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Our goal is to provide the foundation for the Junior National Team two years from now. The Development Camp experience can be likened to a ‘Rowing Laboratory’ where we can focus on building a multidimensional skill set in a controlled environment. Our ‘labs’ take place in two contexts:
1) On the water where we deemphasize racing- working on understanding the physics of moving a boat and 2) Off the water where the focus is on overall fitness, nutrition, strength, and dynamic stretching.
It is our goal over the three weeks we have to reinforce these topics and send the athletes home with as much new information as possible. This knowledge will provide them with a solid foundation from which to take ownership of their rowing careers from here forward.
On Water
Athletes split their time as evenly as possible between sweep and sculling, and they rotate every two days. The focus in both groups is very technical- learning patience in the stroke and how to move the boat as opposed to just the oar handle. We make sure we are translating boat moving principles between sweeping and sculling.
If you have never sculled before.....no problem! Check out the photo album below that shows last year's Dev Campers in action in their new world of sculling!
2009 Development Camp in action
Off Water
In addition to focusing on nutrition, strength and stretching, we program time in for discussion or hands on experience with goal setting, video review, creating a training log, yoga, sport psychology and rowing history.
It is critical that the group come together in a hurry to train as a team as well as allow the athletes to gain an understanding of their comfort zones and how to stretch it or many cases...step outside of it...all a part of becoming an elite international athlete. We work towards this by taking the camp to a High Ropes Course at the end of week one of camp. Are you ready to test your limits? See how last year's campers did it!
2009 Development Camp High Ropes Course
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