The rule of 20

Hingham at Quinsigamond. We had a great showing at Quinsigamond last week. 73 of our team got the chance to row in the MPSRA Championships.

Unfortunately, none of our crews did as well as I think we all would have liked to. So what's the dealio???

Wayland Weston won boys, girls, and novice events. Are they better people than we are? Do they feed the kids differently? Do they practice genetic mutation? IS their equipment better? Do they have better coaches? For those of you who came away dissapointed, take heart.

I calculate that WW had 2700 minutes of Fall practice to our 1200. Their water is more consistently good and this means quicker learning.

In order for us to have championship teams in the spring, we will need to earn our spot with a minimum of 20 minutes hard practice for every second of championship racing. We race roughly 5 minutes and 300 seconds. Our winning crew members will need to be engaged in practice... aerobic, strength, and technique for a minimum of 6000 minutes between now and the end of may.

When AC/DC says "work work, money made" they understand what we have to do.

Relatively simple. I hope you will all join me.

Doug McCaig

Liz Fitzgerald and the University of Pennsylvania

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail that Liz Fitzgerald sent me recently. Pretty good stuff if you ask me. She has done a great job at Penn and, as you can see, college rowing has really given Liz a great focus at Penn.

Hi Doug,
Yesterday I got to hold an Olympic gold medal. Susan Francia graduated from Penn in 2004, and won gold in the Women's 8+ this summer in Beijing. My whole team crowded around her to catch a glimpse of the medal, hear her inspirational words, and ask her what Michael Phelps is like in person. Yes, she partied with him in China. She walked on to the Penn crew team as a sophomore, having never touched an oar, and when she visited the boathouse this weekend eight years later, had some serious hardware to show off for all the work she's done since then. Crew is not an easy sport, but it really is worth it. Sorry if this sounds cliche, but there's nothing better. It is probably one of the most team oriented sports out there; Trusting and respecting your teammates is what gets every rower pulling their hardest out there on the water. You are nothing without the other eight rowers (including the coxswain!) in your boat. This past weekend was the Navy Day Regatta here in Philadelphia, and there were about fifteen teams racing. I was in the JV 8+ and the Thursday before the race was our first row together as a boat. It was a horrible practice. We were getting seriously beaten by the third boat every piece. But we put that morning behind us and started making changes during Friday's practice. Our new assistant coach, Coach B, made us each tell our pair partner what we were going to hold them accountable for, and then we had to tell her if she succeeded or failed at improving whatever that technical focus was. And on race day, it all came together. We walked away with a silver medal, not nearly as cool as Susan Francia's gold, but it still felt pretty good. Overall Penn did well at Navy Day: third place in the V 8+, and second, fourth, and sixth in the V 4+ race.