Coach's Report - February 18, 2014
Hello Water Warriors…..
I’m sorry that I can’t be with you tonight as you plan for another exciting year of paddling on our beautiful lake and in many competitions in our gorgeous province.
I had an excellent and inspiring day of Coaches Training with Kamini Jain a few weekends ago. Twenty-four new coaches covered all of the key points that are essential to effectively coaching a recreational dragon boat team for a season. Thank you for sending me to this clinic and investing in my coaching skills for the upcoming season.
I also met with Jenn to talk about working together this coming year. We talked about the team and found ourselves on the same page with the same vision for the team. Jenn brings a wealth of experience to us as one of Chilliwack’s most celebrated athletes (competitive swimmer), coaches and fitness trainers. She is a humble leader, but you can read about her success in competition at the Cheam Centre - both inside and out. I am thrilled to work alongside of her for the success of this team.
We also have two additional systems that support us in our quest for a successful year - we have the Sudden Impact Dragonboat Club and the Executive Team. I am appreciative for the club who provide us with our equipment, mooring, insurance and collaboration. Many of the coaches at the clinic did not have this support and were handling these areas in addition to coaching.
We also have the amazing women who form our Executive Team. This group has evolved over the years to enable us to have the funds to be sustainable year to year - and to provide vision for new initiatives and adventures. They also provide the backbone of team communication, planning and administration to ensure a successful year. Thank you, executive, for serving the Water Warriors in this way in the 2014 season.
My decision to offer myself as the coach of the Water Warriors team comes from wanting to challenge myself in a new way. It’s the same reason that I joined the team in the first place - I want to find another level of capacity and ability within myself that not only gives me increased confidence and skills for my greater life, but also gives me tremendous personal fulfillment.
I am fiercely loyal to the Water Warriors team. 2014 is the ninth year that I will wear the yellow jersey - and I wear it with pride. The Water Warriors are unique. Our team was not formed like the breast cancer survivor teams from the shared pain of cancer - nor was it formed from the competitive drive of athletes seeking challenge. Our team was formed by regular women living regular lives whose desire was to find a way to share their lives, empower each other, challenge themselves and succeed in their efforts. Regular, everyday women banded together and used this sport for holistic gains in their lives. Today, 13 years later, we come together, again, to engage the power of “team” to enhance our lives and give ourselves the gifts of friendship, achievement, morale, perspective, fitness, relaxation, support and all the other riches that we can only access through a group of women unified in one purpose.
In the coaching clinic, I learned about the thrilling parts of coaching - the times when a coach feels their efforts are fulfilled - seeing the excitement in the eyes of an athlete who finally “gets it” in their skills; watching a team celebrate a race well-done and seeing confidence, enthusiasm and life-perspective grow in individuals. We also learned of the heartbreak of a coach - choosing who will sit out of a final race when there are too many on the team; watching a team fall apart as they pass blame, being misunderstood for decisions or to facing an emergency situation.
I am expecting more thrills than heartbreaks with the Water Warriors in 2014. As this is a team sport, the overall success is measured by team results. My highest priority is the team effort, team unity and team success. It is through individual challenge that we each make gains in strength, endurance, flexibility, technique and overall fitness - but, it is through team synchronicity that we make our gains in our strong starts, powerful middles and incredible finishes. It is only by team togetherness that we can hang a medal around our necks once again.
And so, take a look at your handout on Individual Effort and Team Commitment. The first thing I’m asking you to do as you enter the 2014 season is to consider how your individual effort can contribute to this team results in the coming year.
Will you commit yourself to doing everything in your power to attend practices this coming season? - this may include rearranging your schedule, getting outside help or booking time off in order to participate...
Will you commit to an increased level of fitness training outside of this sport - flexibility, endurance, strength? What will that look like for you?
Will you commit now to attending regattas and festivals that are still months in the future?
Will you try something new, like steering or calling or participating in coaching/managing?
Will you be open to a new seat, a new role, a new challenge, or creating a new cheer?
