2020 Sculling Webinar Series
Though the COVID-19 pandemic sadly prevented us from holding our 2020 season of sculling camps on Great Hosmer Pond, we were glad to host a 14-week sculling webinar series that gave us the opportunity to meet with many of you throughout the sculling season. The series, which ran each Wednesday from July through September, featured a lineup of our sculling directors and head coaches presenting on a variety of topics that we hope will aid you in your development as a sculler. Here you’ll find an archive of the entire series, including a description of each webinar along with a link to its full recording on our YouTube channel, and in some cases, links to additional resources as well.
We hope you enjoy, and we thank you for joining us virtually in 2020. We look forward to welcoming you to Craftsbury in person again.
#1: Gaining Comfort and Confidence in the 1x
Director of Sculling Troy Howell kicks off our webinar series by presenting on one of the most essential routes to improving your sculling: training your brain and nervous system in order to gain comfort and confidence in the single.
#2: Reframing your Outlook: Alternative Perspectives for Your Sculling Experience
From drillwork to workouts, technique to motivation, it’s easy to get stuck in a repetitive rut with your sculling. This talk, from none other than Associate Director Kevin MacDermott, focuses on reevaluating and reframing your sculling priorities and focus points.
#3: Sculling From the Inside Out
From Associate Director Ric Ricci comes a talk full of the thoughtful, entertaining, and outside-the-box, will-make-you-think wisdom Ric is known for. He writes:
“‘Core’ stabilization and strength is universally considered to be a prerequisite for optimal sports performance. The ‘core’ can also be thought of as the locus of movement, where large muscle groups are stimulated by the nervous system to act around the major joints of the body. ‘Sculling From the Inside Out’ will explore how to engage the ‘core’ in ways that are perhaps most efficient and also how that engagement on the water is in concert with the inherent action of the sculls and the geometry of a shell.”
#4: But What is That Drill For?
A panel of Craftsbury sculling coaches - Associate Director Carol Bower, Head Coaches Ellen Braithwaite, Jeanne Friedman, and Helen Tilghman, and Director Troy Howell - discuss answers to the perennial question: "But what is that drill for?" They present on some of their favorite drills and put forth options for how to implement them into your training.
#5: Rhythm and Other Sources of Free Speed
Director of Sculling Troy Howell offers lots of material to chew on in his presentation on rhythm and other sources of free speed. He writes:
“As attached as most rowers and scullers are to the idea that our sport involves hard work and its rewards, wise rowers and scullers also know that the introduction of more effort and/or more horsepower does not inevitably produce faster boats. The idea of “free speed” is really just shorthand for efficient sculling, or the idea of reducing wasted effort so that more of the energy you expend goes into actually moving the boat.”
#6: Improving Movement and Technique As You Age
In her talk for masters scullers from week six, Marlene Royle discusses how to improve movement and adapt your technique so you can continue to make technical gains while managing physical changes. Marlene addresses posture, joint protection, range of motion, and technical priorities. The presentation includes a movement assessment, as well as rigging tips to help you scull effectively with comfort in the boat.
#7: Strength Training for Scullers
This webinar, from Craftsbury coach and rowing strength coach Will Ruth, discusses the strength training priorities and adjustments for sculling-focused rowers. What physical characteristics make a great sculler? How can we use strength training to support our on-water training, sculling technique, and racing performance at different distances? If you don’t race or have specific performance goals, how can you strength train for improved technique and longevity in the sport? The presentation includes video demonstrations of movements and exercises.
#8: Sculling Semantics
Why do we use terms like catch, finish, drive, and recovery? Are there other, better words we can use? Craftsbury GRP Head Coach Steve Whelpley’s talk, subtitled “An English Major’s Deconstruction of Sculling Terminology,” teases out the pitfalls or traps of the language we use to talk about the stroke, and addresses how purposeful semantics can deliver changes in technique.
#9: Over the Buoy
This talk features longtime Craftsbury coach Larry Gluckman presenting on one of his favorite topics: condition-proofing your technique. He discusses how to avoid “flat water-itis” with his blade-centric approach, so that you can row and race in any conditions. Pictured is Australian sculler Kim Brennan putting this skill to good use as she deftly clears a buoy on her way to a gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
#10: “Don’t Do That; Do This:”
In this webinar, Dan Roock presents “a coach’s rant about rowing and the common mistakes that keep rowers from reaching their potential.” His entertaining presentation draws on his experiences as the former Craftsbury GRP coach, and is full of relevant information for all.
Watch the full recording on YouTube
Smoother playback of the videos Dan showed during his presentation is available here
#11: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Erging
This “ergstravaganza” edition of the sculling webinar series features four of our longest-tenured coaches (Kevin MacDermott, Sara Gronewold, Troy Howell, and Lisa Schlenker) sharing their perspectives on the erg’s many virtues as a training tool, as well as some of its limitations, along with an extensive Q&A.
#12: Triremes and Trojans: Rowing in the
Ancient Greek and Roman World
This webinar diverges a bit from sculling-specific topics and takes us back more than 2000 years for a look into the ancient origins of the sport of rowing. In this talk, Craftsbury Fleet Manager (and the Center’s resident classics nerd) Erika Sloan explores the presence of rowing in the history, literature, and mythology of classical Greece and Rome – and discusses how it connects to our experience as rowers in the modern world.
Watch the full recording on YouTube
View Erika’s presentation slides, sources, and suggestions for further reading
#13: “Ask the Coach”
This webinar features an open forum with Craftsbury’s longest-tenured coach, Ric Ricci, and Director of Sculling Programs, Troy Howell. Enjoy their thorough, entertaining, and informative answers as they field questions pertinent to training, racing, rigging (a Ric favorite), and sculling in general.
#14: “The Best Thing I’ve Learned at Craftsbury”
The final webinar in our series features a baker’s dozen of our coaches as they share stories of their most memorable experiences from their respective tenures as coaches in our sculling camps. These stories highlight that many coaches come to Craftsbury because they enjoy the opportunity to develop their own knowledge of sculling by learning from each other and from our sculling guests, and we hope they will aid you in your own sculling development as well.
Speakers: Troy Howell, Kevin MacDermott, Tim Whitney, Helen Tilghman, Pat Guelakis, Marlene Royle, Ellen Braithwaite, Carol Bower, Ed Slater, Dan Roock, Erika Sloan, Maura Conron, and Ric Ricci