THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT me what he wanted to see. I would say, ‘Yes, I understand,’ then look to move on. He would not let go until I had really effected the change he was looking for. “This could get into a painful process of him saying ‘no, no, no’ until eventually there’d be a ‘yes.’ “Then he’d say, ‘Did you get it? Describe it,’ or similar. Only when I knew what good was like, for myself, could I then move on.”6609 Robin Williams, Coach of Cambridge University during Harry’s last years: “I can’t coach like Harry, much as I would like to, and in truth I haven’t met anyone who can, not exactly. The reason we think we can is because his picture of the stroke was so simple and well explained. That’s why he was successful with the rowers – they could understand what he meant.”6610 Mahon: “Simplifying the presentation of our information to our athletes can result in the development of fast crews.”6611 Williams: “The ones who struggled were the ones who could not grasp the CONCEPT that we move the boat past the blade rather than pull the oar through the water. Anyone who tried to pull was in for a very hard time! He would indeed say, ‘No, no, no, no . . . ’ endlessly until the poor culprit would sometimes break down in despair. “Finally they would ask for help. Harry’s intransigence forced them to seek another way, his way. They would ask for further clarity, he would give it, they would try again, and then, if they really had grasped some of the concept, you might hear a ‘yes,’ which made you feel like the sun was shining again and life could go on.”6612 6609 G. Searle, op. cit. 6610 Williams, personal correspondence, 2008 6611 Programme, 1998 FISA Coaches’ Confer- ence, London, Ontario, Canada 6612 Williams, op. cit. Müller: “Then in 1992 after four years of coaching, he came to see me in Providence, Rhode Island on the Seekonk River, and all of a sudden he finally said, ‘Good . . . Good . . . Good . . . Good . . . Good . . . ‘ and I started crying. I was finally hitting the note, and I knew once I started hitting the note, real speed was going to open up. “That was really great.”6613 Brook: “Harry was relentless in pursuit of good technique, and in training he often sat his motor boat right on the tip of your blade with his ‘no, no, no, yes, no, no . . . ‘ for hours on end. He demanded change.”6614 Mahon: “I certainly do not set out to be difficult. I would be really unhappy if I thought I had upset anyone. I guess I see potential and work hard to help someone achieve that. If I did not care, then I would not be so determined to help people.”6615 Brook: “The thing was that you could feel the positive change happening in the boat and the extra boat speed as a result, and as a crew you were determined to build on and hold the extra speed for hours on end. Consistency became the goal, boat speed and perfect balance were all important, and all the time doing it ‘with ease.’”6616 Searle: “The experience of working in a crew with Harry coaching was often quite amusing. He would happily have one person from an eight or a four rowing alone until eventually they got it for themselves. “In this area he had far more patience and also belief in you that you would eventually get it, and in himself, that it was the right thing to do, than other coaches I’ve worked with.”6617 Sonia Waddell: “One of Harry’s strengths is that he gave you such belief in 6613 Müller, op. cit. 6614 Brook, op. cit. 6615 Qtd. by Stevens, op. cit., p. 17 6616 Brook, op. cit. 6617 G. Searle, op. cit. 1831
