Coaching Fundamentals: Creating a Common Purpose

I find coaches in Singapore are excellent examples of the sport in their own right. They are technically proficient in their sport, possess technically sound fundamentals in the strategies employed in the sports that they have played in for years and create good platforms for the those who are willing to learn the sport that they so enjoyed in their years in the sport.

However, I believe fundamentally, we as coaches find some difficulty expressing the desire for the teams we coach to excel by creating a common purpose for individuals who come from many different backgrounds and experiences. I personally found this a challenge because each person in the team has their own motives and reasons as to why they join the sport of their choosing. I hope to share in this post how I have personally gone into framing the minds of my teams to create a shared purpose for them to paddle not just for themselves but for the good of the team.

1) Objectives / Goals
I think it can be clearer to the team if the objectives of joining the team can be expressed right from the start. Many coaches fail to see this as an important point to unite the team in the shared purpose of pursuing their goals. Whether be it finishing the race together even if they come in last, or racing till their lungs burst, the objective has to met out to the team to set the expectations for the team.

2) Expectations
Although used interchangeably with the word "objective", I believe the word expectations has a more roundedness in its use, especially when used in the long term. The team has to understand how their expectations of themselves has to match the objectives of the team and how they are to be accountable for their own improvement. I have personally set the bar high for my teams to expect the best of themselves in any of the training sessions they are to execute because only then will they be able to race easy. As they say, train hard, race easy.

3) Clarity
It is only with clarity of what the team wants that will fully embody the purpose of the team's existence. If the leadership in the team becomes clear with the above two points, the team will set a higher standard for themselves in achieving the goals set for them. The reasons and purpose for them to come to training will become stronger as they see a clear direction in the path the team is taking.

I think the challenge in coaching young teams has definitely giving due time to make sure that the above 3 points are constantly being imbued into each training session. Setting goals, expectations and giving clear directions in the actions they take in each training session gives them a strong purpose in achieving success in such a dynamic environment where many individuals may have different opinions and establish their own set of expectations. I hope that I may have done better in this aspect, because I know there is only so little in terms of fundamentals that I can coach, for the better part of the team's success is getting them to paddle with one heart, one mind and one soul.

A 3 Step Guide to Training Plan and Debrief Frameworks

Over the years of paddling, I have gone through many coaches and through their instructional methods, I definitely learnt alot from them.  Unfortunately, I never really went through a training session that was completely devoid of unnecessary talk that was far too long or far too off topic  where it basically lacks a framework that was concise, brief and to the point.

I will not choose to blame any of these coaches for handling debriefs in a slightly haphazard manner noting that they could have probably used "old school methods" to drill in paddling terminologies into young paddlers at the end of the race or training session in the hopes of achieving their objective of "teaching" the paddlers what they ought to have learnt over the session. However, it just leaves the paddlers confused as to what the coach was trying to drive at when he starts to talk about topics that may not have applied to the lesson the paddlers went through which may lead to distrust and frustration for the paddlers in believing in the coach's plan.

I believe fundamentally that there is a better way of instruction so that our paddlers can definitely be very focused in achieving the specific objectives of the training session or in certain cases, races. I would hope to highlight in this post how I arrive at every training session with a clear plan in mind leading up to what I would eventually say in a debrief.

Planning
A coach can only be as specific as the lesson he or she plans. It will only take a minute or two to spell out exactly the expectations that he will be setting for the training for that session that the paddlers will be executing.

I make it a point to spell out the objectives of the training programme for the day so that they will know exactly what we are looking to achieve today. Whether it be strength endurance training with resistance, speed endurance training, cadence training, or even technique checks. This would clear the paddlers mind in terms in performing to the specific objective of the training session without having to be concerned with speed on the GPS for example which would hamper the performance of a paddler if that was not part of his objective.

Of course, the coach has to has a consistent structure to his training program so that anyone who is going to take over training in his absence will be able to conduct his training without him. This will help facilitate a system from where his captains will easily be able to follow a simple plan directed in his absence.

