What a year! Every September I come back full of energy and hoping that things will run relatively smoothly compared to the previous season..........well it doesn't! There is always something new to deal with and it's funny how things never work out as you thought!!
September saw the first crop of oarsmen come through 'my system' since I started four years ago. Time to see if things were working in this system, or would it be back to the drawing board?
I had a bare eight but I was full of optimism of what they and a potential VIII could achieve.
Things started well enough with the boys performing well above what I thought they were capable of in the gym. Also on the water a real sense of competitiveness was being adopted as I split the group into two quads for the Bluefriars Head and the Fours head.
I also introduced a new regime of core stability with the GB Junior lead physiotherapist, Jenny Conway. Her experience working with the top athletes in the country was invaluable and I saw a massive improvement in the boys' posture and stability.
The early races showed much promise from the squad and performances on and off the water were well above what I originally thought. The Bluefriars Head kicked things off with the squad broken into singles and doubles. No wins but top three placings for everyone filled me with confidence. I decided to break the squad into two quads for the Fours Head to get a little competition going between everyone. It turned out to be a stroke of genius as both crews pushed tooth and nail for the number one spot. In the end only 0.25 seconds separated them at the finish line. Quite remarkable over a 4¼ mile course!! Again at Wycliffe Head the quads raced hard against each other this time only 1 second separating them. That competitive edge that I was hoping for was coming through.
After the Christmas break it was back to the hard work and again I was filled with confidence as to what these boys could achieve. However, something was missing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but the squad just did not seem the same. Wycliffe Big Head saw the crew in an VIII for the first time. I was quite excited to see if the competitive edge was still there. The morning race saw the crew pull over to get out of the way of Kings Chester and then STOP?????? As you can expect I was furious and in the second race the crew went 23 seconds faster. Enough said.
The Schools' Head came next and although Wycliffe Head was not too inspiring I was still confident of a reasonably high placing. However, yet again the crew did not measure up to what I felt and their home water performances warranted. Disappointing!
Avon County Head did not see the crew do much better and it was clear to see that the confidence was rapidly being depleted from the crew. It was here that I decided that an VIII was not the way forward for the rest of the season.
After the short Easter break we gathered ready for a tough training camp in Nantes. I had not mentioned to anyone what my intentions were for the squad until we reached Nantes and then I dropped the bombshell. The first crew would not be an VIII this year and the top crew would be selected from a series of seat races. Again, I did not say what the boat type would be. After fairly savage seat racing sessions I picked a coxless four which I would trial against our very quick J16 coxless four. If we beat them handsomely then this would be the first crew, otherwise it was back to the drawing board.
The trials against the J16's were very competitive and unsurprisingly the first crew lost three out of the five races. This was particularly difficult for the Captain, Ali Saunders, who lost to his younger brother in the J16 crew. It was clear that even this crew was not quick enough to be a racing crew. After a very tense few hours I gathered two of the squad together and told them I was going to trial them in a double scull. Ali Saunders and Tommy Yip were selected because they came out on top of the seat racing and always looked well connected and suited each other's style. We did a 1000 metre piece and it was the quickest time over the whole week from any boat. This was to be our new first crew. Small but perfectly formed.
The rest of the week saw the double get quicker and quicker and it accumulated with them beating the next best four guys by 8 seconds over 2000 metres!
The regatta season kicked off soon after we arrived back home from Nantes. Birmingham regatta has always been a good hunting ground for Monkton and I was hoping to see more this time around from a rather different looking first squad. The first double and second double both won comfortably, but the second four lost horribly to the J16 crew....again. I cannot repeat the words I uttered to myself after that race. However, it was a successful day for the first crew none the less.
Much the same was seen at Bristol/Avon regatta with fine wins for the first and second doubles and yet another loss for the second four to the J16 four. However, yet again I felt it was a positive step forward for the first double and it was clear we had an outstanding J16 crew.
For the second year in a row I held a National Schools trial at Monkton for all our crews to try and hit a target time to be eligible to go to National Schools. The times that were set are hard but fair and only the best crews would qualify outright. It was a chance to see if the training and crew selections were correct and if these crews were fast enough. It proved to be fairly predictable as the first double qualified and the other double and four did not. Rather than be disappointed I was quite pleased with how everyone had upped their game for this trial and I felt there was certainly hope for these guys as the season moved onto the second part.
National Schools Regatta was a washout or should I say a blow-out!!! 50mph gusts and massive waves put paid to the regatta with several VIIIs sinking in the processional races. Luckily for the double they raced early in the processional race and qualified for the semi-final. This was a fantastic result as there were only 12 crew to qualify for the semi's with 36 crews entered. Although very disappointed not to race the semi's the double were very pleased to have qualified into this position.
As the season progressed, I was always thinking about Henley. I wanted to put an VIII out but it was clear from the squad I had and the results throughout the season that this crew would not be quick enough. However, we did have an exceptionally quick first double and J16 four. It was an easy decision to put these guys together along with the next two best guys from the first squad.
Along with Carl Purchase, we blended the crew together over the next few weeks and raced at Reading and Marlow to gain racing experience. Having dispatched three crews in the heats at Reading this newly formed crew nearly caused a massive upset in the final by nearly beating Bristol University's second VIII. The verdict......2 metres!!!! Things were looking good.
Henley Qualifiers arrived too soon; however, Carl and I had prepared the crew as best as we could and it was time to see how well they could do. The draw was good with two crews qualifying out of five. Not easy but very do-able. The many Monkton supporters waited patiently to see the crew pass and they looked positive, strong and most importantly fast. Mr B and I did some very dubious timing but we did feel that the Monkton crew were the quickest or second quickest of the five. Only time would tell. The crew were extremely happy with the row and felt it was the best row of the season. The crew and coaches waited nervously for the results. Then when the tannoy crackled and the voice said "This is an announcement, the following crews have qualified for the Princess Elizabeth Cup I alphabetical order, Monkton". I didn't hear the rest as the crew and coaches burst into cheers and hugs. It was an amazing feeling and an amazing result for a crew put together three weeks previously. On a personal note it was very satisfying qualifying my first Monkton crew for Henley. Four long years for me but 9 long for Monkton. Amazing, truly amazing.
Regatta week was another fantastic experience for the crew and coaches. The crew trained at Henley on Monday and Tuesday and soaked up the atmosphere that only Henley has. The race against Teddies on Wednesday was a highlight of the week. Although the crew lost by four lengths, they never gave up and never lost heart. They did the coaches, Bluefriars, Monkton and themselves proud.
As I said at the beginning it has been a strange year from hope to despair to joy again. What a season, what a rollercoaster, what a wonderful job I have to be able to be part of all of these emotions!!!
Crews
Crew:
First Double - Ali Saunders, Tommy Yip
Crew:
Second Double - Keith Law, James McCall
Crew:
Second Four - Ali Moss, Josh Rogers, Josh Perkins, Peter Leach
Crew:
First VIII - Toby Saunders, Seb Norman, Charlie Adams, Peter Leach, Ali Moss, Henry Page, Ali Saunders, Tommy Yip, Matthew Fox