University of Minnesota Athletics
Catching Up with Coach Davis
2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Rowing
The Gopher rowing team began its spring competition last weekend with a trip to San Diego, scrimmaging against San Diego and San Diego State.
GopherSports.com had the chance to catch up with head coach Wendy Davis to recap the weekend and preview the upcoming season.
Can you summarize the San Diego trip?
WD: It's great because we get a chance to get on the water, which, first of all, is huge for us. The San Diego schools are good and especially this time of year because of their opportunity to be on the water all year long. The blade work that some of those schools have is where we're trying to get to going forward.
What is the benefit of competing against schools with all-year water access?
WD: It helps that it's warm there - even if they're cold. It's warmer than Minnesota and we can accomplish things in the practices and scrimmages that we can't here. Even if we could get on the water, we couldn't accomplish the same things. What's wonderful about the scrimmages is they don't count so we have the ability to experiment and try things that we wouldn't be able to do in a live race. For instance, San Diego tried a couple different lineups and we kept with the same lineup. We were able to see the mistakes we made and say, "Okay let's fix XYZ" and then you get to five minutes after you made the initial mistake fix it instead of later when you get back on the water again. Those are the things we want to take full advantage of going into spring.
What was your biggest takeaway from San Diego?
WD: We're young and we were missing two rowers who were in the 1-V the last two years. We missed them on Saturday which meant that we were even younger than we normally are and when you're inexperienced you're going to mess up. That's how you learn now not to going forward. To be able to mess up on the first piece and then say, "This is what we did wrong. Here's how to fix it." But then see them see the payoff is great.
What's next for the Gophers in the Spring?
WD: Our next competition is in Oak Ridge and about three-quarters of the teams there will have finished up their spring break. We'll be just starting out spring break and it gives us a chance to see where we stack up against other teams. As we move into spring break it helps give everyone a sharp focus. It's not the end-all be-all and we haven't doomed ourselves in March. In April we just get going off to New Jersey and then the double-dual and away we go. These early matches help us identify problems early on so we don't waste time especially in March.
What is the identity of Gopher rowing?
WD: I really want our rowers to know that they know how they're going to perform. Not specifically if we're going to win or lose but how they're going to perform when they get on the line and confident in their performance. My hope is they don't get on the line and say "Oh no. I don't know." We want to know how to control what we can control. We're not there yet and that was evident on Saturday even in the warm-up. Some of our rowers are in our top boat but have never raced in a varsity race before so we have to hone in how to be who we want to be.
How are you working through the challenges?
WD: We're doing a lot with the mental process and good ole sports psychology. We're approaching it differently than we have in years past and I think the athletes are responding very well to that. We have to get on the water to get good at moving the boat in the water. We're not getting on the water this week, but maybe next week but that's part of the challenge not knowing how much time you'll get in your boats in later winter early spring. We try to get our athletes as fit as we can - recognizing that if you're in your second year can you handle the same work load as someone who is in their ninth year of the sport? We make sure to take everyone as far as we can physiologically without pushing them off a cliff. That's different for everyone and a process at the same time. We want to work as hard as we're able to work and not a bit harder.
Do you have any other thoughts on the team this year?
WD: I love this group of athletes we're working with this year. I love them. The staff is fantastic. All the pieces are in place to bring out the best in everybody, and where that gets us I don't know. Really at the end of the day if you've given your all, you've accomplished all you've set out to accomplish. What does that mean in terms of wins and loses? Who knows. There's a saying, "Some years you're fast and everyone else is faster. Some years you're slow and everyone else is slower." I love working with these guys and love what they're doing, their focus, and the attitudes they bring to practice. Let's see how well we can be who we want to be come race day.
