THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT “Ernie used to say, ‘It all comes from there,’ whilst demonstrating the finish of the stroke. He was right. The blade from just ahead of the swivel through to the finish is at the most effective angle, and the finish needs to possess the greatest thrust.5329”5330 Buzz Congram, who took over at Northeastern from Arlett in 1977: “My recollection is that Ernie’s crews rowed with somewhat of an erect back. They had a fairly late rollup, and he used to talk about ‘striking at the water’ [Jesus Bell Note], so it was kind of a row-it-in and row-it-out kind of motion with good slide control. “It was different because everyone else in the States was still under the influence of the University of Washington, with the fast hands out of bow and slowing into the stern. Ernie taught hands away but a steadier slide and striking motion and much more erect, less body angle forward and less layback, ticking it along. “It was everything coming on at the same time, including arms, more so than other schools at the time.”5331 Ernie Arlett also had a pure Fairbairn approach to coaching. Bill Miller ‘70: “Ernie wasn’t verbal on the water. He had a way of allowing a crew to find the technique, the swing and rhythm, on their own. He coached with his ‘eyes’ in the sense that he was always watching but rarely stopping to talk. “When I became a coach, he said to me: ‘Don’t over-coach a crew.’ He said nothing more. It’s been a cherished piece of advice that I’ve kept as my number one rule ever since.”5332 Arlett himself wrote of “getting the true feeling of a boat running, instantaneous application of power from the legs, 5329 Schubschlag. See Chapter 19. 5330 Stuart, personal correspondence, 2011 5331 Congram, personal conversation, 2004 5332 Miller, personal conversation, 2007 transmitted through the body with clever hands to the blades, which are drawn through in one piece, finish well-drawn home.”5333 Larry Gluckman ‘69: “I still recall Ernie’s words to us one day during practice. ‘Gentlemen, on the way back, I want you to row as if you are fairies dancing on the water.’ “It gave me the lasting impression that we were, in fact, trying to slide this boat along the water more as a ballet that a slugfest. And he was our master choreographer.”5334 Cal Coffey ‘73: “Ernie had a launch driver and always sat out at the bow. I remember he would say in his English accent, ‘You just have to scull it, boys,’ and he would make the motion with his arms, start wide, cross over and finish beside his body. I don’t know if he had ever rowed sweep, and I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. “‘You just have to scull it, boys.’ “I developed my own technique from my engineering studies. It’s important not to disturb the boat at the entry but to anchor the blade quickly and not pull until the blade is anchored. “Then I would pull steadily to the finish. Steady force would yield steady acceleration throughout the stroke. “I never liked the idea of leaning back too far at the finish. It just transfers weight into the bow and you have to come back, so I tended to sort of lean over the oar handle and squeeze in as far as possible.5335 Then I would push the hands away quickly to clear the knees. The slide motion would be steady and proportionate to the effort level and the rating.”5336 5333 Qtd. by Ferris, p, 92 5334 Qtd. by Stewart, p. 17 5335 This is the same thought process as Steve Fairbairn. See Chapter 19. 5336 Coffey, personal conversation, 2007 1471
