I just finished checking the rigging on our eight—putting the last tweaks on it for the qualifying heat—when a fellow coach ran up, coming to a screeching halt in front of me. Between gasps for air he said, “Mike…Vespoli rigger…need two top bolts…fell off in the trailer….can’t find them…” I had a few extra bolts—gave […]
oars
Transporting Rowing Equipment: Over-invest Today To Do It Safely Tomorrow
First, I heard the sound. It was sickening. Then, looking in my rear-view mirror I saw the shell just as it came off the trailer, snapped in two, and crashed to the road. It’d been a heck-of-a-day and it just got worse. Much worse. I left the boathouse at 4 am and drove through pouring […]
Oar Maintenance: Now Is The Perfect Time
There two reasons to take oar maintenance action now and get your oars ready to row First, you need oars to row. Second, for most of us the oars have been sitting—high and dry. And that means it’s the perfect time to give them the love they deserve. There are two hoaxes about oar maintenance […]
Row Better Equipment: A Four-Step Plan
Rowers and coaches thirst for mental and physical improvements. It’s what we do—often chasing those improvements in a scientific and methodical manner. Yet…so many of us miss taking a few big steps that can make an enormous difference. And by missing that those steps someone ends up rowing with marginal equipment. Is Marginal Equipment So […]
Rowing Equipment Love: Now Is The Critical Time To Give It
Rowing equipment love often gets forgotten for “other” things I left in a hurry. So fast the boathouse door didn’t get shut. We sped off. Driving like a NASCAR pro. There was an emergency. The next hours—days—were consumed with responding to the emergency. It was a week before I got back to the boathouse. When […]
How To Row Safe (and Sane) In The Time of COVID-19
I was burning with fever. Weak in the legs. Head pounding. We had been training flat out and our boat was finally moving. But I couldn’t get out of bed. I didn’t have the strength to go to practice. And the worst part—when I went to the doctor she told me “You have an infection. […]
Stop painting oars!
Don’t you just love oars with snazzy designs and fresh looking colors? They look cool. But how do you get there…paint the oars, right? Yep, you can, or you can do this: And save yourself time, headaches, and a mess. I just did 2 sets of eight, and love the results. If you’re thinking about […]
21 Tips For Safer Rowing Equipment Storage
I learned a hard lesson my first year as a head coach. It had to do with our rowing equipment storage. Spring season was starting and it’d been a tough winter. Athletes and coaches were ready to get on the water, excited about “real rowing” instead of “erg rowing.” Several of us ventured to the […]
Cool Rowing Equipment Website: Concept2
Even if you don’t use Concept2 oars, oarlocks, or indoor rowers you should to go to their web site. The reason why is because there is a wealth of information there. Yes, yes, yes…much of it is about their products. As you would expect. Yet, if you hover on their main menu bar, you’ll notice drop down menus. […]
