As paddlers, we often forget how important the front and back ends of our boat are. Sure, the steersman steers the boat straight, the drummer keeps the cadence of the stroke rate, but what else do they do? So much more. Unifiers of the team. Controllers of energy. Conveyors of information. Catastrophe prevention team. Without them, the team wouldn’t function well. But sadly, many teams take these positions for granted. Let’s first consider the drummer. This is a position with very traditional roots in the sport. Often an inexperienced team will grab the
Admit it, at times you have wondered how in the heck your coach created the latest boat layout. You wonder what put you in that particular seat. Good question! A good coach takes many things into consideration when creating the lineup. It isn’t just about boat balance. When setting the distribution in a boat, a coach must account for the combination of all four strengths mentioned in a previous blog: physical, mental, attitudinal, and behavioral. A powerful (physically strong) paddler with low attitudinal strength (highly negative) must be balanced, even if
Recently, I asked my fellow paddlers what they considered to be some of the best ways to improve one’s paddling ability. Whether you are aiming to make your local team’s boat or earn a spot on the national team, these wise words from some of the top paddlers in the USA are sure to help you up your game! 1. Listen to feedback. Be humble and open to coaching….there is always room for improving. Take your coach’s advice. Feedback is a good thing, ask the coach where you need improvement. Listen to your coach
Physical strength. Mental strength. Attitudinal strength. Behavioral strength. All four strengths are crucial components of a paddling team. To make the boat the strongest it can possibly be, each person should identify (with the help of the coaching group and captains) what their two preferred strengths are and cultivate those in and out of the boat. We tend to focus on physical strength because that seems intuitive to a sport, but strengths are not only physical in nature, they are also mental, attitudinal, and behavioral. Physical strength is measured as “strength-to-weight ratio”. While weight
We all love racing. We wouldn’t be paddlers if we didn’t love the thrill of the race and the joy of the winning. But yes, it happens. There are at least a few on nearly every team; those paddlers who love the glory of racing (and posting the multiple photos to Facebook while posing with the trophies), but they don’t seem to truly understand how important training and team practices are. They show up to training sessions sporadically and when race selections are announced, they don’t understand why they haven’t been
Admit it, we’ve all been there. We’re on the boat, the coach says something completely innocent, and we all giggle just a little under our breath. Why? Paddling is filled with hilariously warped statements and commands that are actually 100% paddle-related. To an outsider, they sound twisted. Downright perverted. And yes, they make us laugh. So, in honor of Friday, and spring, here are a few dragon boat sayings to make you laugh and brighten your day. Enjoy! – Give me 2 more inches – Lower your hand on the shaft
Let’s talk about paddle length. In this situation, size most definitely matters and when you are dealing with too many inches, it can be a major problem. When your paddle is too long, your body does strange things to compensate for it while trying to get the paddle out of the water at the back end of the stroke in order to get the paddle back up to the front end of your stroke. This can result in either shoulder injury (what happened to me when I had a 50″
I came across this graph on “How to be an Expert” a few years ago and it stuck with me. Of course, this graph can be applied to anything in life, but I really liked it in the context of paddling. We have all seen new paddlers come out, try the sport, and never come back. Why? Because they got frustrated and didn’t have the perseverance to continue past their first training session. We’ve also seen the paddlers who come out for a month or so, aren’t happy with their
Dragon Boater’s Core Workout #2 The first core workout was such a hit that I thought I would add a few more exercises to it. Do each of the following exercises for one minute: Crunches: Note that the hands are only resting on the head, not pulling on it. You can just touch your fingertips to the side of your head to be sure. Crunches with knees up: Shins horizontal, bring the knees close to the chest as you come up. Leg raises: Start from 1 inch off the ground and don’t go more
Eight great exercises to strengthen your core and prepare you for the upcoming paddle season.
