Word: strokings
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...attracting the high school talent that has already distinguished itself in rowing. "A coach couldn't ask for better people," remarks freshman coach Ted Washburn, "We're in a Garden of Eden." Last year, he adds, six out of his eight first boaters had rowed in high school; stroke John MacEachern '81 and port oarsmen Bob Mudge '81 and Matt Arrott '81 had rowed for U.S. national teams. Experience is also evident in the varsity, where Coach Parker can more than fill his first boat with oarsmen who have already competed--and won--on international levels...
...ready for the professional discipline Harry demands." Coach Parker's credentials are also lengthy: an oarsman and sculler since college, he has worked with Harvard crews for 19 years and coached the U.S. national and Olympic women's crews. Gordong Gardiner '79, the team captain and varsity boat stroke, describes Parker: "Harry's the best in the country. He treads the very thin line between undercoaching and overcoaching...
...very psychic sense of "we're all in the same boat"; one oarsman notes, "Crew is one of the purest team sports--there's an enormous amount of trust and cooperation involved and you can't mess up. Eight other guys are depending on you, and a single missed stroke of the oar can easily lose the race for everybody." A teammate adds, "You really feel like one machine--your oars are going in together, coming out together, you rest together." The sense of esprit de corps, if not total unity, is also naturally heightened over the long course...
...race itself is a catharsis for all this tension. Boats begin from a dead standstill, and are quickly accelerated by short, fast strokes. The frenzy of those first few seconds is more than psychological--an oarsman must pull two square feet of wood through ten feet of water and return his oar for another stroke, all in a little more than one second. Several strokes into the race, the speed of rowing settles slightly, and the oarsman must precisely time his movements, keep the three-foot wide keel balanced, and maintain maximum power for some 200 additional strokes...
While the oarsman is determinedly keeping his eyes within the boat, the coxswain is giving him a running commentary on the race. In addition to steering, the "cox" verbally enforces a perfect symmetry of eight oars throughout the stroke; he reminds rowers of specifics of technique; he describes the frantic chaos evident in the opponent's boat, regardless of its relative position; and he calls for changes in rowing speed and power at strategic moments in the race. Occasional "Power Tens" are yelled out to gain a decisive edge with ten all-out strokes; the coxswain's comments range from...