THE ERA OF POLARIZATION “I stayed in Princeton in ‘93 as Mike went around the country to identify and recruit a whole new group of athletes.”7780 Cornell grad Eric Spector: “I was a backup coxswain for my frat brother, Steve Segaloff, while Spracklen firmed up his early selections. There were lots of small- boat racing and two-a-day practices. “He had a lot on his plate since we were operating at the unfinished Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California with no real dock, no boathouse, and no infrastructure, not to mention hurricane winds, irreverent anglers, snakes and launches with no gas. Not even close to what you see at Princeton today.7781 No support, no visitors, no real help. The boats and oars were in a container, and the team was living at the Naval Base and commuting to Otay Reservoir, and as I recall, Mike was also dealing with his wife’s illness at the same time. “I’d say that despite those distractions, he put together a very strong group. I think their international record bears that out well.”7782 Spracklen: “The coxless-pair is the boat I prefer for developing a team. The athletes learn responsibility, self discipline, watermanship and technical skills that they do not acquire in a larger boat. “Group sessions in small boats were also more interesting and purposeful, and individual performances could be observed every day. The programme capitalized on the natural competitive instincts of young athletes, but there were no formal side-by- side races in everyday training. “Everyone worked to the programme with the same aim, which was to develop 1) technique, 2) strength and 3) aerobic endurance. 7780 Klepacki, personal conversation, 2008 7781 the site of the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Teams in 2008. 7782 Spector, personal correspondence, 2008 “The basis of the programme through the winter was to train together in pairs rowing at the same low rate of striking. Crews that rowed longer strokes, stronger strokes or had better boat moving skills moved their boats faster, which encouraged the slower crews to improve one or all of these three factors. Low rates enabled the athletes to cover long distances (the foundation of good development) and gave them time to row each stroke with precision. “Contrary to criticism, no athlete was selected or discarded on performance based on low-rate work, but it is true to say that attention was given to the manner in which each oarsman applied himself in different training situations. Over the long winter period, athletes who had physical, technical and psychological potential to win were clearly identifiable. “A standard was set by the group, against which each athlete could measure performance day by day in pairs and singles to provide an accurate measure of progress, and formal tests on ergometers were carried out every six weeks.”7783 Bob Kaehler, a National Team veteran who had rowed in the 1991 and 1992 Quad: “Spracklen put us all in pairs, and going into a pair when you haven’t rowed one can be a difficult challenge, but I came from a sculling background,7784 so I’d already learned a lot of that. “Understanding the connection between all of this, how you just hang your weight on it and it all goes together, is what you have to figure out as an athlete. “You got quick feedback on the water with Spracklen because you were rowing side-by-side, ten boats across. You were either in front or you weren’t, and if you 7783 Spracklen, op. cit. 7784 Kaehler would eventually end up in the 5th- place U.S. Double at the 1993 World Championships in Račice, Czech Republic. 2169
