We've Moved!

I'm outta here- setting up shop at piocrew.wordpress.com. Why? Some good tracking features, some opportunities for posting from a mobile device (think real-time race results!), slightly cleaner and more comprehensive system.

Don't look for new updates here any more. . . go there.

Smarter then the average bear.

Grades from Fall 09 are out, and the Pioneer Rowers are a pretty smart bunch.

The women's team averaged a 3.52 GPA, while the men's team came home with a 3.30. We had two athletes (one on each squad) nail the 4.0-- two of only seven student-athletes (out of 321) to pull off that feat. Twelve of our women had over a 3.5 GPA along with three on the men's team. Even better, Pioneer Crew has no athletes on academic warning or probation.

I'm a huge believer that athletics and being part of a team enhances both the experience and the success for our students. The discipline and time management that go along with being part of a team, along with the balance that comes from taking time away from studies on occasion, seems to lead to better grades in the end. The most successful teams I've worked with also seemed to get the best grades. . . so hopefully this year is shaping up to be very good!

2010!

Back in the office today on the first Monday of 2010; working on rosters, admissions, and prospect visits. We have two weeks left till' classes start, two weeks after that till the start of the spring season. Very much looking forward to getting back to my favorite part of the job: getting out on the river with boats lined up next to each other, racing!

Thoughts on winter fitness.

Just dropped a quick note to the team with just a couple days left till the new year; thinking out loud, as it were, on what matters when you're trying to get training done in the winter break.

". . .Remember that a huge part of what you're trying to do right now is not get super-fast, but rather to lay down the foundation to build our racing season on. The more fit you are coming in, the more you'll have to draw on when workouts are challenging in the season.

Workouts right now are all about steady, consistent, solid. No one day is important but the accumulation of consistent work builds up over time and makes a tremendous difference. Stroke rates on the erg are low, runs are sustainable, and you should never be gasping for air-- but at the same time you're getting back out there (or inside, as the case may be) day after day. . ."

The hardest thing about training to master, for me, is this consistency-- the ability to set up life, deal with challenges, and otherwise ensure that regardless of other things the training is always there. Maybe only a half hour, maybe not the best workout, maybe not exactly what you wanted-- but its there, and it gets done.

Regardless, Happy New Year from Pioneer Crew!

Spotted

On the ride into work today, saw two cool things that made me think of our time on the river.



The first was three deer swimming from Ross Island over to the east shore. They spotted me approaching and didn't much like the look of my yellow rain jacket; the trio made a quick 180 and headed back for the Island. I've seen deer on the Island before but never in the water; they move quicker then you might think.



Then got caught up in a bike traffic jam behind a lift of the Hawethorne Bridge for one of the gravel barges we deal with regularly on the river. Fun to stop on a not-so-cold, calm and dry morning and take in the view of the river from the bridge. Also interesting to contemplate how daily life in the city still regularly stops for river traffic.

Had a great conversation today with one of our athletes who's back from her fall abroad trip; at the same time hearing from lots of our athletes that they're getting ready to head home for break. Folks are excited to see family and have some down time; me as well. Probably won't post often again till' January-- have a wonderful holiday season and we'll see you on the other side.

Into Finals

Today is the penultimate day of classes up at Lewis & Clark; I had a fun breakfast with some of the women's team members this morning and was glad to see many of them were coming back from a workout. With reading period starting Thursday and finals starting on Saturday this is an academically stressful time of year. In my humble professional opinion there is no greater study aid then the quickie erg. I have memories of long days in the library during reading period; three and four hours reading or writing papers. At the end you feel fuzzy headed and mentally locked up.

I used to go straight from the library to the erg room, pull 2x20' or some such, just to open up the mind. I always found these workouts to be great thinking opportunities. Often when I found that a paper wasn't quite right stepping back and working out let me think through the premise or the information and go back to it with renewed focus. For whatever reason the erg was the perfect foil to studying for me; simple, uncomplicated, timeless.

Regardless, best of luck to all our student-athletes with their finals!

At the Subaru dealership, waiting for the oil change to be finished up before heading up to work. The USRowing convention last week was good; got to reconnect with lots of friends and rivals from around the country and got some good information and ideas. The central point of each presentation is usually a known fact-- there are very few game-changing ideas-- but the good thing is always to get to hear how other folks apply ideas and think about how that idea or concept could work for Lewis & Clark. I don't think any massive changes will be happening this spring but I'll be spending the next couple of weeks thinking about little tweaks we can make to squeeze out a better season.

Women's team breakfast tomorrow to send the team off into finals together and introduce some of the folks who will be rejoining us in spring to the rest of the group-- looking forward to it!