Execution
As they say, planning does not necessarily lead to perfect execution and this is where following through the plan takes shape. I believe in strong fundamentals of keeping to timing in terms of duration of exercise and rest times to maximise the time available to the paddlers for training. However, contingencies will have to be arranged for situations where paddlers may not be fully prepared to take on the rigour of the program set out by myself and he has to cut down on training to match his paddlers potential. It would only make sense for the paddlers to achieve targets that they will be able to meet for them to push themselves abit more in future. Stretching the targets too far too early will only demotivate them further if not handled carefully.

Debrief
I would believe this is the most crucial part of the training because debriefs would highlight all the possible points that the coach has set out for the team and to give the team an overview of whether the team has met them. I would advise coaches to take on specific frameworks either derived from experience or specific influences from other areas in their lives to facilitate the team's progress and performance in every race. Personally I would stick to 3 points of observation based on 3 objectives that I set out before the training program is carried out to let my guys keep track of their progress of achieving the objectives or goals.

I guess this would really be too general an article to be very specific about how I conduct training and debriefs and I hope to be able to share more specifically step by step my thought process of planning, execution and debriefs. I hope that this would be the first for many more articles on training program planning.

Singapore River Regatta 2013: Post Race Reflections

With the Singapore River Regatta 2013 behind me, I have seen all my teams earn credible results in their outings in their respective categories..

Team MSF finished their race beating their previous timings in trainings.. They fought incredibly hard against their much more experienced opponents and I could see it in their eyes that wanted to do better out on their next outing. I admire their courage for taking up the sport and I can see much more potential in them with more to come:)

Team NUS managed to go into the tertiary finals only missing out on a podium spot by mere seconds. Their juniors went in fighting for a spot in the semi-finals of the mens open also missing out by mere split seconds. I only can say that it is only really the beginning of more exciting things come March when they battle it out again with their rivals in their Tertiary Category. It will take time and effort to reach the possible goals that they are going to achieve. It is going to be an excellent season ahead!

And finally, I ended the weekend with a truly deserved second place finishing with Team OneStroke in the PA GRO finals.

The runners up, all smiles!

More of the winning team!

That race was truly a nail biting finish as they were behind for most of the race until the final 25 meters where they edged out the other 2 competitors to finish a close second merely 0.2 seconds behind their rivals.

The race was purely exhilarating even from shore; when we only managed to inch past almost everyone only in the final few meters of the race.

What made that second place finish more delightful was that for many of these paddlers, they have been awaiting a Regatta medal for many years; for a few as long as 5 years and for one, an excruciatingly long 7 years.. I was not only happy for the results but the true happiness it brings to the entire team for them to experience a new level of greatness that they have ever rarely felt before.

It all started from believing in the will to win, regardless of their circumstances and ability because it is all this team truly needed at the start.

The management team with me, Edwin, our team manager and Jojo our captain. 

I have still to learn alot more of this fine art of dragon boat, a classic sport that truly entails all manner of beauty, grace, aggression and skill all combined into one majestic performance on race day.

Time for me to reflect back on my learnings and learn more to share with the world this art and science of dragon boat paddling. Till my next post..

Yours Truly,
The Original Paddlegeek

SINGAPORE RIVER REGATTA 2013: 3 TEAMS, 3 HOPES, 1 MEMORABLE SEASON...

As the race season draws to a close this coming weekend, it is a time of reflection for the things that have happened in the past year. The Singapore River Regaatta 2013 will be the first time in my life, I have taken on as a coach for 3 teams that will be racing both for glory and for one team, the first time they will race in such an event for the first time. It has been such a fulfilling experience coaching these teams and it will most definitely bring me to tears seeing these men and women paddle in a race under my guidance. It seems like I have never expected to have seen myself grow so much more from coaching just as I was when I was a paddler amongst a crew of 22. 

