Tech Tip: Symptom vs. Cause; Looking Back in the Stroke for Technical Improvements

by GRP Row Assistant Coach Krystal Melendez

We all have technical changes we’d like to make for speed, flow, and/or comfort. Regardless of the reason, we generally focus on the symptom of a technical area of improvement rather than a cause. It’s important to remember what set you up before the moment of challenge.

A common example is blade placement and entry. We may think, “I want to have a longer stroke but I’m missing water so I need quicker catches, earlier placements, and relaxed hands”. These thoughts and actions focus on the exact moment the blade enters the water. Going back a couple of steps is important to see what the set up was for the exact moment of blade entry.

Body prep is a great segment of the stroke to think about how it interacts with blade entry. If the body preps too late in the stroke, there are many moving parts happening all at once in different directions. The moment of vertically dropping the blade in the water will be accompanied with lateral movement from the body completing its preparation, causing a timing issue of when the blades goes into the water. If there was only attention given to the vertical movement of putting the blade in earlier/quicker, the lateral body check may be overlooked but could be a real source of potential change. This is just one example of reflecting on a symptom of a desired change rather than a cause.

If you’re focusing on technique but nothing is changing, try to look at how you set yourself up before the area of the stroke you’re focused on improving.