The Olympic gold won by the U.S. men’s four was the product of more than just four great collegiate oarsmen rowing together for several years. Coach Casey Galvanek used his sharp eye, available technology, and sales skills to get already successful athletes to make the little changes that reaped the ultimate result.
To continue reading…
This article is exclusively for Rowing News subscribers. For as little as $5 a month, you can get access to the best quality, independent reporting on all the issues that matter to the North American rowing community.
Already a subscriber? Login
The loose, relaxed length evident in the four’s rowing was “the number-one thing we worked on at first,” said Galvanek after the Olympic victory. “It caused a little stress between us.”
“A lot of it was hip mobility,” said Galvanek. “They’re sitting in chairs a lot more. Work is in a chair. They’re sitting at a computer and in the classroom. Over the years, their mobility is less and less because they’re locked in place and they’re not stretching. Every 10 degrees of hip angle gives you a certain amount of length in the stroke.”
Galvanek identified hip mobility as a key early, talked to the strength and conditioning coach, and the next day they were working on it.
“They committed to it, and we saw the results right away. And then we just kept working on it, keeping a strong but more usable position that gives you more length and duration in the water. It changes the drive rhythm.”
Galvanek and his fellow Olympic coaches, including Brian de Regt and Michael Callahan, used the Peach system that measure forces, angles, and speeds in the shell while rowing. The technology showed them what they couldn’t see with their eyes.
“One degree here and there is pretty tough to see,” said Galvanek. “A little bit of timing differences are really hard to see.”
The recorded measurements also enabled Galvanek to sell the changes to the oarsmen, even if they didn’t feel right.
“I would show them reports, ‘Here’s a video of you doing it before I said, and here’s a video after I said, and then when you went back.’ And they can see it in the data. So it does help them agree and be convinced a bit more than just saying, ‘Hey, this is what I’m looking for.’
“If you look at the video of the boat from when we first started working together for World Cup II last year till now, it looks like a wholly different boat.“
After more than 20 years of coaching in Florida, the Sarasota Crew CEO (like Washington’s Callahan, Galvanek receives the majority of his compensation from outside USRowing) had his crew ready for the heat at the Paris Olympics.
“One of the other things we worked on a lot was not avoiding the heat in training. It’s not like it’s magic. But just being accustomed to it is a big help.”
Again, Galvanek wanted his crew to eschew comfort for improvement by meeting the challenge of hot conditions in training.
“I asked them if they would do that, and they said yes. And so for the past two years, any time it was hot, we didn’t shy away from it.”
The preparations paid off in the Olympic final, as the U.S. men won gold in the four for the first time since 1960.
“It’s an incredible experience,” said Galvanek after the biggest win of his career. “I don’t know if there could be anything better.”