TEAMONESTROKE
Team OneStroke (aka Kaki Bukit CSC) gave birth to my first attempt at coaching and I have defnitely learnt alot from learning how a corporate team would handle my expectations and goals. It was an unusual experience for me knowing how I have been only competing in the past to take up a team that has unusual challenges. Many of these challenges are not new. Attendances, motivation levels, poor training performances and new paddlers coming in halfway through the season. Yet, it seems I have gained an understanding of how to face these issues head on and not allow them to get to my emotions. Somehow, somewhere there was this bit of faith that I had to pursue this challenge of making them a great team regardless of how things turned out and I have seen them grow through my tutelage. Many of the paddlers have begun to see a sense of pride paddling for the team and the bond has grown with each passing training. They begun to understand many facets of paddling in a dragon boat that they may not have learnt before which helps in their performance and seen improvements at a much more efficient pace. Fitness levels have significantly improved and time trial timings have been surprisingly impressive. Going up against their rivals in their category, I only can hope for the best that they can see all this training come to fruition and see the results in their upcoming race. These men and women deserve my salute for taking time off on their weekends to see through training sessions despite family commitments, studies and even time away from their children. 

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT (MSF)
The year progressed with a small surprise where I took on coaching a team from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (aka MSF). This team is made up of a small band of colleagues, young and old, men and women who would like to take on a new challenge of paddling in a dragon boat team. It started off as a monthly affair, a get together session to build their fitness and  learning the basics of paddling but it slowly turned into a weekly Saturday morning session where they saw themselves grow together as a team and training towards a race. What makes this team so special is that they treat each other like family and they keep in touch to make sure there will always be enough to paddle a 12 men crew. Attendances started from 7 to 14 in the final weeks towards the races, which makes me even happier to see them grow as a team and from learning how to paddle together to learning race sets that I would teach to a typical competitive team. Performances are never the key driver but the relationships that drive their success as a team. They started from almost strangers to friends who would be there for that Saturday to have breakfast together before they start training. It will be a fantastic feeling to see them race. A feeling to have been involved in building up a team of nobodys to a team that will see themselves pit against the best in their category. My heart will light up seeing this team finish the race. I hope I would be able to continue coaching them. All the best to MSF!

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS) The year was coming to an end when yet another surprise caught me off guard. My alma mater took the opportunity to engage me when they realised they were stuck without a coach and they needed someone they could trust. I was initially hesitant knowing how little experience I had with coaching yet I knew I wanted to take them on to test out everything that I tried out on the above mentioned teams. It was almost a dream come true finally knowing that I could see my growth as a coach be tested out on a highly competitive team that would be able to see through plans that I had set out a year ago when i started coaching. This team has its challenges; stuck between school and team, many of them make the choice of pursuing a sport that would require hours, days, weeks, months to achieve the biggest prize of them all next July; the prime minister's cup. I had to be extremely clear with my instructions to get them to perform to my expectations and there is an uphill task trying to hold this team together long enough to see through their goals. I have more to expect of myself and I know its a tough job. Its only been a month since I took up this team so it would be too early to expect too much of them. They know they have to do well for their own sake. I wish them all the best and I would take no credit for their success in this upcoming race. The captains and team manager have worked well together and it will be soon when they will soar to greater heights. 

I must honestly say I have been truly blessed to have been given the chance to pursue a passion, a passion that I have lived through almost 10 years of my life to finally reach the stage where I can teach, coach and pass down values I believe create success in teams. The satisfaction of seeing these 3 teams just race under my coaching will be something I treasure for a long time to come. Thank god for everything. Thank you for the fantastic year, OneStroke, MSF and NUS:)

Race Piece Breakdown Part 1: The Starts

The starts in a dragon boat race set has been and still is the most adrenaline pumping moment for any racer who takes part in a race. Let me paint the scenario a little more clearly through the eyes of a racer called Jackson. 

Courtesy of Boston.com

Jackson is a strong and powerful athlete, weighing in a mere 70 kilos but has the strength of a bull on a rampage on a good day. Sitting in the pace group as the second pair of paddlers, he has the responsibility to set the pace for the rest of his team with mininum error to maximise the potential of his team heading at the start. His team has practiced doing the starts during practice sessions at 90-100 strokes per minute and he knows he's not holding back. As soon as race horn sounds, he will pull with all his might to push the boat up to speed and hit the team's intended top speed as soon as possible. He is going to release every ounce of energy on the first 20 strokes or its nothing at all. His heart is pounding furiously as he awaits the inevitable sound of the horn. Adrenalin is pumping into his veins like never before. Its the finals of the National Championships and it is now or never. A second later, the announcer makes the final adjustments..

