We began the year with 19 boys of whom 5 were coxes: hardly the numerical basis from which to compete on equal terms with our traditional rivals Notwithstanding, we were soon able to form an 'A' VIII and 'B' IV to train for the 'Heads' as well as provide coxes for Senior crews. Despite a marked lack of weight in the bows of the provisional 'A' crew encouraging progress was made and the inevitable 'flu bug and flood conditions on the river failed to upset morale. Lessons were learnt at the first 'internal' Head when mouths ruled and thereafter concentration improved markedly.

Off the river, training centred around fitness; light weight circuits and ergometers - not everyone's favourite but a very useful tool in building stamina and showing the coach who has the 'bottle' over 10 or 15 minutes hard rowing. In the early part of the year the tank allows the crew to practise the basic elements of the stroke under the coach's close scrutiny and once the river conditions allowed it was good to make use of the tub pair for reinforcing and improving technique. Of course every crew has its particular strengths and weaknesses: it was apparent from the early weeks that the '91 crew contained some strong and temperamentally different personalities so that welding these into a unit which was able to work together was quite a challenge. Gradually other distracting habits such as staring out of the boat and cox-baiting began to diminish so that by the first Heads the crew was a united and reasonably well-disciplined outfit.

The Henley Schools' H.O.R. was rowed in awful conditions: a strong headwind against the stream producing substantial waves and a completely new rule book for coxes - i.e. take the longest (as close to the bank in each 'bay' down the course as possible) rather than the shortest route - which only the Thames schools seemed to have worked out. When Monkton appeared above Temple Island not only not keeping close to the near bank but also heading for the opposite bank all seemed to be lost as the crew behind, Eton 'A', slipped into the sheltered water and inevitably stormed past. What on earth was happening ? What those on the bank did not know was that in the shambles orchestrated by the marshals at the start Monkton had sustained severe damage to the rudder which was now bent, pushed by an alien oarblade in the scrimmage to set off so that it was now horizontal rather than vertical. In the circumstances, therefore, Tim Axford coxed superbly to get the boat down the course at all and the crew was sufficiently recovered by Remenham not only to be making up ground on the Eton crew but to pass Radley as well.

The following Sunday the 'B' IV made a valiant start in difficult conditions at the City of Bristol H.O.R. and the river was also unfriendly on Saturday 9th March at Bristol Ariel when several crews came to grief on the infamous bend by the boathouses. The 'A' VIII rowed strongly over the 4 mile course and it was unfortunate that the event had attracted no other J15 crews. At the Schools' Head the crew rowed more or less as expected, finishing 2 seconds behind Bryanston but ahead of other traditional rivals, Monmouth and Canford. One second can mean three or four positions difference in this event: a fact which only seems to be appreciated by the oarsmen after the event.

The last Head was Avon County where recent Monkton J15 crews had done so well that this year we rowed off in the leading position: this can be an unnerving experience and proved to be so on this occasion so that instead of striding away from the chasing crews, the 'A' VIII got into a rushing, panicky mode which led to them being overhauled by both Canford and Bryanston by the end of the course. It was one of those days when parents stayed away for some time after the race until the anger felt at not having done one's best subsided somewhat and crew members became human again. In contrast, the B IV had rather a good row and were justifiably pleased with their performance.

As in recent years, members of the provisional 'A' crew returned before the beginning of term for pre- season training and final selection. Unfortunately, Mark Richards who had rowed 5 in the Head crew was injured with a broken finger and consequently lost his place. Luckily, out of the intake of new blood Marcus Homer showed considerable promise and was installed immediately as 3 in the 'A' crew. By the end of a weekend's training at Saltford the crew had been finalised and was beginning to move with greater purpose. By this stage sculling was becoming a regular ingredient of technique training and the watermanship improved noticeably as a result. Fortunately, there were now sufficient numbers in the age group to form a 'B' VIII which was a heavier combination than the 'A' boat but very novice in terms of technique and concentration.

Wallingford Regatta provided an early opportunity to take stock of the competition at J 15 level and to have a first taste of racing. To everyone's surprise an unusually heavy and well co-ordinated King's School Worcester VIII appeared to beat not only ourselves in the first round but also Eton 'A' and all the other leading J 15 VIII's. What a pity too that Monkton crews are unable to practise racing side by side on home water: most of our rivals not only take this for granted but also have much longer reaches on which substantial mileage can be built up in training during the months before the regattas. Whilst one accepts that a certain amount of hardship is character-building, to deprive our 'A' crews of better training facilities when they exist nearby on the Bathampton, Saltford and Ariel reaches of the Avon seems tantamount to sporting suicide. With the prospect of younger pupils learning to row on home waters surely the moment has arrived to secure a base on one of the other reaches from which crews eager to do more mileage and race in training can accomplish these reasonable goals rather than, as at present, arrive at the first regatta with no previous experience of racing over that distance alongside another crew?

