Bruce Smith LIVE

[lt.wolf]

Hi all

I am opening the forum today so people can ask questions for Bruce Smith. He will be on line next Tuesday to answer them.

Feel free to ask about rowing after college and training for the USA Lightweight National team. Ask about training programs , weights and technique.

Bruce has coached at RBC since 2005 and has coached the USA lightweight eight in 06, 07 and then the lightweight pair in 08.

Please be polite and understand he is a guest

Sean

[Ahempacher]

To Bruce:

Hello,

just thought I'd throw a few quick questions your way.
1) For the taller athletes in your group, the 6'1 or 6'2s, do you cater the programme to increase strength in a specific way without putting on muscle? I realise that the selection event means you race as a club 8, but over the year, is the weights and cardio catered to account for the muscle lost when making weight (in some cases) Or is it a case of getting as strong and as fast as possible for the ergs, then diet and diet and sweat for weight? In particular over the last few years, with the exception of the Dutch in 07, the light 8's has been full of the punchy smaller guys...so to speak, where as the US 8's, would feature taller athletes.

2) What do you think of the Light 8 as a development event, to introduce and guide U23s and development athletes to the pace of international full senior events. Do you think the 'race for your place' selection system is hindering the U23s in the US?

Looking forward to reading your responses.

Regards

Cian

[rowing]

I would like to ask the following.

Given the last two performances of the USA lightweight eights out of RBC, how can you ensure the athletes that do commit there that they will have a better opportunity to be in a position for a medal?

[qaz]

Just curious...how much above the weight limit do you think that most nationally-ranked lightweight rowers naturally sit? How about in the winter? When it is time to drop weight, what do you recommend in terms of food and exercise? thanks!

[lw_rowing]

1. Can you outline what (you believe to be) the major differences, if any, in elite clubs around the country? If you believe they are all very similar and only differ in location, that is fine.

2. What do you do with rower's who meet certain requirements (e.g., 2k score) but have very little sculling experience?

3. What do many of your athletes do for money? Do most of them hold full time jobs in addition to training?

[Bags]

What is the optimal weight for a lightweight man to be at throughout the year?

[MW3]

1) For athletes who enter the club system just out of college, what type of improvements do they see on their 2k/6k times in the first several years?

2) I've heard that many athletes will train in a pair, a double, a single depending on the day. How many lightweight men train at Riverside in the HPG during the year, and how do you choose what boats they practice in each day?

3) For lightweight rowers, how do you get invited to go to the NT camp?

4) How has the bad economy affected the different rowing clubs out there and how will this affect the athletes training needs?

Thanks Coach Smith! - MW3

[Almostflipped]

Do you think there could be a long term advantage to a Junior rower skipping the collegiate rowing scene and sculling for four years? Or otherwise entering a U-23 dedicated program?

[rowing]

Hi Bruce

I also noticed you have a training program in the “Rowing News” that people can adhere to, what are your plans for your guys there at RBC this winter?

I also wanted to know how Will Daly came into the fold of being in the lightweight four last year. What did he do for he was not to far up on the ranking from the previous years and then from a bit of research I am aware he pulled a PR on the erg and seat raced his way into the light four? That is a pretty remarkable.

[brucehsmith]

Training at RBC this winter is working closely with other clubs and the national team coach John Parker. The training program with the guys is designed to make it easy to switch between RBC, Princeton, San Diego, etc.

Will Daly stopped missing practice and started training really hard. Went to California and rowed for Tim McLaren for a couple of months. Followed a good training program. Presto, 6:15 and unbeatable on the water.

And re: the junior thing. Rowing in college is fun. Rowing by yourself in little boats for years on end is for weirdos and freaks. If you're a freak and you like it, go for it. If you're kind of normal and you want to stay in rowing, row in college. If you have fun, at least you'll keep showing up which is about 90% of the battle.

[brucehsmith]

see responses below:

To Bruce:

Hello,

just thought I'd throw a few quick questions your way.
1) For the taller athletes in your group, the 6'1 or 6'2s, do you cater the programme to increase strength in a specific way without putting on muscle? I realise that the selection event means you race as a club 8, but over the year, is the weights and cardio catered to account for the muscle lost when making weight (in some cases) Or is it a case of getting as strong and as fast as possible for the ergs, then diet and diet and sweat for weight? In particular over the last few years, with the exception of the Dutch in 07, the light 8's has been full of the punchy smaller guys...so to speak, where as the US 8's, would feature taller athletes.

The US traditionally selects for people with a lot of endurance and not so much power. We need to produce more power if we're going to get into a position to win, so weights it is. If you're too tall, then you won't successful, but it depends a lot on your individual composition.



2) What do you think of the Light 8 as a development event, to introduce and guide U23s and development athletes to the pace of international full senior events. Do you think the 'race for your place' selection system is hindering the U23s in the US?

I think the best thing that the 8+ does is keep alot of people in the sport. Without the 8+, the pool gets very small very quickly, and more people means that there is a better chance of developing someone truly talented. It is just and odds game - more people = better odds. The U23 is always going to be a longshot in the US because we have the college system in place, and guys learn to hammer throughout the year, then jump into a little boat and try and make it go. MAYBE if we get some super talents, we'll get a medal one of these years in U23 Olympic events that rely on skill.

Looking forward to reading your responses.

Regards

Cian

[brucehsmith]

2006 - 3.8 seconds out of first, bronze medal w/twenty strokes to go. Last year, we were ten seconds for a bunch of different reasons. #1 is because I didn't get the job done as a coach. One of our rowers was somewhat distracted with some legal matters DURING the regatta. We left some very talented people behind in the United States. Etc etc. There are never any promises of medals at Worlds, every event is a tough event. Do an analysis and you'll find that non-Olympic boat classes with camp support usually do pretty well at Worlds, while boats relying only on club selection don't get medals. We've worked REALLY hard at RBC over the past four years to involve EVERYONE who wants to go to Worlds, and the results are starting to pay off. I hope that we'll be racing with athletes #5 through 12 this year.

I would like to ask the following.

Given the last two performances of the USA lightweight eights out of RBC, how can you ensure the athletes that do commit there that they will have a better opportunity to be in a position for a medal?

[brucehsmith]

It varies a lot from country to country. There is some (not much) evidence that staying at or near weight produces better performances. Yes, I know that the Danes get to weight a couple of times a year. The Polish double made weight, like, three times in their whole life. Generally speaking though, for testing to matter and people to develop, rowers need to stay under 165.

Eating less generally helps a lot to lose weight. You wouldn't want to have to drop weight every day for three weeks of seat racing, better to get set up over three or four months to be within range.

Just curious...how much above the weight limit do you think that most nationally-ranked lightweight rowers naturally sit? How about in the winter? When it is time to drop weight, what do you recommend in terms of food and exercise? thanks!

[brucehsmith]

There are some great places to train, but not many places have a cooperative philosophy and work hard to send people on to the next step in the rowing world. Clubs forget that the point is to make the national team, not row for their club.

People who can erg but can row spend time in little boats at RBC.

They work. All of them have jobs of one kind or another - RBC is all about accommodating your life - we practice in a way that will let you train successfully for years, and if you get within shooting distance of the Olympics, then it is time to quit and live off the fat of the land.

1. Can you outline what (you believe to be) the major differences, if any, in elite clubs around the country? If you believe they are all very similar and only differ in location, that is fine.

2. What do you do with rower's who meet certain requirements (e.g., 2k score) but have very little sculling experience?

3. What do many of your athletes do for money? Do most of them hold full time jobs in addition to training?

[brucehsmith]

Depends on the lightweight.

What is the optimal weight for a lightweight man to be at throughout the year?