Bits and Pieces: Some Sports Psychology Humor

Two weeks ago, I took a sports psychology test. There were three long essay questions and we had to answer two, however, if we answered three, we got extra credit. Even though I had no idea what essay question number three was, I decided to give it my best shot.

Question
In preparing a mental focus for competition, coaches should help athletes answer two questions. What are they and how will the athletes answering them create a "sense of expectancy"?


Answer

I cracked myself up anyway. I apparently made my professor laugh as well, because he gave me an extra credit point. (And for the record, I got an A on the test!)

Head of the Ch....er....Marist Women's Crew goes to Delaware

 Fall Race #1: Marist vs. Temple, Delaware and LaSalle at Delaware

Marist Women's Crew

The first race of our season was originally not supposed to be our first race. The Poughkeepsie Regatta, scheduled for Oct. 1^st, was cancelled and we had to wait three weeks to race for the first time. This was a new race for Marist, as all the crews invited had not been picked to race in the Head of the Charles. Although our team was depressed to not make the time-honored trip to Boston, I think that the racing that happened instead was worth making the trip south.

We left school at 11am and made it to Delaware to rig and practice on the course. The river that Delaware rows on reminded me of my home course on the Passaic River with lots of bridges and multiple turns on a narrow river set in an industrial area. Personally, I like courses like this because lots of landmarks make a race go by faster. Our coxswains are very aggressive and good at steering, which makes 100% of a difference on that kind of course. The varsity 8+ and both freshmen eights were able to practice on the course before heading to the hotel to shower and eat.

The next day, the team left the hotel at 7:45am to get to the course. The race schedule was as follows:

9:50 varsity 8+

10:10 varsity 4+

10:30 freshman 8+

11:45 varsity 8+ round 2

noon varsity 4+

12:15 freshman 4+

*bold races had Marist boats

Varsity 8+

Because our boat had only three rowers returning from last year’s first varsity eight and three sophomores with very little racing experience due to the ridiculous number of race cancellations in 2011, I went into this race apprehensively. In all of rowing, I feel like it is hard to go into a race in a boat with people you have never raced with before because you don’t know how people mentally handle racing situations. There are breakdowns even at the Olympic level. However, we had an advantage: we raced in a brand new boat filled with rowers who were hungry for a race. And it completely paid off. Our sophomores proved themselves to be focused and intense and I think our boat rowed better in the race than it had in all of our previous practices. We started out strong, and had a fantastic middle move and a strong sprint. The steering was great and we definitely gained time on other crews because of it. We placed 2^nd to Delaware, beating Temple and LaSalle as well as the 2vs from the above schools. Overall, I think it was a great first varsity race for our sophomores and is hopefully a good indicator of a strong spring season.

Freshman 8+

Pre-race huddle by the 2F8

Marist had two boats in this race, one boat of six experienced rowers and two novices and then a boat of all novices, including the coxswain. I could not imagine tackling that course as a first race for an inexperienced coxswain and I think that Sam deserves the MVP award for the day for staying calm throughout the race. The 1F placed 2^nd by 7 seconds to Delaware and the 2F placed 5^th, great finishes for a first race of the season, especially versus a team with a home course advantage.

Varsity 4+

1V4+

Marist also had two boats in this race. Both boats had very strong races. As is typical with fall racing, my boat had practiced in our line-up once and the 2v4+ had never practiced in their line-up. Delaware started first, then the 1v4+ and the 2v4+. We began to walk through the Delaware boat in the first 500m, but needed to hold back due to a tight space under the second bridge of the course. We walked through them and had a great second 500m. Our middle move at the Delaware dock was probably the best 20 strokes I’ve taken all year. Our awesome freshmen cheering for us from the shore inspired our boat to take some great strokes. Jen, our coxswain, steered a fantastic course, as did the 2v4+ coxswain, Bree, whose boat I could see the entire time. 

2V4+

The 2v4+ also passed Delaware’s 4, a little before the halfway point. The only thing that would have made this race a little better would have been if Delaware, Temple and LaSalle had done what we did and rowed fours with rowers from the varsity eight. The field would have been more interesting, but it was a good race nonetheless.

Freshman 4+

Post race pictures

Marist entered one experienced freshman four in this race. From what I heard from the girls and their coxswain, they also had a great race. They placed 1^st in a field of three boats. They also had not rowed in their lineup prior to the race, but felt that they were able to match up really well during the warm-up. This allowed them to row well and put together a very solid race.

I really enjoyed this race. The course was different from what we usually race or practice on and the change of scenery was welcome. It was a relaxed racing atmosphere, but efficiently run. From the perspective of introducing 17 freshmen to collegiate racing, it was perfect: no chaos, no angry officials, a pleasantly small venue (my standard for this is measured by the distance between the trailer, the dock and the food tent) and clean port-a-potties. The parents did a great job with the food tent (as always). The bus ride was a little long for a one day race but what promotes team bonding more than being stuck in small space with over thirty people? (Well, besides having a great day of racing.)

