Sport At Its Best

I’m really grateful for the tremendous support I’ve received for this project and part of that has come in the form of other athletes writing entries.  Ben Rutledge is a World and Olympic champion rower (www.benrutledge.com; twitter.com/ben_rutledge) and has written the following entry.  I think you’ll find it extremely insightful in terms of what it takes to train and compete at that level and about teamwork especially (which is mostly in part 2).  To succeed in rowing at a world level requires an incredible amount of effort and dedication.  In terms of work load and intensity of training, there are few if any athletes that put more into it.  What has gone hand in hand with the dedication is what Ben refers to as an “open camp” philosophy and I’ll let him describe how integral it was to his team’s success.  Thanks very much Ben for your support and the great article…

*****

To win an Olympic gold medal in rowing, it takes many things.  Some of which include being physically fit, tall and strong, having a belief in yourself, a belief in your training and in your team-mates.  Our team had an open camp system, designed by our coach Mike Spracklen it kept the top athlete’s on the ball, while at the same time keeping the door open for any opportunistic athletes. Excellence was revelled and pushing towards physical failure was accepted, and by pursing these polar opposites we found out that they were actually one of the same.

Our Coach Mike Spracklen gave the unwavering leadership necessary to create this system and elevate excellence as a virtue. His reputation as a task master is well known within the rowing world, but what is not well known is how he consistently gets his athletes to abide by and take on his program.  His intense training schedule, gruelling hours and a never ending drive to push harder does not leave room for the unmotivated athlete.   For someone to ask and receive this of his/her athletes for a short period of time is not entirely improbable, but to have results and medals from every Olympics since 1984 says much more.

To be a part of his system can be an unnerving ordeal.  One day in my first year under his tutelage  I remember  trying to give it my absolute all during a Saturday afternoon workout (the last of the week)  in the eight man boat –or at least what I though was my absolute all. Halfway throughout the workout he mentioned to me that he thought I wasn’t giving it my all…well, this was news to me.  My heart rate was at maximum, sweat was pouring down and I could not gasp air any faster.

I wanted to be the best and if he thought I could give more, then I would try and give more. The next work set, I recall pushing hard enough to what I thought would break my oar, again over the microphone came “you’re still not getting it”. I couldn’t believe it, could he not see that my eyes were nearly popping out of my head. I shuddered at the thought of what was necessary to get the desired result.  As we took off for our next set of strokes I prepared myself for something spiritual, I would separate the boat in two if I had too. The next set I pushed and pulled so hard I was literally crying after the piece.  To be completely honest, my bowls were nearly coming loose, and in a soft tone he said “OK Ben, that’s better”. 

I will never forget that day, because it serves as a reminder.  There is always a little bit more we can give, if we really want to step outside our comfort zone.

My writing skills may not give light to exactly how he was able get this from me, but he has a way of asking for more without making you mad at him. I might be partly because he has a British accent, or maybe because he is 70 years old. But more realistically I believe Mike can do this because he only coaches athletes who want to be the best and he holds a reputation that is unmatched in the sport of rowing. This is what allows him to ask more from his rowers.  Consistently, they will try and do anything to be better; thus, create a respectful relationship between the athletes and coach.

(End of Part 1).