By Craig Neal
What? Are you serious? These were my thoughts the first time my coach asked me to row in a pair. Famously, the pair is ostensibly the hardest and most unstable sweep boat to row, and yet likely the most rewarding. Seeking to improve one’s skills, this boat forces quick realization of and adaptation for both form and technique. Not just your own, but “paired” with the other person in the boat at the same time. Consequences from failure in any area can (and likely will) quickly lead to disaster. Flipping your boat is just one of the many possibilities. That is even scarier when it is cold, deep, and choppy waters! We all know this is the last thing any rower wants to have happen. Embarrassing, humbling, and frankly dangerous, climbing back into a 30 foot long, 14 inch wide shell filed with water – if you can – ruins one’s day!
So why take the risk – you ask? Pair rowing can be the best training ground for skill improvement and confidence! In any sweep boat, when you and your partner(s) sync up and get it right, there is no better feeling personally and the boat performs so well. Fast, smooth, and connected – the boat just moves from underneath you. The boat glides over the water as each rower locks into that perfect harmonious rhythm. It is truly amazing! Especially in a pair!
Predictable, my initial pair experience was far from that. Reluctantly agreeing to attempt this unbalanced, unknown boat – and challenged by my coach while being warned by my fellow team mates of the impending perils – I grab oars and move towards the dock with my somewhat trepidatious partner. My partner asks, “when was the last time you rowed a pair?”. My response opened his eyes as hesitation – or was it panic – set in…. “never”, I responded. As we set up the boat – me guessing at how this boat needs set for my swimming lesson – the coach joins us on the dock. Coach Mark wants me in bow – what??! He gives me some tips, tells me not to flip it, and walks away to take off in his launch and help other rowers out at practice. Scared? Totally!
Fortunately, Sami, my brave partner, starts reassuring me that everything will be alright and trying to build my confidence. You are a strong rower, he tells me. This isn’t any different than a 4- or and 8+, he lies to me. All the time I can see the look in his eyes – Why me? The boat is all set with the foot stretchers and seat tracks positioned for our outing. We assume our positions and gently get into the boat. Wow, this thing is tippy! This is the only thought that I am having. As a port rower I am happy my oar is extended and resting on the water. At least we didn’t flip at the dock and I am seated and holding onto my oar. Dreading what comes next, and my call to make, I count down – on two, push off – and we push off the dock into unsupported water. Hey, we haven’t flipped yet! But my confidence hadn’t increased at all! As soon as my partner in the stroke seat tried to take a small stroke to move us away from the dock I felt nervous. I quickly realized that my balance, my confidence, and likely all my technique needed work! We are still afloat…. And it is somewhat stable – as I tighten every muscle in my body – but it sure feels tippy! All the right thoughts and the wrong responses! It reminds me of the experience I had the first time I was in a narrow single! And yes, I have flipped my single! Haven’t we all?
Getting ready now for our first stroke together – with me in bow calling it – I call out, “ready, half slide, and row!”. And there it was! We took one stroke, and then another, and then kept on going. Well… that’s not the whole story.
I will be honest, it wasn’t pretty at all! We were wobbling back and forth. We had terrible boat set and the most unbalanced boat in all aspects. We didn’t go straight as we couldn’t match power and we couldn’t catch together as the boat was always leaning to one side or the other. There were many scary moments and we didn’t go very far. But we also didn’t flip! We struggled as we fought each other and we rowed – if you can call it that – about 1000 meters before agreeing to stop and turn back towards the dock and safety. Turning was easy (only one-person rows) and we made it back to the dock without a swim. Success!!! Or was it?
The tension and tightness that I carried into the boat must have burned thousands of calories regardless of the level of workout we did. And that tension didn’t help our performance in any way. Once safe on the dock I was sure that the pair wasn’t for me and I really did not want to ever attempt that again. Then something wonderful happened! My partner – clearly happy we survived without swimming back – mentioned to me that he thought we did really well considering it was my first time in a pair. He said now that I can get past the first-time nerves we could go out and really make a go of it. And that he would be happy to row a pair with me again. And so it started! Accepting the challenge and willing to take the swim lesson if needed, I went out again with Sami, then with another person, then another. Coached to row one at a time in circles, then together while focused on balanced power and body positions, I started to learn the proper stroke technique and balance for the boat and for each partner that I rowed with. Little by little it came together and my confidence increased with my oar handling skills and overall technique. This was easily transferred into the 4- and the 8’s that I rowed as well.
