RowingRelated

This week's video comes to us from The Oklahoman's website, NewsOK, and features clips and interviews from around the course during the four-day Oklahoma Regatta Festival, which began on Thursday with the OG&E NightSprints (500m races under the lights) and finished Sunday with the distance races. During the festival, there was a rare public appearance from USRowing CEO Glenn Merry , as well as Harvard alums and 2012 Olympic gold medalists Esther Lofgren , and Caryn Davies , who attended the regatta festival to sign autographs and celebrate the sport. The festival takes full advantage of the Devon Boathouse's event space, which provides a great view of the course as well as ample facilities for the athletes – it's a very cool building, as I found out first hand last season while attending the 2011 regatta (follow the link for a Devon boathouse tour with Henley Grand Challenge Cup champion Ryan Monaghan ). [Note for mobile users: Please follow this link to vie...

Yale's Steve Gladstone with the crew in Boston (Photo: Nick Trojan) Having toured the club circuit, I've been coached by a number of great athletes and leaders. Along the way, each coach contributed something specific to the overall picture, and each did so in a different way. I know this is a common experience, and over the years I've often mused about what features most stood out for me, in a positive way, among all my former coaches. Is it possible to list such attributes? Or are there too many intangibles, like personality and even manner of speaking, that play an important role? I figured I would take a crack at making a list: 1. Confidence For others to believe in what you are teaching, you need to believe in it yourself, and this takes the form of confidence. This is not to be confused with arrogance, which prevents a coach from improving. Confidence simply means that you have faith in your abilities and in the validity of your plan or training program. 2. Consi...