Are you readyyyyy? 

Attention!!!

(Sounds Horn)

For the split moment of a second, Jackson shifts himself into a self-induced trance like state, adrenalin surging through his veins as he pulls the immensely heavy pool of water in front of him with his newly bought carbon fibre paddle. The water boils past him as he moves in for his second stroke, then his third and before he realises it, his team is running at an incredible pace at 100 strokes a minute. It seemed like forever when at the 20 stroke into the starts he transitions into race pace at 80 strokes a minute. He catches quick glance at the team beside him and he sees no boat in sight. He knows his team got it but there's still two thirds of the race to go. 

In sprint races or 200m to 500m in length, this behemoth of the race piece is one of the most difficult parts of the race to execute to its maximum potential due to the sheer physical strength and speed that it requires from the paddlers to reach the boat's critical maximum speed. Teams in Singapore have been known to hit speeds of up to 16-17km/hr based on actual GPS readings but on the international front, I'm sure it has went closer to 19km/hr. 

So what makes a good start piece? 

Having been a padder myself for the past 7 years, I've seen myself hitting 90 spm (strokes per minute) starts to really initiate any sort of advantage against the competition. Yet, technically it is really difficult to achieve due to the following factors:

1) Technical Proficiency of the paddlers
This is meant in the sense of the paddler understanding what he is doing to the water when he is at that rating. I've been to races trying to race at 90spm and I really felt that I basically didn't do anything to the water other than shove it out of my way. But when a more technically experienced paddler does it, he has a clear understanding of the essence of the catch every time he pulls the water even at high ratings. 

2) Physical limitations 
Going in depth into the muscularity of the paddler, the stroke rating may very well be defined by how well conditioned his fast twitch muscle fibres are able to move at high speeds. Many paddlers at the recreational/novice stages may not have fully developed fast twitch muscle fibres in their body to initiate any form of power through the starts nor hit high stroke rates due to lack of conditioning. 

3)Weight of the boat. 
As far as I remember, I only managed to hit these high ratings and high speeds in boats like the Champion or the German Buk. Never have I hit my best timings in heavier boats like the Malaysian Kim Tuck Huat boats. Its very much more challenging to push a 15-20 stroke start piece in a KTH than trying to hit it at 80-90 strokes per minute in a German BUK or Chinese Champion. 


Typical vs the 5-5-5 method
Typical starts that are very common in Singapore are known as the extended starts; made up of a 5-6 stroke slow stroke followed by 20-30 strokes at a rating of 80-90 spm. Many in the community deem it the NORM which I find a fallacy when it comes to racing at the international standard where boats like the Champion are used. 

The New Starts: 5-5-5 method
A recent blog I read suggests using a 15-20 stroke routine broken up into 5-5-5 strokes to increase the instantaneous increase in speed to hit the top speed of the boat.Each of the 5 stroke increase in spm of 10 strokes spm to ramp up as high as the paddler possibly can handle. I find this radical but yet very logical at the same time. Why? Because extended starts although suitable for heavier boats, do little to increase instantaneos boat reaction at the start. It ramps up the speed over a longer time which also hampers total timings. 

The new way of doing starts emphasises the importance of the use of ATP in the muscles in the window of opportunity where it comes and goes within a span of 10 seconds. Any energy expended beyond that is in the part aerobic region which defeats the purpose of using all out Power at the part of the race. Therefore an extended starts that run almost 20 seconds into the race do little to the athletes to maximise their aerobic energy systems which could have already been expended in the starts. 

I don't mean to deny the merits of the starts that we already have been using for the years that i've been paddling for. However, it does not hold ground when we really figure out the energy systems that we use. I think talk is cheap so I'm trying this new method out with my team to really see if we can get any results from this method. I hope this information has been useful to you guys. Till then! Paddles Out!

