THE SPORT OF ROWING Only when Jim died was he replaced as Syracuse coach by his 59-year-old son, Ned Hanlan Ten Eyck (1879-1958),1489 who continued coaching Syracuse through 1949. Technique Given Syracuse’s relative proximity to the Cornell campus, and given the extremely generous nature of Charles Courtney, who lent boats to Syracuse on several occasions, and given the connections both coaches had to 19th Century professional sculling in general and to Ned Hanlan in particular, it should not be surprising to find that James Ten Eyck taught his oarsmen a Classical Technique similar to that of Charles Courtney, namely complete concurrency of legs, backs and arms with the intention of strongly accelerating the boat from entry to release. Syracuse historian Malcolm R. Alama describes it as “Ten Eyck’s sculling stroke, with its easy catch and bladewhipping follow-through,”1490 another elegant description of Schubschlag. The major difference between the two techniques was that whereas Cornell leaned forward +30° at the entry, Ten Eyck had his men lean forward a full +45°,1491 as much as 19th Century English Orthodox crews. Jim Ten Eyck: “At the ‘catch’ or start of the stroke, the oarsman is seated in the stern end of his slide, body arched down between his knees.”1492 The extreme body angle forward required the Syracuse oarsmen to aggressively lift their bodies up toward 1489 1897 Diamond Sculls Champion. See Chapter 13. 1490 Alama, p. 199 1491 1927 Poughkeepsie Regatta, www.BritishPathé.com 1492 J. Ten Eyck, qtd. by Alama, p. 63 vertical at the commencement of the stroke. Often the chin would lift as well. Coaching Philosophy Jim Ten Eyck: “I let my men keep their peculiarities in a boat to a greater extent than most coaches. My idea of that is to allow greater harmony by letting every man do the thing in his own way – so long as it doesn’t interfere with the others.”1493 This is an approach which echoed Steve Fairbairn years before Fairbairn began his writing and coaching.1494 At the end of the stroke, Ten Eyck coached his crews to lay back -35°, the same as Cornell post-1900. This gave Syracuse an 80° body arc to Cornell’s 65°. Ten Eyck called his technique the “get- there-stroke,” and though his crews displayed beautiful, coordinated swing, he gave credit for Syracuse success to the athletes and not to the technique. Jim Ten Eyck: “There’s no secret to it, nor any mystery. It isn’t the stroke, it’s the man.”1495 Nevertheless, the Ten Eyck Stroke was indeed a pleasure to watch, looking almost modern to the 21st Century eye familiar with crews such as Mike Spracklen’s 2002 and 2003 World Champion and 2008 Olympic Champion Canadian Men’s Eights.1496 You can see for yourself in the British Pathé Newsreel coverage of the 1927 Poughkeepsie race,1497 where Syracuse placed fifth. They and Cornell, who eventually finished sixth, were fighting a vicious tide close to the western shore in 1493 J. Ten Eyck, qtd. by Alama, p. 12 1494 See Chapter 19. 1495 J. Ten Eyck, qtd. by Alama, p. 118 1496 See Chapters 151 and 159. 1497 1927 Poughkeepsie Regatta, www.BritishPathé.com 396
