US Sailing Paralympic Blog - Coaching at the Paras
Friday, September 12, 2008 .jpg)
'Old Glory flies over Qingdao'
Dan Tucker Click Here to view large photo
Coaching and Staff at the Paralympic Games
It s a funny thing, most people get up, put on a business suit or dress, grab a cup of coffee and head to the office to a desk job. Here in Qingdao, things are a little less ordinary. It is not unusual to find some of the coaches and staff in the gym at 6 am, that seems to be the only hour available in our long days to get a workout in; you'll see Sarah on the treadmill, David on an elliptical, Betsy climbing the Eiffel Tower (on a stairmaster type thing). Other coaches are trying to sneak in a few more minutes of shut eye before the chaos begins for real. By 7 am, Marko and Mike are in the dining hall with computers locked on to the internet; Dr. Anne and Sarah are checking email and reporting from their rooms; all of us are gathering the necessary data and information that we need to impart to our sailors before the head out to the race course, to our office.
In a typical day, we launch boats between 8 and 8:30 am to avoid the crowds at the hoist. There is at least a 15 foot tidal drop from hardstand surface to the water at low tide which means climbing down a metal ladder to a narrow floating dock to unhook the boat from the hoist. Then we paddle or rock the boats three piers over to our pontoon location which happens to be at the end of the dock. We like it there, easy access into and off the dock. It also gives us the privacy to talk to our sailors without much disturbance from other athletes and coaches, without tripping over anyone. The docks are busy, full of wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, coolers, gear bags, drink bottles - you name it, it is there. We coaches and staff are a little bit Sherpa as well as having 5 of our 6 athletes here in China using wheelchairs at the Games means that we have to help assist by pushing trailers, carrying sails, gear bags and whatever else might be necessary. I honestly think we must log at least 10 miles of walking a day, just back and forth from village housing to docks to container to hardstand. Marko, Mike and Rock went out and bought some inexpensive Chinese-made fold up bicycles, so it is not unusual to see them cruising through the venue, even down to the end of the docks.
David and Dr. Anne start medical treatments and prep early in the morning as necessary until the sailors depart from the dock. They are helping pack coolers with ice, drinks, cooling vests, neck coolers and hats. Their on water medical kits are loaded aboard the coach boats with them so they are fully ready to assist our sailors if the need arises on the water. They do post race treatments and are there for any athlete issue. The training room has become an informal sport psych office with 'Doctor' David Ray listening to the sailors on his 'couch' the venerable training table.
Sarah, our fearless leader and team 'Mom' is everywhere: in meetings with the management; organizing container pack out; getting day passes for friends and family as well as delivering them; playing cheerleader, media consultant and countless other detail oriented jobs. Thank goodness for Sarah I don't think any of us know the extent of her behind the scenes activity but it is more than a little appreciated!
We coaches have an interesting job: part advisor; part mechanic; part engineer; part psychologist. At this point in the program our sailors know how to sail their boats, they have spend countless hours training and competing at regattas in preparation for the Paralympic Games. They can get their boats around the race course with skill and have made tactical and strategic choices countless times before. Here, we observe their boat handling techniques and give reminders to them when the execution deviates from the norm. We study their starts and work with them to effect changes that will allow them to have a better 'hole' to accelerate into for the next one. We talk with them pre-start, comparing their observations to those we have made on current and wind patterns, discussing their strategic game plan for the upcoming race. We watch the racing, making notes on performance and tactical choices so we can best advise them on where they might have gone wrong, how to adjust for the next race and reinforcing the good choices made. We debrief post-race and help in protest preparation.
Sometimes it is a challenge, especially when the athletes have had a poor performance on the water. Not only is it really frustrating for them, it is for us too . The biggest difference is that we coaches cannot let that affect the manner in which we interface with the sailors. We need to be and are their biggest cheerleaders . It is our responsibilities to help them pick up the pieces when they are down, get back into a healthy mind set, and go out and play the game again. We nudge, encourage, support, and guide them. We are their 'wing men' there through good races and bad. Each of our coaches here at these Games is an integral part of the machine. We do our best to take care of preparation details, clean up at the end of the day, and do whatever we can to enable the sailors to do their job to the best of their abilities ??' SAIL the boat around the race course. It is all about the TEAM and our team here at the 2008 Paralympic Games is one of the very best that I have ever had the opportunity to be part of. With one gold medal in our pocket (great job Nick and Maureen!) and two races to go, our team is focused and looking forward to another great day on the water. Happy hunting!!!!
GO USA!!!!!
Sail fast,
Sarah Hawkins
Team Leader
2008 US Paralympic Sailing Team
To read more click here
by Sarah Hawkins and Betsy Alison 
Palm Beach, QLD
