THE WORLD COMES FULL CIRCLE Teti: “Coaches will say, ‘You want the legs, back and arms all to finish together.’ I will never say that, not because I don’t agree with it, but because I don’t want to confuse them. They’re going to be thinking about their legs, backs and arms instead of getting ahead of the other boat, and I think that eve- rything you do has to be within the context of racing.”8244 This is pure Fairbairn thinking, who long ago wrote, “to think about holding or moving his body in certain positions takes away from his capacity to work the oar. . . . To move the body correctly, the body must move unconsciously. “Everyone has moved their bodies un- consciously all through their lives. Becom- ing body conscious is the first step toward locomotor ataxy [lack of muscle con- trol].”8245 Teti gets his points across to his rowers more obliquely. “For example, there’s some exercise, some drill to alleviate almost every technical problem in the boat, so instead of saying, ‘You’re doing this, you’re doing that, you’re doing this,’ I’ll just try to figure out some exercise for them to do. That’s one aspect. “The other aspect is that I’ll shoot video, and a coach will edit the video and e-mail it to the guys, because they all work, and then they watch it, and they can see. “‘Look at what you’re doing at the front end compared to, say, Bryan.’ They are bright kids, and they ask questions. I try not to get super-specific.”8246 From 1997 through 1999 the United States Men’s Eight won three straight World Championships under Mike Teti, so when they came in only fifth at the 2000 Olympics 8244 Teti, op. cit. 8245 Fairbairn On Rowing, pp. 377-8 8246 Teti, personal conversation, 2004 in Sydney, the disappointment was palpa- ble.8247 In the ensuing years, the Americans steadily improved, coming in fourth, then third, then second, and culminating in a su- perb Gold Medal in 2004 in Athens. Teti: “A lot of things came together in 2004. I had five different people in the eight who were significantly better than the guys I had in 2003. We were actually trying to do the same thing that year, but better athletes generally are able to do things in an easier way. “I also had a group with no undergradu- ates involved, who didn’t have to take the year off from school, and so we rowed through the whole year, and they were able to get better. “And they had much more time to spend in small boats, and they were all really com- petent. “I’ve had eights that won Gold Medals where some guys were a disaster in a pair or just couldn’t row a single, but 2004 was the first eight I ever had that every guy in that boat could move any boat, and they were powerful, and they were really big.”8248 Mike Teti resists any implication that the difference between 2000 and 2004 was due to a change in technique. Teti: “We didn’t lose in Sydney because of the technique we rowed. We lost because of some bad decisions that I made. “The year 2004 was the only time that I had all eight guys for the whole year with NO injuries. That wasn’t true in 2000.”8249 Athens Nash: “2004 had a lot of chefs, Mike as head coach, and also great help by Korzo, 8247 Refer to Lewis, A Fine Balance. In addition, see Chapter 155. 8248 Teti, op. cit. 8249 Ibid. 2309
