Tech Tip: Back It As Far As The Eye Can See
by GRP Row coach Steve Whelpley
GRP rowers on the water in Florida.
In order to be a quick sculler, you have to be a proficient sculler. Proficient doesn't necessarily mean excellence in every aspect of sculling, but it likely means no significant deficiencies. If one is proficient in a language, it doesn't mean that you can write a Nobel-winning poem in that language. However, it does mean that you can hold a conversation.
One quick way to establish your technical proficiency in a sculling boat is to be comfortable backing. If you've come to the Craftsbury Sculling Camps, you know that backing is a quiet staple of them. Every camper must back into the dock upon return from a practice. Did you know that I once had GRP athletes do a backing race from the docks to Hosmer Point, a distance just under 2000m? This came at the suggestion of one of our regular coaches, the one, the only, Ric Ricci. In a hyperbolic manner, Ric once made the point that if a sculler can back fast, then he or she could row fast. I think there is some truth to this.
If you can back comfortably, it shows enough skill and adeptness with the equipment that you will be all the more comfortable and adaptable in the traditional forward motion of a scull. There's also a playful part of me that would like to think you could undo the overuse of intensive rowing training by taking the equivalent number of backing strokes to forward strokes in an effort to antagonistically balance out the muscles utilized during rowing. While this might be a bit far-fetched, the idea that it requires a proficient level of skill is not. Backing requires you to:
reverse our sequencing in terms of placement at the body and extraction away from the body
either invert your blades or move water with the less hydrodynamic side of the blade
watch the boat's movement from a different perspective
figure out how to decelerate the boat by pulling instead of dragging
Suddenly to go left, you push with the right. This cognitive and technical challenge will automatically increase your skill just by doing it. Additionally, you have the added perk of watching the fruits of your labor as the stern moves past objects.
In sum, make sure to not only back small distances where you tap this way or that. Make yourself do the motion as if it were a sustained effort. Live enough in the backing world and you may take your proficiency to a new level.