For Jamie, a full day at the office does not signal the end of the work day. As soon as he steps off the tube, he is back in action. Throwing on a pair of salopettes and various other winter gear over the top of his office clothes, he braces for the upcoming cold evening. His destination – Thames Rowing Club. For volunteer coaches like Jamie, commitment to the sport is not just an additional responsibility – it is a way of life.
Following a conversation with volunteer coaches at Thames Rowing Club, I have learned that there is not as much of a difference between the athletes and volunteer coaches as you might have thought. They both share an important trait, a commitment to the act, and it takes both sides working together, hand in hand, to achieve the goals set out.
Jamie, having been a rower himself for the University of Cambridge’s Lightweight Squad, knows the feeling of achieving in the sport. He compares being an athlete and winning to being a coach who watches their crews win and deduces that it is not all that different.
“You still get the same kick out of it”, he said.
Hannah, who has been a volunteer coach at Thames for a year-and-a-half, started out coxing for Thames, but, after moving away from this role, she looked to give back to the rowing community through coaching. Having previously been coached herself, she possessed enough rowing knowledge to be on the opposite end of the receiving line. But Hannah emphasises that this is “a completely different ball game” and, as a new coach, she needed to “fake it until you make it,” which in this case, would be to assume what changes need to be made until improvements and results are seen.
Hannah notes that she’s “excited about this season with the introduction of new athletes as well as returners” providing the coaches with more projects to work on. When active changes are seen from the coaching that has been done, it becomes satisfying to see the athletes’ development and progression in the sport.
As Jamie moves into his seventh season with the club, he expresses his excitement about the upcoming season.
He said: “We’re making good progress and have momentum.”
The winter season, although cold and dark, is such an important part of the development of athletes. In Jamie’s words: “it’s about getting the fundamentals right”. As has been suggested, volunteer coaching is a huge time commitment, but these coaches make it work. Balancing a full-time job and the devotion to providing coaching can be difficult, but more so when the days are darker and demotivating.
Despite this, Hannah jokes: “We look like we’re going skiing when we’re coaching!” But she uses this on the launch, along with “a clear direction and goal in mind” to stay motivated and help the athletes as well as herself through tougher sessions.
Hannah knows that putting the work in during the winter season is crucial to seeing performances during the summer and allows this to guide her coaching strategies. “When you have nine faces staring back at you, looking for direction, you need to be confident,” Hannah tells me, whilst reflecting on her role.
Being a coach forces you to improvise whilst maintaining confidence in your suggestions, and Hannah has found that her ability to lead has improved significantly because of this.
Problem-solving in this role has been an invaluable skill for Jamie. As a lawyer, he has found that the lessons he has learned as a coach have translated to his professional career. He finds that a lot of the time, “you need to think on the spot,” particularly when you haven’t had much time to consider a session’s outcomes and athletes need a plan to move forward. In the same way, when he is speaking to clients, he needs to be able to think on his feet, particularly in times when a solution is not directly obvious.
Having these transferable attributes between roles has been crucial to Jamie because it makes the
switch from “being in the office or on the tube” to “going and making people better at rowing”
easier to mentally comprehend.
Both Jamie and Hannah agree that volunteer coaches are incredibly important to the development of big or small clubs. It allows for the effort to be spread across everyone, including the paid coaches, and they offer a new perspective whilst picking up on smaller details when coaching a crew. The gestures made, whether little or large, have a longstanding impact in seeing the club thrive. It takes all members of a club to see it flourish but especially those who are adding to the club’s merit without being asked to.
The athletes themselves have always shown a great appreciation for the volunteer coaching staff which has led to the formation of “long lasting relationships,” said Hannah.
It is important for athletes to feel that they can communicate their concerns to coaches, so in addition to coaching, Hannah and Jamie have also found themselves providing pastoral care to the athletes. This is a part of the sport. When something doesn’t go quite right, and there is a question of how to fix it, the coaches will always be there, attempting to find a solution.
Jamie has proven himself to be a successful coach at Thames, having coached crews that won the Wyfold Challenge Cup in 2021 and 2022, the Britannia Cup in 2022, and the Thames Cup in 2023 at Henley Royal Regatta.
At Thames’ annual dinner, Jamie was recognised for his efforts through memorabilia and the club’s applause. Whilst receiving an appreciative cheer from the club’s members, he collected a blade painted with the different crews he had coached, reminding him of his successes. Thames is great at recognising its excellent coaching staff which fosters a respective community and leads to outstanding results. The drive and determination shown by every member involved at the Thames are certainly one to be modelled and inspired by.
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