There is little doubt that if, prior to the selection of a representative crew or indeed team for any other sport, the coach had received a deputation from some of the until-that-time-considered-to-be-key members of that group requesting that the training be kept all rather low profile with not too many training sessions and those not too seriously tackled, then those so inclined would have been consigned to the towpath or touchlines for ever. Likewise those who thought that they would cut the first major training opportunity (to disappear shopping in Bath).
But if the coach has to find a crew from a group of only a dozen or a few more, and if he is also a teacher responsible for development of his charges in the widest terms of education, then what? We attempted to put these incidents behind us, and to gradually build confidence and enthusiasm: technique improved slowly but here too there was the lack of realisation in some (one would have been too many) that improvement and in particular the eradication of faults require real determination stroke after stroke after stroke - it was easier to carry on in the same old ways. The work output was indifferent too - ding-dong 'light' was generally most acceptable even for time trials....
It was unfortunate at Henley that the boat was holed (as was the holing of a foot in the course of escaping from the wintry water, an infected injury which kept Britton out of the crew for the rest of term and which, but for repeated operations, might have persisted for the whole season), so the crew was not able to compete and so discover just how slow they were at this stage. This, the first of the Heads, has some good quality entries and is an important guide to standards required and achieved early on.
There was not much significant opposition at Avon County or Bristol Docks and none at Ariel (which in fact we rowed deliberately as "3 minutes on, three minutes off" the coach considering that a row of some 20 minutes would be bad preparation for the Schools' Head early the following week.) But it could be seen that the crew didn't like rowing very hard nor for very long.
At Putney for the Schools' Head we were not quite last in our age group but were slower than too many 115 crews. Our training the night before the main Tideway Head was more encouraging, at least in the shorter pieces, but the row itself was reminiscent of the Boston Marathon. The crew seemed to have enjoyed taking part and were now rowing more cheerfully but had clearly a lot to learn about pushing and in particular pushing for longer than a minute or two.
And so to France for pre-term training. In some ways I was against going: I wasn't convinced the crew were going for the right reasons or were worth it; in addition 'stroke' was unable to go: but Cutmore our keen and much improved 'sub' was happy to continue and the others at least expressed keenness: provided it was understood that the crew in France would keep together at least for the first Regatta before reassessment, I agreed. The first few outings on the water confirmed the worst of my thoughts about the crew if indeed such it was at all, inducing not the first but by a long way the most serious showdown monologue from coach. Why waste your time and my time and your parents money and.. and...and? It was pathetic.
Happily the next outing was (nervously on both sides, coach and crew - yes, already) positive and from there we hardly looked back. Much experience was gained on and off the water. Dawson newly appointed as Captain was leading the crew with thoughtful and commendable firmness and the emergence of Britton as a decisive and rhythmic stroke combined to give the crew new direction and determination. We had no comparable company to train with but in encounters and other types of work with the Senior crews were sufficiently able to hold our own and indeed, on occasion, to show up rather well - this was all excellent stuff and the crew returned to the home reach with tails wagging, and much more bark and bite.
After the brief incursion of House Head races, the preparation for Wallingford was progressive: time trials though not yet up to the required standard for A Class events were improving and we were gradually eliminating the failing of 'go hard for 20 strokes and then let it of. In the race we perhaps lead Eton A off the start and were well with them for some 600metres but gradually the opposition's superiority told and they pulled away: we did not give up and to the end maintained our technique and cohesion. A pleasing performance at last.
A whole range of reasons were put forward for not now altering the crew: this was a bitter blow to our erstwhile stroke of over two years' standing. Not for the first or last time an apparently safe seat has been lost more by accident than by design. This was the third successive Season in which the Colts have elected to train in France for the last ten days or so of the Easter Holidays. We have no wish to make participation in such holiday training a condition of being in the crew for the Summer Term: but if any of the Lent Term crew cannot for what ever reason join in, then it must be accepted that his momentum in effect declines while that of the crew almost certainly progresses fast. It may well be too hard for even previously 'key' members to regain their places. If next Season's Colts are looking forward to a similar training period combined with an enjoyable holiday then they and their parents need to be aware of the probability now. And this means everyone from the J15 group of this year, not just the accepted crew if the coming Season's trials are to be meaningful.
