January 2005

At last the rowing term arrived and I could get my hands on the main squad of first eight potentials. With six from last years eight back again and many from last years talented colts crew, it was going to be a tough battle for places in the first eight.

Training has been tough and the guys have risen to the occasion every session. Strength, fitness and stamina are all improving steadily. The �first squad‘ have been training 7-8 times a week with four water sessions and 3-4 gym sessions.

Water sessions have been focussing on technique building the style that I wish the entire club to adopt. Progress has been made and there have been glimpses of what I want. With 13 in the squad, rotation has become a normal process; I like to call ourselves �the Chelsea of rowing‘.

Gym sessions cater for all round muscular endurance and strength gains. With the introduction of Andrew Taylor (Strength and Conditioning expert) the gym sessions are run efficiently, professionally and most importantly safely. Andrews input has been excellent and the effects are noticeable on the squad.

With improvements seen both in the gym and on the water the squad were looking forward to good performances at Wycliffe Head. Competition from Kings Chester, Radley, Kings Worcester, �Teddies‘, Monmouth School and Royal Shrewsbury school, would make this a tough introduction to the season.

Wycliffe Head 2005

The squad were broken into two separate combinations for the morning and afternoon division, with experience and youth in both boats. The first division saw the first eight race in school junior against strong opposition from Kings Chester, Kings Worcester, Monmouth School, Radley and St. Edwards. Third off, the crew found it hard to settle into a strong rhythm and struggled to find a pace that suited them. As the crews passed the half way point Kings Chester and Kings Worcester has a large lead and Monkton looked laboured and heavy at the catch. This was the comment of the crew after the race itself and they were unhappy with the effort of the crew. The race plan had not been followed and the crew were frustrated with their performance. They finished 56 seconds off the pace of Kings Chester but encouragingly not far off the other crews. With a bit more time on the water and more fitness behind the crew that distance can and will be narrowedŒŒa lot!

The second division saw the crew race in Senior 3 and up against 13 other crews. In this particular race the crew did not look �pretty‘ and had a very scrappy race, however much to my surprise the crew were far happier with the aggression shown in the second race than in the first. Although a slightly slower time was achieved the crew finished 7th in Senior 3 and 10th fastest overall in the division.

All in all, the performances were not up to our standards but panic will not ensue as we now know that we are not too far off the pace set by the fastest crews and we know what needs to be done. Roll on Schools Head.

Coach : G P Reay