Ted Phoenix Regatta

It all comes down to this for the Novices... Ted Phoenix State Championships!  The exciting thing, was they all got to race twice.  Either they made it to finals, top 3, or they went to petite finals, all the rest.  Again with the self-imposed pressure...  I made cookie medals for everyone last night.  Everyone loves a cookie medal.
My freshman were 5th in their heat, but only 1 second off Langley.  The week before they were 47 seconds behind Langley - so a definite win in my mind.  They were last in their petite final.  I think endurance was their main issue.  I told them that as long as they could come off the water and look me in the eye and say they did all they could, then I didn't care if they were first or last.  At the end, they all seemed reasonably happy and seemed to enjoy the season.  All their parents seem to be very happy as well.  I think pretty much every family came up to me at some point and thanked me and told me how much their kids enjoyed the season. That's really all I can ask for.

BTW - The Cookie medals were a huge hit with parents and rowers.  Many of the rowers said they were better and any other medal!  Can't go wrong with a good cookie medal.  Now that the "official" season is over, I gotta say, I think it was pretty successful as my very first coaching season.  It gives me hope that I'm going to get this. 

Al Urquia Regatta

We did it, we got another full regatta under our belts.  It's April 25th and we've had 2 full regattas.  This is the most insane season I ever remember.  Another successful outing.  Zack's Light 8 rowed as a 2nd 8 because there were no other entries and they came in 4th.  Not too bad.  They seem to be getting better and faster each week.  He still seems happy enough, so that's all I really care about.  It's definitely challenging to be a coach and a parent, especially when decisions are made that you don't understand or agree with.  You have to just trust that it will all work out and right now it seems to be doing just that.  I still don't totally agree with Zack being moved out of the Junior 8, he's definitely a better rower than a couple of the guys in that boat, but at the same time he certainly doesn't have the same power they do.  So, if you're going with straight up power and not technique, then I see what they are doing, but it's not always about power.  Anyway... as long as he seems to be happy where he is, then that's all that matters to me.

The little twit has started this new plan.  He started putting up 2 fingers in a V shape or a #2 sign and we've been teasing him about his "gang sign."  His new goal it to have his "gang sign" in every picture of him taken this year!  It's infuriating but also hilarious!  If you look at any pictures he's in, there it is.  I don't know how he keeps that much awareness, but it's now become a competition between us.  Can I catch him unawares and get a picture minus the gang sign.  Even when he's not paying attention, he's got the sign going!

What a bunch of hooligans!

As for my Freshman 8, this was a very exciting regatta.  Their first opportunity to race twice.  They actually had a heat, where the top 3 advanced to finals!  It's so nerve wracking!  I want them to do well and be happy with their performance.  And at this point it's hard for me to separate their performance from my ability as a coach.  I have to keep reminding myself that if they do poorly, that doesn't mean I'm a bad coach.  I know their performance is not a direct reflection on me - but I still feel like it is, and I'm still worried that's what everyone else is thinking.  I just keep having to remind myself, it's not about me and that I'm doing the very best that I can.  So.... they raced... and came in 3rd!!  They got to move on to the finals.  Needless to say, EVERYONE was thrilled!  I was so happy for them, their parents were giddy and I think they were pretty stoked!  They ended up 6th in the final, but that's not what's important, what's important is they got there!  

What truly cracked me up, is after their heat I sent them back to the tent to get something to eat and to relax.  About 30 minutes later when I walked over to the tent this is what I found...

Every single one of them was sacked out!  It was like on a Kindergarten field trip when you come home on the bus, they all fall asleep.  My poor boys rowed their little hearts out in their heat and pretty much collapsed afterwards.  Too precious!!  I love my freshman.

Darrell Winslow Regatta

We almost made it through a whole regatta this time... but not quite.  It was the wind this time, instead of the cold or rain.  We got all the races done except for the Novices, which is the worst.  Those poor guys still haven't raced.  It didn't make ONE BIT of sense, they sent the freshman and the novice 4's down the race course - but they cancelled the 8's.  What??!!?!  Anyway, we had quite a few disappointed rowers and just as many upset parents and rightly so...  But as for those that did race, it went pretty well.  Zack raced as a 1st 8 and they made it into the finals and ended up 5th.  Not too bad.  I think they felt pretty good about that.

Rowing is hard work!

My Freshman did get to race and it was pretty exciting.  They did really well... everything you want from a freshman first race... they made it down the course, they didn't run into anyone, no one fell out of the boat and they weren't last!!  I think it was a pretty insane day for them, the wind was crazy so they had a very difficult time at the start platforms, the wind blew them into another lane (but they weren't the only ones) no penalty and they didn't impede anyone. 

I think they felt pretty good, getting one under their belts.  Now they can focus on getting better and it won't be so scary next time.... for any of us! :o)   

More Coaching

I've been spending more and more time on my own with the Freshman 8.  The Novice 8 and Freshman 8 have a hard time staying together, the Novices are just too big.  But it's going pretty well.

Today we did a long row, just trying to get some rowing under their belts.   We rowed by 6's, occasionally by 8's.  Doing some Focus 10s on various things.  Handle heights, posture, head and eyes in the boat, slow slide, early rollups, all those things we've been talking about.  It went well.  Right at the end before we got to the cove, an 8 came up behind us and I noticed it was girls (and so did a few of the boys).  I asked them if they were going to let a girls boat pass them???  That if that girls boat passed them, we weren't going back into the cove, we were going to keep working.  They started grinning and kicked it into gear.  First time I've really seen any fire in some of them.  They made it past the girls with open water and they were grinning the whole way!  It was pretty funny.

The Board bought all the coaches jackets which was pretty nice of them.  Although I must admit, I still feel pretty uncomfortable wearing it and it still startles me when one of the kids (or anyone) calls me Coach Hyzy.  I have to remind myself that they aren't making funny of me or being sarcastic.  Especially for the novices and freshman, since they don't know me as Mrs Hyzy, the way everyone else does.  I think it's still going to take some getting use to.

Coaching for real!

This year we have a Novice 8 and a Freshman 8, so Mike and I are team coaching.   First couple of days we went out together in his launch and worked with both boats.  But today I took my own launch and the Freshman 8 with me.  We were supposed to "stay together" and work together, but that never happened.  We were together for about 20 minutes and then Mike went off to do his own thing. Not really surprised.  I felt decidedly like a fish out of water, but I figured it out and it seemed to go well.

The novice boat, is definitely the stronger boat, it has a couple of juniors that are really big and really strong and he took the rest of the biggest and strongest rowers for that boat, which makes sense, since it helps if the boys are similar in size and ability.  Obviously, he'll want to coach the boat that has the best chance of being successful, which is fine and as it should be. Less pressure on me, if the goal is to get these kids to row by 8's and come together as a team.  Not a lot of expectation that they'll be hugely successful.  I mean my bow seat weighs 98 lbs and the rest aren't much bigger.  Towards the end of practice, Mike found us and we did a couple of 20 stroke races and my little freshman stepped up and held their own.  They may not be the biggest or the strongest, but they have heart.