Lineups

1v8+ cox: Z. Christopher 8: F. Siclovan 7. M. Kolb 6: T. Fillipini 5: M. Ladouceur 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	1F8+ cox: N. DeVito 8: A. Devorak 7: S. Moriarty 6: M. Romer 5: S. LaRose 4: K. Wilson 3: S. Blau 2: T. Mullaney 1: A. Khoury	2F8+ cox: S. Cillo 8: B. Logue 7:  L. Hehir 6: K. Melendez 5: N. Culhane 4: K. Orzech 3: M. Perry 2: N. Washburn 1: K. Mahoney
1v4+ cox: J. Guzzardi 4: T. Mather 3: A. Carafas 2: J. DeLisle 1: K. Butta	2v4+ cox: B. Rodriguez 4: F. Siclovan 3: M. Kolb 2: M. Banks 1: E. Waskiewicz	1F4+ cox: Z. Christopher 4: A. Devorak 3: S. LaRose 2: K. Wilson 1: S. Moriarty

 Results can be found here. 

Thanks to all our parents, supporters and coaches! And also to the UDel crew team for putting together a great day of racing!

Tory's Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Rower

As I move into my senior year of college, all everyone (read: parents and relatives and other assorted adults) wants to talk about is “after graduation”. Seniors hate this question. The average college student wakes up at noon, procrastinates as much as possible and drinks three nights a week. For any athlete, this isn’t usually an option. For a collegiate rower, it’s impossible. Anyone who knows our schedule knows that we wake up before 6 a.m. to train and usually have to have finished our day by 11 p.m. in order to get adequate sleep. In that time period, we have to balance multiple practices, classes, homework, and stops for frequent eating. In this respect, I feel that rowing prepares athletes for the real world better than college itself actually does. As a rower, I believe that I have some advantages in the job market that many of my peers do not have.

1. Rowers are used to early hours. You need me to get up at 6 a.m.? That’s 45 more minutes of sleep than I got six days a week in college. I also won’t show up for work bleary-eyed and needing a coffee IV, unlike many other recent college grads.

2. Rowers work really, really hard. In rowing, the ratio of practice time to racing time is depressingly high in favor of practice. Almost three hours a day, six days a week between September and May for six minutes of racing approximately ten times a spring. We’re used to putting in a lot of work for a small payoff.

3. Rowers are used to being yelled at constructively criticized. I spend most of my mornings hearing things like “Mather, relax your shoulders!” and “Square up earlier!” through a megaphone or a microphone. Being told I need to work harder on a project or that I’m not doing something in the right manner isn’t going to phase me.

4. Rowers are used to dealing with people. Name the person that you dislike in your office. Is it the person who constantly complains? The person who never pulls their own weight? The person who throws you under the bus to make themselves look better? As a rower, I have dealt with all of those people. I haven’t just simply tolerated them either. I’ve had to work with them and trust them to have my back in a racing situation, meaning that I am fully prepared to work with these people in an office environment.

5. Rowers are team players. Too many times in my rowing career, I have been upset at a teammate for not showing up to practice and not allowing me to row because of numbers. I have vowed never to be that teammate and work as hard as I can to not allow my actions to hurt other people.

6. Rowers are humble. In rowing, there is no MVP. It doesn’t matter if I have the fastest erg in the boathouse or the most experience in my boat; I don’t have the option to do well until every other person in my boat gets faster as well. A standout athlete on a mediocre team in any other sport gets recognition; a standout rower usually does not.

7. Rowers are punctual. Showing up to practice late usually means punishment in the form of hills or sprints. While I might not encounter that at a job, a fear of being late has been ingrained into my skull. In fact, I’ll probably show up fifteen minutes early to make sure my desk is set up correctly and to make sure there’s a full pot of coffee brewing.

8. Rowers have good time-management skills. We know what it takes to balance a busy schedule. Procrastination is not an option when it comes to excelling in both school and rowing. Rowers have a keen ability to pick out what urgently needs to get done and what can be left for another day.

9. Rowers are strong. Need the communal water bottle changed? I can do that. Need a heavy box lifted off of a high shelf? I can do that. This might not be a reason to hire a rower, but it certainly helps us earn our keep.

10. Rowers are good at making coffee. But only if you like it strong. When it comes to caffeine, I don’t mess around.

Now this article isn’t meant to bash Average Jane College Student. There were many mornings where my alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. when I wished I was her. Sometimes I wonder if employers look at my resume and think “Why would she put so much time into a sport? Maybe if she had put that much time into her grades, she would have a 4.0!” But I do think that college doesn’t always prepare people for “the real world”. I believe that I learned more people skills and discipline on the water than I ever did in a classroom. With that being said, would you hire me (and my teammates)?