Broken Oars Podcast: Episode 53: Peter Holmes, Coaching, Connection and Why the Why is also the How

Broken Oars Podcast

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Oars Podcast, and your genial hosts Lewin (Southern, oppressive) and Aaron (Northern, oppressed) return ...

... and you'll notice that we're practically fizzing with glee as we do.

Why?

Because we're joined by Peter Holmes.

We are no strangers to hyperbole on Broken Oars Podcast. Our episode blurbs are masterpieces in the art of all of its forms: hyperbole, repetitive hyperbole, deflationary hyperbole, inflationary hyperbole and (our favourite) the sort of hyperbole Han got out of the Millennium Falcon only done with oars.

(Give me ten on the legs and horizon this bunch of sadsacks, now ... ! is a call neither of us have ever used (much)).

But in this instance, we are somewhat underselling it when we say that Pete is one of rowing's great coaches, thinkers and communicators.

Beginning his rowing journey at Latymer, and continuing during his time at Cambridge, Pete's engagement with rowing developed in tandem and conversation with his younger brother, Andy - an individual who remains one of the undersung heroes of British Rowing despite being a double-Olympic champion, fierce and committed competitor and an outstanding oarsman who, among others, inspired the young Matthew Pinsent to take up the sport.

Applying the insights about boatmoving that Andy was learning, applying and developing while working with Spracklen and Redgrave as he moved on to teach and coach at Eton, St. Paul's, the University of Manchester and Agecroft, Pete developed a coaching ethos centered on empowering athletes to own and take control of their development and progression by understanding and embracing what actually moves a boat.

In this freewheeling, insightful and essential episode we discuss what actually moves a boat - pressure against the pin against the blade - and explore what the logical outcome of this means for the rowing stroke: it is the application of maximum pressure through the arc of the stroke from beginning to end that moves the boat the most efficiently.

Breaking down how we can translate that to the actual practise of rowing leads to a fascinating conversation on avoiding coaching mood music; the importance of avoiding fads and fashions; why the first step in any squad journey must be standardising equipment so that it can then be individualised to the rower later in the programme; the importance of knowing why you do the drills you do; why the search for magic bullets is part of human nature but ultimately unproductive ...

... and why the most important question a rower can ask is 'why' (because it leads to the understanding of 'how').

Some of this might be counter-intuitive to modern orthodoxies; it might challenge some preconceptions, but this a masterclass on a par with Drew Ginn's much-heralded episode on Broken Oars. Pete puts a lifetime of knowledge on the art and practice of moving a boat well in this podcast, coaching, what makes a rower, what makes a crew, training, and more beside ...

And he's currently not coaching?

Someone snap that man up for their programme!

Get some!

All Eight? Drive the legs like you're kicking a burning dog off you...
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