And the second thing that I will ask you to do as you enter the 2014 season is to commit yourself to the team at an increased level…
Will you commit yourself to going out of your way to make it possible for someone else to participate in the team? - this may mean financial contribution, carpooling or inviting someone to join, walking with new people to warm-up or going out for drinks/coffee together...
Will you commit yourself to building up the members of this team with your words, your actions and your inclusion of others?
Will you believe (with me) that a team of regular women from such varied walks of life with such a wide set of skills and capabilities can become a singular force to be reckoned with… a team that others recognize for our extraordinary unity and capacity to work in synchronicity?
Will you believe (with me) that each member of this team brings something to your world that is a gift to you - a perspective, a motivation, an understanding, a challenge, an opportunity…?
Will you commit yourself to following the team’s shared ground rules and values even when they aren’t your preferred way of doing things (to the best of your ability)?
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of both of these contributions - your individual effort and your commitment to the team’s success. Please complete this handout and bring it with you to the first practice.
I also want to give you an idea of what my coaching might look like in the 2014 season. I’m sure it will be evolving, but here is an initial look...
I am committed to the value of a significant warm-up on land before the practice and expect participation from all paddlers
I will have a boat lineup for each practice (and competition) so you know where you will sit on the boat
I will develop “pods” of paddlers on the boat (considering side preference and balancing the boat) so that you will paddle in a section of the boat that is most familiar to you: front, middle or back - each pod (mini-team) developing skills for success in competition
I will create a set of practice plans that will help to build up the team and individuals in: fitness (strength, endurance & flexibility), tactical strategies for improvement in racing, technical skill in paddling, behavioural expectations and psychological capacity for competition
I am committed to a high level of safety on the boat, which includes equipment, drills, information, prevention and making safe decisions about being on the water in poor weather conditions
I will provide individual and team feedback so that you can improve your personal skills and we can make gains together as a team throughout the course of the season
I am committed to including a regular steersperson (or several) with me in a coaching team to increase the input, feedback, race tactics and skills for our paddlers
I will be at the majority of the practices and all of the competitions, providing the team with a touchpoint of consistency as we move in and through the season
When I am not able to make a practice, I will have a clear outline of the practice created for a fill-in caller to provide a worthwhile workout for the team
I will use both attendance and warm-up participation as a way of deciding who will paddle in competition if we have too many paddlers for the boat
I will bring back the quote of the day for each practice
I will include a time of reflection (quiet) during each practice for the benefit of reducing stress, appreciating nature and restoring our souls
Some of these commitments are dependent on a full-boat, a consistent set of paddlers and a team commitment by individuals. I will do the best I can to operate in this way as your coach.
In order to get a clearer picture of what the team expects in 2014, I created an online survey for each returning Water Warrior to fill out. I will post these links in our Facebook Group after this meeting and on waterwarriors.ca for those who don’t have Facebook.
So… what do you need to do before the first practice in March in order to prepare for the season? Four things...
1. Fill out the handout on Individual Effort and Team Commitment
Go to waterwarriors.ca (scroll down on the homepae) to do these next three things:
2. Fill out the returning Water Warrior Surveys
3. Ramp up your fitness - There are three areas of fitness required for paddling - endurance, strength and flexibility. If you’re a beginner in these areas of fitness, you can follow the routines that are on the Water Warriors website.
4. Watch the video of how to do a correct paddling stroke - write down one thing that you would like to focus on as we start the 2014 season
Finally, thank you for entrusting me to coach you as individuals and as a team. The legacy of the Water Warriors team, the sport itself, the joy of competition and the skills gained in dragon boating are all very dear to my heart. I am thrilled to challenge myself in this new skill of coaching. I will connect with others who have coaching experience to help guide me as I move through the season. I will also look to you, the team, for ideas, points of correction and assistance as I learn what it means to coach a group of wild, crazy, competent and wonderful women - knowing that we can only accomplish our goals when we work together in sync.
See you at the first practice!
Coach Sharon
