A coach is often heralded as the 10th member of a rowing crew. Within the rowing community, great coaches are household names; think of Jurgen Grobler, Robin Williams and Steve Trapmore to name but a few. Even at a club level, ‘great’ coaches receive special recognition, and are paid a huge amount of respect; after all what rower doesn’t want to impress their coach? But what does a coach really add? In the early days of this sport, the coach was the only pair of eyes on the river bank, someone who could give technical pointers to help rowers improve. Their expertise was relied upon to set the training programme and give direction to a crew, and to be the final voice in selection decisions. But with recent advances in technology, do these skills really matter anymore?
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