With the beginning of a new season, the musical chairs that coaches are involved in sidles to a close. Athletes will begin to size up their new coaches and wonder how to best get on their good side and struggle to stand out in the squad. This is a good plan as most coaches will have already picked out the Head of the River/School’s Head eights by the end of October. There are many ways to get on the boss’s good side, but the key factors are all surrounding attitude towards training and other members of the squad.
Arriving early and leaving late are often said to be key in setting a good precedent for the season, but taking this too far could get you on the wrong side of the coach, if half of the squad rocked up while the coach was setting up for the session and were asking questions it would very quickly get annoying, and after a day of coaching it would be on the verge of infuriating if you are stopped from going home. Arriving promptly to begin mobilising and warm up before the session would go down well, as would focusing on recovery post-session. By doing this you will be showing your commitment to training well, time management and organisation, and not annoying the coach.
The attitude toward training is a huge indicator to your coach of where you may end up come the summer racing season. Off the back of last year, many will be keen to surpass their performances, while others will be wondering whether to start the new season. Coaches know that medals are won in the winter, and picked up in the summer; if there are athletes struggling to motivate themselves during the mild autumn then there will be questions of whether they will make it through the winter, and if they do make it, would the training have been completed properly. Approaching every session as if it is a race, with the dedication and attention to performing well is a good plan, however enjoying the training is integral. Having fun with the rest f the club will create an atmosphere that the coaches would love to be a part of.
New athletes may have joined the club, and could bring with them a new competition for seats. The way in which this is dealt with is easily picked up by the coaching team. If this competition is allowed to boil over and become unhealthy or unwelcoming the coaches will be aware and not look upon those responsible favourably. Showing all in the club respect will lead to a strong club atmosphere that breeds results. Being selfish about seats and selections is only natural, yet with coaches always looking at the bigger picture these new athletes will definitely have something to offer, maybe at the expense of another for a seat in the top boat. As with all sports, friendly competition is encouraged, it leads to improving performance from all involved. However, especially in the early days of the season, bitterness surrounding crew selection from the previous season or the presence of some newer athletes to contend with must be forgotten in place of squad building.
What most coaches know, that athletes may be unsure of, is that the those who train hard will overtake those that are naturally talented, and the attitude that comes with training hard is what you want in a top squad. There can be chat and jokes, but the training needs to be done well, with a focus on performance individually and as a crew. Understanding that the big picture is what matters to the coach is integral in having a place in their squad, so welcoming the new athletes and putting old rivalries aside for the new season will land athletes a good reputation. However, going overboard and annoying the coach will be detrimental to chances of getting on their good side, holding up sessions by being late, getting injured from not mobilising, or keeping them back after a session for irrelevant or unimportant chat are all examples of this. In the most simple terms, getting on the coaches good side can just come down to four words: don’t be a prat.
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