Kim Kardashian in a Dragon Boat Race; Seriously?

I was just surfing through the web for hot chicks in a dragon boat (Nothing of the erotic sort I swear), and guess who I found.. Kim Kardashian actually paddled in a dragon boat before! Much of this story was publicised openly in many news and tabloids I couldn't believe she was actually paddling in a dragon boat. As you can imagine, her whole family and friends were in on the act but who am I to judge when someone so famous tries out my beloved sport. Enough of the talk. Its time for the pictures!! 

Who else can look as cool as her scratching her crotch? 

Warming up: Stretch!

Of course don't forget to do a few squats

And remember to bend over

Time to get wet and wild

  

She's probably laughing at her ex-husband

I think wearing Ray Bans are gonna be the next in thing.

Photos courtesy of http://celebrity-gossip.net/

I'm never gonna look at Kim the same way again! . If you like this post please share it!

5 Things the Singaporean Dragon Boater MUST HAVE!

Ever since I started paddling in 2003, I have seen dragon boat in Singapore evolve from the days of yore. I never used to have the things we have today due to the access to more information on the internet and the influence that dragon boaters have had on the sporting community in Singapore. From my observations, many dragon boaters have become more involved in the sport that we have created a subculture in the way we look, feel and act like a the uniquely Singaporean dragon boater. In this post, I just wanted to highlight the TOP 5 things that the dragon boater in Singapore MUST HAVE to announce to the world, "Yeah! I'm a dragon boater.."

5 reasons why Singapore Dragon Boat is Stagnating

More often than not, you will hear your dragon boat friends rave about the recent races at the Singapore Dragonboat Festival (SDBF) and exclaim how well they did during the races and how well the top teams did in the Opens Category. Congratulations to NTU for coming in first in the Men's Opens.While it seems like a true feat to be the best in Singapore, to the trained eye, I have seen a not much improvements to the timings clocked over 500m race distances. 

Before I touch on the 5 reasons why our dragon boat scene is stagnating, I would like to emphasize that none of these are gathered facts but truly opinions of my own. Based on observation and fact finding plus a few interviews from coaches, I think its fair to be a critic so that our Singaporean paddlers to continue to improve beyond the standards we have today. Maybe you may find a better reason and we could share over a cup of coffee:)

#1 Singaporeans are too impatient

Dragon boat paddling is a very very very very technical skill that requires years to master. Honestly, in my short athletic career I only really learnt how to paddle the best way to my ability when I got the experience after 4 years of paddling. Yes, you heard right. 4 years. But it seems many of us tend to treat learning this skill like writing your name. As long as you can write your name down properly, you can buy a Mont Blanc pen to sign your name on anything that needs it. 

This attitude of learning is probably a Singaporean thing. When we learn something in the workplace, it has to be learnt fast and as efficiently as possible to make sure we get the job done. Many paddlers bring this idea to the water, that when they can paddle with a wooden paddle after 1 month, they need a carbon fibre paddle. I only got mine after I paddled for 5 years. This impatience has created a big boom to the paddling business. Everyone can afford to buy one because it looks good, but sadly few know how to properly paddle with one. 

#2 Getting bigger and stronger is always the first priority

As I have covered in a previous post, generations upon generations of paddlers have come to believe that paddling requires monstrous biceps and a huge chest to be able to paddle well. Oh man, they are so wrong. One of my ex-teammates who was paddling for one of the tertiary teams in the PM cup was a mere dwarf at 48 kilos. But was he any weaker than the rest of the squad? His team came in 0.23 seconds behind another which had 2 thirds of them weighing over 70 kilos. The paddler's experience made the difference not his size. Of course size can be a factor especially in the eyes of coaches who were brought up in the era of big = strong, but these days, the complexity of the sport has evolved so much that winning teams require so much more than just brute strength to win races, much less clock world class timings. This myth has been debunked on many occasions but still, the legend continues. 