One year later, with a different partner, our Men’s Masters E2- placed third at the Master’s Nationals in Worchester, MA., bringing home a bronze medal with a time of 3:52.01. What a fun and powerful race we had! I hope you find encouragement and frankly a bit of a challenge in this. Good things do come to those who have patience and practice. Well and it may help to have a crazy commitment to overcome fears and obstacles. Training was hard, and it required overcoming fears, working with several different brave partners, and listening to lots of coaching tips and guidance. At point I thought, my goodness was I doing everything wrong?
In all, I learned many valuable lessons that have made me a better rower and a better person. As in any sweep boat, learning to swing with, or synchronize with, your team mates is just as critical – if not more so – than refining your basic skills. Rowing in a pair, or attempting to, allows a singular focus in all areas of technique, form, fitness, and function that is seldom found – or forced – working in any other boat. Learning to relax and trust yourself – and your balance – was the first step for me and likely for you as well. Like me, if you have rowed in other team boats then the pair will not be your first sweep boat. So, take the lessons from your 4 or your 8 and just apply them here with a bit of extra focus, and in time, confidence. Just relax and settle into the boat! The pair gives you far better feedback than any other sweep boat! Second, communicate with your partner! Both verbal and physical communication are critical. Over time you will learn to feel the boat and each other. Then communicate what you are feeling by your words or your actions. Are you zig-zagging down the lake? The stroke can easily see the sterns reaction to every attempted stroke. From that we can learn to balance each other’s power and in turn learn to move together. Learning how to compensate and enhance each other in power and boat set is powerful! These improvements in your individual and combined technique and confidence will improve boat speed and comfort as well. Are your blades dragging on the water on one side or the other during the recovery? Then talk about handle heights and body positions during all stages of the stroke. Learn from each other and learn to adapt to and correct each other. The pair allows you to have an amazing micro-focus giving both rowers the ability to see and feel every part of the stroke! Synchronizing your catch, then staying together through the drive, and finishing together with a clean push down and feathering, and then the telltale recovery back to the catch all allow you to react with precision to each other each and every stroke. My partner leans to the outside at the finish and during the recovery. For me to keep the boat balanced I either need to lean opposite him (and he is a big heavy guy) or talk to him about it and jointly agree on corrective action. When we do this, we achieve improved boat set, better catches, and smoother finishes. And in turn easy speed! Predictably, the pair responds quickly, and often without forgiveness, to every part of the stroke, AND the subsequent corrections each rower makes. No other boat handles and responds like this! It is truly a magnificent feeling! I liken it to driving a Formula 1 car after getting to the track in a Prius.
Improving our stroke, or striving for a perfect stroke (which may be only a dream), is a goal we all share. Rowing in a pair is, in my opinion and that of many well-known coaches, by far one of the best ways to improve in any sweep boat. The pair helps us in all aspect of rowing! Balance, body mechanics and position, balanced power in all phases of our drive, stroke technique, and confidence are all improved. Yes, it takes time and patience as well as finding the right – or at least a willing – pair partner who you can work with and both improve. And while rotating through several partners is definitely instructive, finding consistency in a pair partner is preferable. It is here we really learn about connecting with, or feeling, the boat and each other. It is here we learn technique and fitness over power. It is here we learn patience and balance and humility. It is here we learn about ourselves!!
I’m am hoping that in some way you found this encouraging. If so please take the chance and get out in a pair. A pair will help you experience all that sweep rowing has to offer while also helping you improve your skills. Don’t wait for that fearful day that your coach asks you to take out a pair. Boldly step forward and ask for the opportunity to get out and become a pair rower. I promise you will not regret it! Well, at least not after you settle into it and allow yourself to calm down and enjoy the ride. Row in circles! Row at a low stroke rate! Try stroke seat and bow seat! And once you find your groove, get out and enjoy the raw power and pure joy that the pair offers. I hope you find it as satisfying as I do!
See you at the races!
Closing thought: I have grown to enjoy rowing the pair in practice and at races. And while this didn’t happen overnight, I believe it has made me a better rower and a better person in general. Be patient and take a chance. There will be good days and bad days, but in the end, you will always be able to confidently say, “Sure coach, I will take out a pair today”. Stay strong! You’ve got this!