New Page 1

On behalf of the entire coaching staff, your varsity coaches (Waz, Katie and Jon) would like to thank each of you for your continued patience as we tirelessly work to get all of the kids on the water. The kids' enthusiasm to learn and hard work has been duly noted by the entire coaching staff and was one of the primary reasons why we decided to hold two separate practices this past Saturday so that we could get everyone out on the water.

Nothing makes us happier, then to see every one of the kids getting time on the water each week. With the coaches already putting in 2 and a half hours a night and six plus hours on Saturday, there is not much more we can do as a staff to accomplish this goal. We ask for your continued trust and support as we work to get the kids up to speed over the next couple of weeks.

Some thoughts regarding our first week of water practice. First, our top priority will always be the safety of the rowers and coaches and we will not comprise our team's safety in order to rush to get more kids on the water than we are ready to accommodate. I know that all of us (coaches, rowers, coxswains and parents) are eager to get as much time on the water as possible but we all have to acknowledge several challenges that have slowed our efforts to get the kids on the water, specifically the cold temperatures and high winds that make teaching novices very difficult. These challenges should improve over the next couple of weeks, as the warmer spring temperatures near and the daylight hours extend after daylight savings (note: practice times changes to 4:30 – 7:00pm after daylight savings, starting Monday, March 10^th).

However, even with the warmer temperatures and longer days, we will continue to have kids on land each day who will work with our land training coach. While working out on land is not the most ideal place to learn the sport of rowing and we certainly realize that all of the kids would rather be on the water, we have to realize that we are limited by our resources. On the other hand, we take extreme pride in the fact that we proudly boost the second largest fleet of boats on the Occoquan. The fact that we consistently field 9 boats at practice, allowing us to put 81 kids on the water on most days, along with a deep and talented coaching staff that give us a coach to boat ratio of roughly 1:1, truly sets us apart as a team. Most other teams only dream of having access to the resources we have at Robinson.

Lots of kids have asked us what they need to do in order to increase the amount of water time they see each week. Unfortunately, there truly is no easy answer to that question. As we described in the last parent meeting, Robinson is a successful varsity sport. We have one of the largest and most talented teams in the region. The top four boats on each side of the program spend the most time on the water. Coaches will work to identify boat line-ups over the next couple of weeks (it's not uncommon for line-ups to continue changing over the course of the season as we approach the championship portion of our season). If your child's goal is be a part of one of these boats and they are currently spending more of their time on land, the first thing they need to do is speak with their coach, express their interest to move up and ask for individual feedback on what needs to happen in order for that to occur. Believe me when I tell you that this means a lot more to the coaches when it comes from the kids then when it comes from a parent. The coaches will continue to work with every child on the team, but at the end of the day, we have more kids then boats and as hard as we try, inevitably some kids will be on land every day.

At the last parent meeting, we stated that our goal as coaches was to get every child (who comes to practice everyday) on the water a minimum of twice a week. While this is still our goal, I hope you understand that there are many factors which are out of our control and it's extremely important for us to take our time in the beginning. As the season progresses, we are confident that we can achieve this goal.