RowingRelated

For Dinares, it begins with how you approach the oar (Photo courtesy of Carlos Dinares)  Carlos Dinares is already a household name in many elite rowing circles, because the athletes he coaches tend to be fast. Examples? South African phenom Ursula Grobler set the lightweight women's world record for 2,000m on the erg, and has competed for the U.S. as well as the RSA national team. And, most recently, double Olympic champion sweep rower Elle Logan made the A Final at the world championships in Chungju in her first year sculling at the international level. Here, Carlos shares some insight into his approach through the below video, made specifically for our 'Best Rowing Drills' series, and outlines two ways to help understand technique better, on and off the water. 1: How We Greet The Oar "The first part is about how we think, and act, when we greet the oar," Dinares says. "It's about how we connect the handle, which is our connection to the water...

While you might not know it yet, Nick Trojan is a name you are likely to hear for years to come. Trojan has had international experience before, but following a fall rowing with Carlos Dinares on Lake Samish, Trojan has burst onto the senior national team candidate list with a fantastic performance in the men’s single at the first National Selection Regatta, placing fourth in a field of 38, behind only Beijing Olympians Ken Jurkowski , RR interviewee Warren Anderson , and Sam Stitt . And did I mention that Trojan is a lightweight? Here, Trojan shares some info on his background in the sport and the racing at NSR I, with a view toward further trailing this summer. RR: How did you first get into rowing? What was it that hooked you about the sport? NT: I started rowing at LBJC, and wasn’t that into it until I got about midway through the season and we started racing. I won my first race in a novice quad–that was the beginning of my sculling career–I wasn’t a fan of doing all the wor...

Grobler at the 2010 Crash-B World Indoor Rowing Championships  (Photo courtesy of Ursula Grobler) Every great athlete was lucky enough to find the sport for which they were best suited. This takes a little bit of luck, the proper attitude, and decisive nature. Although pure chance or happenstance is often a large part of the discovery of one's natural talent or prowess for a certain sport, there are other elements that play a role determining opportunity. You must be smart enough to first look for and be open to opportunity, if you are going to discover the sport at which you'll become most successful. This requires not only an open mind, but also awareness and perspective, so that opportunities are noticed and interpreted as such. Secondly, the athlete must have the wherewithal to take advantage of the opportunity when it is presented . This often requires risk and the unknown, including the risk of failure and dealing with not being great immediately (increasingly problematic...