Perpetually Rushing the Slide

[Qwerty3002]

I've rowed for about 2 years now, and my stroke is not excellent. It's adequate and at the same level, if not higher, than most of the other people in my boats. But I have one serious problem- I rush the slide. Constantly. Consistently. And I've always done it. Coaches have tried correcting my stroke, both erging and OTW, but I don't seem to have gotten it.

I had a particularly bad OTW practice today, and I think it finally pushed me over the edge. I couldn't even tell I was doing it for most of the practice, but my coach and our coxswain pointed it out multiple times. On the way back to the dock at the end, my coach pointed out that I was doing it again. I tried my absolute best, focusing on the person ahead of me the entire time. I usually row bow, partly because of the rush. Another reason I row bow is because I'm about 4-6 inches taller than the average height of my fellow 13-14 (about) year old rowers (I am just under 5 ft. 10 in. as a 13 yr. old female, and am continuing to grow at a pace that is considerably higher than what would be expected of girls my age), and my stroke is so long that I often end up hitting the oars of the person behind me. I think my height may also be contributing to the rush; I can't follow as well because I can't judge where the other person is on their stroke as well. I also think I need more time on the drive, so I compensate by speeding up on the recovery.

Please help me. I really need it. I'm starting with competitive team racing this August, in about 6 weeks, and need to be able to fix it or I don't think I'll really be able to/allowed to row in any serious boats. Also, do you think that my height is indeed impacting my following ability and causing the rushing? If so, how can I fix this?

[Edward4492]

Full disclaimer, I have limited OTW experience. You may want to focus on your body preparation coming out of the finish. Arms away and then a forward tilt before you start to move up the slide. Then focus on just following your hands into the catch. I find when I'm in a quad with mostly women (our club is predominantly female) I have to truncate my stroke. Not go quite as deep into the catch and not too much lay back so I can stay in sync with the mostly shorter ladies. Remember, your height will be a huge asset when college or university recruiters start talking with you. A girl I coach on the erg is 6' 3", she had a little trouble like you're having due to her height. She became a very highly recruited rower and has a full scholarship locked down starting this fall. You'll be the envy of everyone in your program as you progress.

[lwtguy]

If you're finding that you have trouble keeping up with everyone else on the slide, you may want to consider the speed of your turnaround. As your hands come into the finish, make sure that they are coming back out quick enough. If you are taking too much time at the release, you will find that you need to rush up the slide to keep in time with everyone else.

[Qwerty3002]

OK, thanks for the help. I'll try with the arms and finish thing.

[jamesg]

Try sculling a 1x, like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf84O5cTWY4

[Edward4492]

James, you always post up the Zak Purchase video link.... keep doing it! One of my favorites. Next up is probably the Sinkovic brothers. And for 1x races I still like Xeno's gold medal 2k. Nice demonstration of staying with-in your self, pacing, and finishing strong.

[jamesg]

I rush the slide ... I often end up hitting the oars of the person behind me

So you rush the slide during the pull - usually called bumshoving.

Do plenty of backstop drill with no slide at all, even fixed seat, then gradually increase the leg use, but making sure you take the catch with a braced back. Ashore, try some squats, moving hands from floor to ceiling, slow and observing the same sequence - legs first but with braced back, otherwise you end up with your bum in the air and hands still on the floor.

[jackarabit]

Does the OP foul the oars of her team mate "behind" her in the boat or those of the team mate "behind" her back (seat fwd of her seat)? IMO if she's been placed in the bow seat to eliminate oar contact, then it follows that she must have previously been overtaking the blade recovery arc of the team mate "behind" her back. If this was the case, she is rushing the slide on recovery just as she says. Does she possibly have the length and timing to overhaul blades both fore and aft? She doesn't say. I think she uses "behind" with reference to her body rather than to the ends of the boat.

[jamesg]

It's not clear, since she doesn't say what boats she's in. "Row" (not "scull") usually means sweep. With normal rigging (alternating port and starboard) even for novices it's almost impossible to foul oars outboard.

"Behind" I think means behind her back. The people she can see in front of her are Astern.

[jackarabit]

I often end up hitting the oars of the person behind me.

Mention of oars plural suggests a quad scull. But she also mentions being in a cox'd boat. Many 8s are bucket rigged with a "tandem" amidships or elsewhere but each member of a sameside pair could only contact the oar singular of the other.

[Qwerty3002]

If anyone is still on here and reading this, I was referring to the person whose number is below me (For example, if I'm in 3 seat, I hit the person in 2 seat.) I have managed both, however, but hitting the person whose back I can see (If I'm in 3 seat, hitting 4 seat) is more difficult and pretty infrequent. Yes, I am often placed in the bow, but recently I haven't been and this post refers to a time when I was not in bow. This is sculling (I don't even know what you would have to do to hit people's oars in sweeping), and I am referring to a coxed quad.

[jamesg]

So you get the handles of the sculls behind you in your back. Not fun. Classic bum-shoving. Can't happen if the blades are in the water and the back braced, unless you go in too soon.

Quads are fast even if there's is a cox to add some ballast. So you need to relax and drop the blades in much quicker. There's no point in waving them around in the air. It'll be hard work, but you'll get used to it.

Watch what happens in the first stroke when the boat is stationary and the blades are in.