The crew returned to training for Avon County with zeal to justify their selection and but for the complexities of the Avon County draw would almost certainly have won the B class. We could only manage third in our strongly contested semi-final whereas a seemingly slower B Class crew managed second in their heat. We duly confirmed our superiority over the rest of the not inconsiderable entrants apparently winning the Petite Finale in good style and with commendable determination to race only to be disqualified for weaving in and out of various lanes. Cox's steering had become increasingly erratic ever since our return from France; his confidence and that of the crew finally broke and we were lucky to be able to persuade Rotter who had coxed the crew so competently in the two previous seasons to take over.
Encouraged to discover themselves to be no longer the Slowest J16 in the World, the crew lifted their sprinting ability by a whole class and trained well for 1500m events to come; success in the B event at Nottingham was now clearly very much a possibility. Alas, at the beginning of the week we lost Dawson following the very severe scalding of his foot in a silly brewing accident. Although he returned in time to brave considerable pain to complete the crew, confidence and progression were undermined. Unusually slow off the start, they handsomely overhauled the field in their semi-final during the first two-thirds of the the race only to be overtaken again before the finish, admittedly easing up - or was it fading, a not unfamiliar characteristic of the past? In the final we went off well and lead to 400m or so and continued to stride out with the leaders for the next minute or so before seemingly "packing up" and conceding water more and more rapidly to the finish: we had got into a dirge like rhythm and rate from which it seemed impossible to escape.
There followed a bad patch of training; an almost inevitable coming off the boil after National Schools', the advent of Exams and lack of appreciation of how to cope, induced serious dissension, out of the boat more than within it, which nearly led to disintegration. Happily this was dispelled before irretrievable damage had been done and we travelled to Tewkesbury in good spirits and on the up again.
In our first race we met Canford - they had defeated us twice at Nottingham and duly did so again: we too repeated form and rowed technically quite well but dirged, though I thought without actually packing up as we had previously. "Sit up. Shorten up. Rate up. Race=" - but would they do it? There was a ridiculous delay before they could race Cheltenham whom they had to beat to get into the final. The weather was appalling with driving rain almost the entire time they were waiting around on the water for an hour or more. Happily the crew became determined in adversity, practised what had been preached and eventually stormed down the course to win convincingly. I insisted on a break off the water, before going out to meet Canford once more. We had shown that we could outpace them for the first half or more; we had also demonstrated that we could row past them if we didn't get our customary start. But three times Canford had raced and we hadn't. The race against Cheltenham had demonstrated very clearly that we could do better: and so we did, Canford were laid low and hardly figured against our newly found spirit.
The first round at Marlow pitched us against the current JI6 champions and Henley Royal Regatta entrants, St Edward's, Oxford. We hung on well for the first half of the race but were duly outclassed: a salutary thrashing to realise just how far behind the the very best we were, but not at least a defeat to be upset about.
Overnight we were royally entertained (for which we would like to record our many thank-yous) by the Hodgsons at their home near Bracknell, well-positioned for the following day's assault at Reading in the Thames Valley Park Sprints. Our heavyweights put up a most encouraging display of oarsmanship against the reigning National Schools' J16 coxless pairs champions during the morning session: had we any ability to stay within lane or indeed on the course at all we could well have produced the shock of the Regatta. The weather continued unabatedly foul and after a traditional Sunday Lunch with our hosts, we were only too happy to laze away the afternoon, comfortably full and dry.
We returned Regattawards as the weather improved for our straight final against known-to-be-inferior-but- not-by-that-much opposition:one bad mistake in a 500m sprint and there would be little chance of making good. As it turned out we boiled and in spite of a nerve shattering shipwreck came in convincing winners, a most cheering end to the Season.
The fact is that in spite of these late successes, our standard was not more than that of reasonable B Class crews: the "work" and poor attitude early on had decided that. But it is a tribute to rowing as a preeminently team sport that, with a little luck and the realisation of what it takes to accept a challenge, a forlorn hope can be transformed into moderate success and become a most worthwhile venture.