The lesson of Wallingford was that being such a physically small crew alongside many of our rivals, the 'A' boat would have to achieve a much higher degree of technical proficiency by the time of National Schools and so a priority was placed on this area of preparation. Meanwhile the 'B' crew began to improve, helped enormously by Richard Maine who, later assisted by David White, took on a major share of their coaching in the best traditions of the Club. At Avon County both 'A' and 'B' crews competed: the 'A' crew rowing in the 'B' VIII's category and the 'B' crew, containing four boys with only 2-3 weeks' training behind them, in the 'D' section which they went on to win. In their first round the 'A' crew had an unprepared start which cost them dearly as the overrunning schedule of races this year resulted in the second round being cut out so that placement in a Final was on the basis of one race rather than the usual two. Nevertheless they did comparatively well to finish 9th in a field of 25 J15 VIlla and rowed with greater control than before if at a somewhat low rating for such a short course.

One of the difficult decisions which a coach has to make is what gearing to set up for his crew. This year I kept the gearing the same as it had been in the previous season which was undoubtedly hard for some of the smaller crew members and may well explain why for the early part of the season the rating tended to be on the low side. On the other hand, one of the features of J15 rowing is that the oarsmen are making rapid increases in physical strength so that having to work harder for the same return in the boat does eventually seem to bring results and in retrospect it is always difficult to assess whether things might have gone better if the gearing had been easier...

The build-up for National Schools included a 0700 outing: the river is at its best at this time of day and, surprisingly perhaps, this outing is always a successful one. Through Stroke having an outing with the 2nd VIII and repeated interval work over 500 metres the rating did begin to come up and this paid off at Nottingham where the crew qualified comfortably for the Final of the Junior Colts' Cup, finishing some 2-3 lengths ahead of Monmouth 'A' in the Eliminator. In the Final the crew did well to hold the heavier 'A' crews for the first 750 metres and thereafter put up a spirited battle for 5th place against Shiplake 'A' who just made it in the end, the lead having changed several times down the course. There was no sense of disappointment at having finished sixth because it was a good, hard race against stronger crews with Monkton refusing to be shaken off by any of them. Clearly the VIII was hitting better form, getting within striking distance for the first time in the season of the strongest 'A' crews. Morale was high on the return from Nottingham only to be shaken strongly the following day at Monmouth where a curious impersonation by Monmouth 'A' of their VIII upset the crew sufficiently to have too. much mound to make up to win, consequently losing by 1/2 length to a clew soundly beaten the day before. Still, this is lien how a crew is jolted into making sure that the same mistake is not made twice so that at Twickenham, rowing in the Final against a Bryanston 'A' crew which had been faster in both of the Head season encounters, the VIII overcame a length deficit off the start due to a combination of stagger and unfriendly wash on the first two strokes, to storm down the enclosure to a V2 length victory: much to the delight of the crew and those parents who had been able to come and support. The sweetness of the victory completely obscured the problems the coach encountered with trailers, overhanging plastic boats and the like ... It was certainly good to see the crew with their pewter tankards and to know that a season's hard work on all sides had been rewarded.

Owing to unforeseen circumstances the 'A' crew was unable to row as usual at Tewkesbury where the 'B' VIII, unaware of the standard in their age group, encountered two strong 'A' crews and finished some considerable distance behind them.

The 'B' VIII came off the water confident that things would be different at Thames Valley. Unfortunately, events conspired to deny the 'B' crew the chance of delivering its long promised success then either as important lessons were still to be learnt about priorities even at the end of term, but despite losing a key crew member the VIII did well to lose by only one length to The Oratory 'A', showing that with a right approach next season there is enough potential in the age group to provide strong Senior crews for the future. The last weekend of term saw the 'A' crew rowing at Marlow against NSR winners, St Edward's and also Shrewsbury 'A' whom they were able to hold up to 750 metres but despite a technique which looked increasingly polished they were no match for these heavy and super fit VIII's over a mile distance. However, at Thames Valley the crew showed the considerable progress made over the season by managing to 'blind' off the start at 40+ and only lose to St.Edward's by 11/2 lengths whilst beating Pangboume 'A' by 1/2 length: a considerable achievement for any Monkton crew and certainly a high note on which to end the season. I felt that this was the most successful of the three J15 VIII's I have coached to date at Monkton: not because they had the best results - the '89 crew achieved that distinction but rather because they snore than fulfilled their potential and had an excellent crew spirit. To have begun the season as a rather weak 'B' crew and to have gone on not only to win at that level but to end up respectably close to the fastest crew in their age group was no mean achievement. Despite the loss of key members from the successful '90 Novice boat, there was never a hint of defeatism and this lightweight combination, including members too small to reach the boat when being lifted to the water, proved that they could row as well as any. Sincere thanks goes to the parents without whose enthusiastic support so much could not have been achieved, particularly to Mr. and Mrs. Perry for hosting us so magnificently over the Marlow-Reading weekend. The crew's obvious enjoyment of the water was to be seen by their love of sculling and so it was fitting to round off the season with an internal sculling competition which was won by Julian Perry against a hotly- favoured James Wadham whose chances of success ended in the reed bed some fifty metres off the start. A final 'thank you' to Sascha Darroch-Davies who not only stroked the boat consistently well but also took his responsibilities as Captain seriously, showing strong leadership throughout the season, as well as to all who supported him so well in the boat and whom lack of space prevents me mentioning in greater detail individually.