#3 Singaporeans are too vocal

As far as history is concerned, dragon boat is a Chinese tradition that has evolved into a spectacular sport that has gained many enthusiasts all over the world. The sport just like its original predecessors believed that it was a communal sport where it brought together people in the village together to row as one. It is very much "let's just follow what our seniors has taught us and not do our own thing kinda sport.". Well, that just doesn't happen in Singapore. Competitive teams face issues of paddlers who may have come from different backgrounds and experiences to dictate their own way of the perfect stroke. In the end, we end up with a mish mash of strokes in the same team that may not truly optimise the performance of the boat in general. Teams have been stuck at timings which they see year after year of races which sadly does not justify the number of hours they put into training. We put creativity in the wrong place in a very communal environment where everyone should be doing the same thing every time. 

#4 Paddling is only a hobby

In all honesty, coaching has brought me a new side stream of income that allowed me a few more luxuries in my life and I love it. Fact is we can NEVER make real money off dragon boat either as an athlete or a coach.  It is sad to see the turnover rate of many of our top teams in Singapore either due to the more practical reasons like work, NS or in some students' cases. overseas exchange which is something well worth giving up dragon boat for. Our standards will only improve if people take it as seriously as the PM cup, where the standards for winning races become high enough to our regional neighbours. But it will never take shape because we won't earn money from it. Yes I do, but not as a paddler. I have struggled through school because I chose paddling over working part time but that was a choice I made. But for many people who are definitely more pragmatic, who would want to give up 6 months of exchange for a race that lasts 4 minutes? 

# Singaporeans teams are generally selfish

I was having a conversation with another coach in the dragon boat fraternity and we were exchanging views of how the race timings were barely improving year upon year. We have never gotten to the levels our regional neighbours are at internationally and I was searching for answers. 

He explained to me in the most simplest of terms that Singaporean teams are a selfish bunch of paddlers. We like to come together to paddle and race but teams hate it when paddlers move over to another team better to improve ourselves. One example is how we gather paddlers for our National team (Nteam). It has been a well known fact that anyone joining the Nteam has to commit fully for all their trainings for obvious reasons, however these paddlers may come from many of the tertiary teams that usually prepare intensely for their most crucial races in the SDBF. Misunderstandings led to another and soon many of these paddlers lose the time to train with their tertiary teams causing a lot of rife between the National Squad and their tertiary teams. Today, it has almost come to a point that if you are ever in a tertiary team, you had better not join the Nteam because we will kick you out. Today, the Nteam has taken a beating knowing that the best talent that it can muster from the nation's limited pool of paddlers is clearly not trying out for the simple reason where these paddlers fear to be judged by their  "original teammates". Sad to say, as long as this persistence of being selfish stays, we will never be truly able to say that this National team is the best one that we have in the country. I guess it is really a mentality where being Asian, we have this stigma of being left out and being judged which is very unfair knowing how much we progressed as a "westernised" society. I guess some things are meant to stay in our very modern Singapore. 

Wrapping it up

I hope you have enjoyed this light-hearted article of 5 reasons why our dragon boat scene is stagnating. While there may be more reasons why we may be stuck, I guess these are the more salient ones for our situation now. 

Nevertheless, I always believe in the future of our sport and how well it progressed throughout the years. I will never discount the fact where many teams have seen incredible improvements in race timings on a local level. I hope this may generate discussions for people who are interested in a good debate. Till the next article!

Dragon Boat accident caught on Camera!

SAVA international hosted their 2013 edition of the MR500 dragon boat races last weekend. It was an exciting surprise to catch some drama on camera.

The video showed 2 boats which veered off course and collided into 2 other boats almost causing a freak accident that could have involved more than 100 lives. As much as I respect coxwains for doing their duty diligently, this was a mishap that could be avoided through proper drills executed by the team. The teams should have been drilled regarding such collisions for their own safety and not assume to paddle regardless of the circumstances. Definitely more could have been done to educate both paddlers and coxwains alike to manage such situations. I sure hope there won't be more of such accidents in future. Till my next post!