The Week that Was: Week 2
10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Young and old, the entire Alabama rowing team has its starting point after last weekend when the Tide's novices raced at the Hobbs Island Regatta and the varsity sent a boat to the Head of the Charles for a second weekend of work.
"It was a learning trip," head coach Larry Davis said of the Tide's trip to Cambridge for the largest regatta in the world. "I like for us to race at the Charles because of the level of competition and because at a big regatta like that, you're going to run into things that you won't down here. We train and race on a sheltered course and that makes for a good rowing environment, but it doesn't always teach us how to deal with distractions. Events like the Charles certainly will."
The festival-like conditions at the Head of the Charles, combined with a challenging course, breeds distractions, especially for a young crew such as the one Alabama sent to the race. The Crimson Tide's 8+ boat got a little rattled through the middle third of its race, throwing it off stride for a while. The Tide still finished 10th, and was the third collegiate boat across the finish line, but things could have gone smoother.
"We had a good start and finished well, but we got a little rattled in the middle," Davis said. "There were about 10 strokes that if we'd been better we could have been eighth and if we had held our composure a little better in the middle, we could have made it to the top-5. We talked about that after the race. We have to get to a place where if something like that happens again, and it will, we know how to handle it. We need to be able to work through any distraction and execute our plan."
Such experiences will help Alabama become a more polished squad, one that will be able to take the steps necessary to become an NCAA Championships caliber team.
"To make it to the NCAA Championships, we need to be consistent and we need to be deep," Davis said. "It can't just be one boat, or a handful of athletes. We need to get to the point where we have that kind of focus and drive throughout the program, and we're getting there. We are definitely moving in that direction."
For the novices, just getting their oars in competitive waters was a learning experience. Alabama came away with a gold and silver in Huntsville, Ala. site of the Hobbs Island Regatta, but most importantly, the Tide's youngest athletes now have a better idea of the ins and outs of race day.
And while three boats were on the water racing last Saturday, the rest of the Tide stayed behind training.
"Those that were here over the weekend are hungry to get back on the water in a competitive situation, and that's good," Davis said. "We want them to be hungry and to have that anticipation grow and drive them."
