Can see the beginning of splitting to the rigger. Need to continue to move center of body out toward the gunwale at the catch. Part of it is comfort, part of it is flexibility.



Even though stern pair is blocking the view, still should be able to see part of the bodies from the middle 4 swinging out to the riggers.



Jordan is contrasted with two good examples of swing. Logan and Jacob are keeping their chests up and off their legs. Jordan is swinging and reaching, but letting the shoulders dive too far over and letting the mid-section collapse. Jordan needs to "sit tall", swinging and rotating from the hips. The abs should not crunch up as the body comes over.



Not sure if it's viewable with the poor video quality, but Jamie's inside wrist is actually bent down during legs only. You could do a pull up with your wrists bent backwards, but probably not very many. Correct oar grip is akin to hanging from a pull up bar, or how you would hold a heavy wheelbarrow.

Motion at the catch should be fluid (meaning no sudden movements, jerks or stops). Hands follow a "ski tip" up and around as the oar arcs outward. Blade placement happens at the end of the recovery, NOT after the drive initiates (but not before, either). Slides are smooth and decelerating into the catch, then accelerating out of the catch.

In Jordan, we see hands staying and low until the catch. Jordan lifts his hands quickly as he begins to drive. You can't see his oar, but it "chops" at the water, like an axe to wood. The upward motion needs to start before the catch so he can drive horizontally, and have water resistance to drive against.

On the other hand, don't wait to feel the oar hit the water before driving. Placement of the blade is not a response. It is a deliberate action perfectly timed so as not to create too much back splash while also not letting the blade drive while it's out of the water.

Except for a stroke here and there, we're not getting square early enough for a good catch (even on the 1/4 feather!) From 3/4 slide on the blade should be square, don't make the habit of flicking square in the 2 or 3 inches right before the catch.

Novice 9/18

FNF 9/18

Mike is "placing with the back" at the catch. Legs go down faster than Armando's because he doesn't have the body weight hanging behind the handle at the catch, so there is no resistance in the first part of the drive.

Armando has a small lunge into the catch, where the body dives and shoulders extend suddenly in the last few inches.

The 8 is moving along well. Good on both set and rhythm.

Be mindful of "rowing it in". Two things are causing this here: 1) Hands and arms are not loose enough to let the blades "drop in" at the catch; 2) bodies are swinging forward for the duration of the recovery -- body angle should "set" before the 2nd half of the slide. The body swinging forward and down at the catch makes it difficult for the hands to come up to place the blade.

Webb rowing well. Mark doing better at catch but can still work on getting the body in a strong position at the catch. Chuck and Butler not bad, but note that the hands are barely passing the knees before the knees come up. Need more patience with the legs on the recovery, reaching further out (but loosely) with the shoulders before letting the knees bend.

How did we get so lucky?

Jordan Lake Row 9/12

Tyler is doing a good job with the handle path. He can be more fluid and relaxed. Compare to Mike's handle path behind him-- a subtle difference but present.

Alex needs to work more on timing not just the catches and finishes, but the body throughout the stroke. This is a rhythm issue. However, the body is in a good position at the catch and through the drive. He can work on a stronger finish and not squaring before the catch.

Notice the extra movement of the other rowers' bodies in comparison to Armando's. Note how Armando's shoulders stay level the whole drive. The shoulders and arms do not "lift up" at the catch and "drop down" at the finish. There are no sudden dives, twists or jerks. He is not straining to "overreach". Note his catch, finish and recovery -- very much "conveyor belt-ish" but also incorporates the subtle changes to the handle path we've been working on. His catch and finish have almost imperceptible changes in handle height.

We are aiming for smooth fluidity and to cut out all the extra body movement.

Overall good relaxation and the rhythm is not bad-- just need to continue to work on body positioning, handle height and length.

Finer points yet to come are clean finishes, square timing and catching at full reach.

Lastly, we need to develop the fitness and power to move the boat farther on each stroke. It may look a bit sloppy and weak because, though we will eventually, right now we don't have the erg scores or strength to really leverage the boat along during steady state.

Pair not going straight? Catch and finish timing is important, but so is where you are in the drive relative to your partner. This is not good footage until the end of the video, where you can pause at different points to see the mismatch, especially around the finish. Mike has arms bent well before Armando. Changing to match your power application to that of your partners will make the boat move better and help correct steering issues.

Alex is rowing well with pretty good length. Very close to proper body sequence -- using legs at catch and delaying opening of back. Chris, Mike and Mark all using the back too early (pause video to see).

Alex is leaning slightly away from rigger at finish (again, pause to see). If you feel "pinned" at finish and half to lean away to extract blade, move your foot stretchers towards the bow a few notches. This will give you more clearance, but might decrease your length at the catch.

Armando and Lang getting good reach, though Lang dipping outside shoulder @ catch and release. Hewett is getting good reach, but could follow the handle more with the torso. Also, is slow in getting the legs down in comparison to stroke.

Gardner has level shoulders, but cuts swing off to early and rows without rotation towards the rigger.

Logan example of some good rowing. Very level, catches quickly, finishes cleanly.

Logan can get a better stroke by adding some rotation in the 2nd half of the recovery and relaxing the arms, esp. inside elbow.

Note how level hands remain at coming in and out of the finish. Not pushing hands down as he brings the oar out of the water and slides the hands away from the body.

Ulirsch also rowing well, but with more length because of more rotation at the catch. Note also a more relaxed inside arm/shoulder. Still quick at the catch, squaring early and finishing cleanly, but is slightly using the back at the catch to place the oar.

Contrast with Preston, who is getting more length but doesn't have as good a connection between legs, body and oar, and Jordan who could use more body angle and better posture at the catch. Jordan is also swinging the back too early in the stroke.

As usual, pause the video at various points in the stroke to see this more clearly.