THE WINDS OF CHANGE the moment that full reach is attained, begin the next stroke.”2506 This was the technique that Gordon Sikes passed on to the young Jim Rathschmidt. In 1938, Sikes handed over the heavyweight program to Fred Spuhn and Freshman Coach Dutch Schoch, both University of Washington graduates and coaches of the 2nd Generation Conibear Stroke. That same year, Jim Rathschmidt took over the Princeton lightweight program that Sikes had founded. Sikes acted as a mentor to Jim and remained an enthusiastic supporter of Princeton Crew all the way until his death in 1981. The Technique of Jim Rathschmidt During World War II, Rathschmidt served in France in the US Army 26th Infantry Division, rising to rank of captain.2507 After the war, Jim returned to Princeton to become the Freshman Coach as Schoch moved up to the Varsity position.2508 Charlie Grimes, who would be coached by Rathschmidt at Yale in the mid- 1950s:2509 “Jim regretted very much not having the chance, coming out of the Depression, to go to college, or because of the Second World War to compete for his country with sculls instead of guns.”2510 After the war, his Princeton Heavyweight Freshmen won the Sprints in 1947. His Scholastic Champion Hun School crew competed at Henley in 1950.2511 2506 Ibid. 2507 Eli’s Rathschmidt Earns Top Crew Coaching Fame, New Haven Evening Register, July 2, 1956 2508 www.princeton.edu/~crew/history 2509 See later in the chapter. 2510 Grimes, Rathschmidt eulogy, 1992 2511 Rowing News, December 1956, p. 10 From the beginning, Rathschmidt’s crews were well-known for their superb bladework and body coordination. Tom Charlton, Yale 1956 team captain and bow- seat: “What I do remember about rowing for Jim is the hours of drills we performed, rowing by pairs and by fours, working on bladework. “I never saw this done by any other coach to the extent that Jim did it.”2512 Grimes: “Basically, Jim was a stylist. We spent hours with thumbs on top, eyes closed, feet out of the stretchers, rowing us that way in order to get us feeling what the proper stroke was and do it automatically. “And the amount of time he spent on those drills paid off in spades.”2513 In his eulogy for Jim, Charlie Grimes wrote: “Today we think of rowing in terms of ergometers, sweat, pain, persistence, strength and condition. Jim knew all about that, but Jim didn’t believe that heaving exertion was what rowing was all about. “Jim regarded as a goal worthy of his personal concentration what lay beyond exertion and permitted effort to be applied most effectively. “Call it style, technique, control or whatever, Jim sought to bring his boats as close to their maximum hull speed as could be obtained from the engines who turned out for his squads. “Do any of you recall Jim describing the moment on the recovery just before the catch as ‘being out there just like you were picking daisies,’ or his insistence on not rowing it in, or his emphasis on taking the water just like a sculler? “He sat directly behind his crews, looking down the bladework more than any coach of his time. He checked from the side to see if water was being missed and to see if a side view could remedy a defect he 2512 Charlton, personal correspondence, 2005 2513 Grimes, personal conversation, 2006 697
