need a tennis ball or rag in between their knees to feel comfortable, but it isolates the movement in the pelvis and has worked wonders for my students in minimizing side-to-side boat movement! Hope it helps :)
My first cheap shot: move the footstretcher towards the front. About 5 centimeters. His oars are almost parallel to the scull. Now let me watch the rest of the vid..
He has no real contact with his hands in the recovery (balance problems)
And in the recovery he is moving forward on the slides (stopping the boat just before the catch) in stead of pulling the boat towards the finish line during the recovery
Ins&Outs Rowing
He needs to pinch his back at the finish. Pull up on the toes to help with this
lots of that could be improved. His stroke looks rushed and tense. Too much movement of his center of gravity. Not utilizing leg drive effectively. At no point is the boat actually balanced, he looks in control but he is actually never in control.
Looks like over-emphasis on looking for length.