Excellent point.
Found this on Reddit…for those of you wanting to know how to get faster on the ergs, pay attention!
I have one word of advice for you:
STOP.
Why? Here are a few reasons.
1. You’re 16 and your coach is 21, therefore anything physical that may happen between the two of you is ILLEGAL. The fact that you have anything other than a professional relationship with your coach is incredibly inappropriate.
2. If anyone finds out about your little love affair, you could be kicked off the team and your coach could (and probably will) lose his job. Not only that, no one will want to hire someone who gets involved with his rowers, so getting coaching jobs in the future will be damn near impossible. You risk ruining your rowing career and his coaching career.
3. You’re a teenage girl and I’m 99% sure you’re not capable of letting your personal feelings take a backseat to your rowing goals. I’m sure some readers are going to get all up in arms over this statement, but it’s true: teenagers (and and a good percentage of adults) can’t compartmentalize their feelings and therefore anything that happens with your coach can and will leak out into other areas of your life. If you want to be a successful rower, you need to end this thing ASAP.
Trust me on this one, this entire situation is BAD NEWS BEARS. It might be different if you were over 18 and leaving the team, but you’re not. If you really care about this guy, back off (he should understand) and wait until you’re not jailbait to pursue something. (Personally I think the fact that he’s even considering this kind of relationship with a teenager is a huge red flag). Until then, no more texting, no more flirting, and absolutely, positively, NO HANGING OUT outside of practice, unless you think your coach would look nice in an orange jumpsuit surrounded by dudes waiting for him to drop the soap.
A frustrated coach sent me this today. Coaches, you’ll understand where this rant is coming from. Rowers (and coxswains) this should be a little bit of a reality check for you.
Hi, a rower sent me this the other day:
“Hi, I’m not going to crew throughout the next week because it’s making me too tired that it made me skip school today.”
How should I respond?
Don’t worry Coach, I’ve got this one. Just direct your rower to this site and let me at ‘em. Here you go:
Dear Rower,
I’m sorry to hear that crew has fatigued you so terribly. Perhaps you should stay home until you learn how to better manage your time and get yourself in bed at a reasonable hour to avoid having this happen again. I know that this is a really difficult concept to grasp, but feel free to skip practice until you’ve got it figured out. Don’t worry, the rest of the world will wait. In fact, maybe you should email your teachers and request that they provide you with a designated nap time during the day. If you’re lucky maybe one of them will give you a nice snack when you wake up and then burp you so your tummy won’t hurt. You certainly can’t row if you’re all farty and bloated!
Don’t worry Rower, being tired when you participate in sports is totally normal, especially when it’s a demanding sport like rowing. The good news is, if you row in college you won’t have to worry about silly things like going to class, doing homework, or studying for exams. And if you choose to row after college I’m sure your boss won’t mind you calling out of work to sleep because you got up at 5am for practice. Full-time jobs are overrated anyway!
Oh wait…everything I just said was completely false, because guess what? THE REST OF THE WORLD DOESN’T CARE IF YOU’RE TIRED.
You’re too tired to go to school? Get off the internet and get your ass in bed at a reasonable hour. Facebook and Tumblr won’t miss you and you can talk about how stupid boys are and what a slut Karen is at lunch tomorrow. If you are somehow in the top boat on your team, you can kiss your seat goodbye. I guarantee there are a handful of people on your team who would gladly go to bed at 8pm every night if it meant being in the 1V, and your coach is going to give that seat to someone who doesn’t take a week off of practice DURING THE MOST COMPETITIVE PART OF THE FREAKING SEASON because they are “tired.”
Rower, crew did not make you skip school. YOU made you skip school. If this message is a bit harsh, I apologize. Actually, no, I don’t, because someone needs to tell you that no coach is going to have any sympathy for you if you complain about being tired. If rowing is too much for you, maybe you should join the chess club or take up knitting.
I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors (which hopefully aren’t too strenuous).
Sweet Dreams,
Coach
***Note: This rant is intended to be entertaining, and is definitely NOT the way I would deal with a rower in this situation. I’ve gotten a few messages (and read what some of you re-blogged) and see that a few of you made the critical error of taking this post too seriously. Is this how I would feel if I received a message like this from a rower? Maybe, depending on who that rower was and their rank on the team, among other things. I had a lot of attendance issues last year, and as a result of that my rant might have come off as too harsh. As the information provided to me was extremely limited, I had to make my own assumptions about why the rower in question was so exhausted, and did not take into account any personal, mental, or physical factors that might be contributing to their fatigue. I apologize if this rant offended anyone. Peace out.
Yes, calmly punch them in the face one by one.
Just kidding.
Bullying can be tough to handle. Some bullies will stop whatever it is they’re doing if they don’t get a reaction out of you while others won’t stop until there is a consequence to force them to. I take it you’ve been trying to ignore these girls and it isn’t working. If that’s the case, try speaking up. If you call the B’s out on their S, maybe they will stop. The key here is to keep your cool though…if you get all worked up, they got what they wanted. If that doesn’t work, talk to your coach. Bullying is one of the best ways to ensure a crew doesn’t go as fast as they possibly can, and I’m sure your coach will want to put a stop to it ASAP.
AND NOW A NOTE FOR THE BULLIES:
To anyone out there that is teasing or harassing a teammate, either in person, behind their back, or on the internet, cut the shit and grow up. You’re not going to like everyone on your team and not everyone on your team is going to like you. That’s just part of life. Learn to deal with it now or you are in for a rough ride. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone, but you need to learn how to put your drama and bullshit aside and work together towards a common goal: being FAST. That will never happen if you’re wasting your energy hating on someone. Also keep in mind that what goes around comes around…you might be putting someone down to make yourself feel better now but you won’t feel too great when you’re on the receiving end of it.
I apologize for the language in this post, but as someone who has not only been bullied in the past but who has also had serious issues with it in the crews I’ve coached, I don’t take it lightly.
I guess it really depends on your relationship with your coach. If you have an inside joke you can tie a gift to or something sentimental, I’d suggest doing that. Gift cards (Starbucks, Dunkin) are always good, especially if your coach is a coffee addict (highly likely). My rowers a few years ago bought me a t-shirt at a regatta that said “I’d rather row and lose than be a cheerleader” and I absolutely love it (even though I’m ashamed to admit I was a cheerleader in high school, which is why they bought me the shirt in the first place). Just be creative…even a framed picture of your boat in action would be appreciated!
…which I always do, since I’ve accidentally opened the door on people more than once. Strangely enough, they were all dudes…EXHIBITIONISTS.
This regatta season, do everyone a favor…LOCK THE DAMN DOOR.
