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Mike Spracklen and being the best

October 28, 2009 11:09 AM | Posted by   Kevin Light  

When Mike Spracklen came to Canada in 2001, all I knew about him was that he coached the 1992 Canadian Men’s eight to a gold medal in Barcelona. I was excited because if the plan was good enough for the guys in 1992, then it had to be good enough for me too.

I learned a lot from Mike; most importantly, what a good rowing stroke looks, feels, and sounds like, and the kind of commitment it takes to be the best.

One month ago I received a question from a coach in the United States about an article I had written in the July issue of the Rowing News magazine.

I had written, "Mike brought the idea of excellence, but never demanded it. Rather, he created an environment that made you demand it of yourself.”

The question was. “How?”

It’s a tougher question than you might think. Since I’m a current member of the rowing team my thoughts concerning Mike’s coaching style are evolving.

The more time athletes spend under his guidance, the more they begin to understand the physical, mental and technical purpose of each workout. That last one, the purpose of each workout, is most important.

He'll never say to go faster

Mike says all you need to know about the rowing stroke can be written on the back of a postage stamp. He’s very good at finding different ways to teach the same technique, but great at getting eight guys to do the same thing at the same time.

Each time we row, scull or row the ergometer Mike is participating, evaluating and offering advice on ways we can improve. He is always there and reinforces that your ergometer technique is just as important as your ergometer score. If you can’t row properly in the gym, you don’t have a chance of doing it on the water.

Mike has high expectations of his athletes but “he never yells go faster” said Andrew Byrnes three seat of the 2008 gold medal eight. “He won’t even ask you to ‘go faster’ but he will explain to you why faster is better and why "going faster" will help you achieve your goals” added Byrnes. It is left up to the athlete whether they want to try and achieve those goals or not.

Byrnes added “If one person is struggling with technique Mike rarely says ‘George, swing over more’, but will say ‘we want to swing over long to get a hold of length, because more length moves the boat further each stroke.” He is rarely critical but very explanatory and makes his athletes understand that under his guidance he will help them become fitter athletes, but also faster rowers.

Do you want to win the gold?

In the words of Adam Kreek, seven seat in the Beijing eight: “Mike coaches with questions, placing the onus of performance on the athlete. Do you want to win a gold medal? Do you want to stop rowing and go into the dock?”

Anyone is free to join his training centre, regardless of age, ability sex, or even nationality provided they can keep up and don’t get in the way of the faster athletes. Top athletes are given priority when it comes to equipment, coaching and therapy.

“No athlete is turned away, rather they are given the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about whether they want to be training at the training centre or not” said Dominic Seiterle six seat from the 2008 Beijing Eight.

Mike runs a competitive training environment by rowing in pairs and singles throughout the winter. He changes the way the volume of work is done day to day to keep things fresh, stressing the body and mind in a slightly different way to help avoid the monotony of training. Encouraging athletes to embrace competitive situations forces them to focus on how fast they are rowing rather than how far they are rowing. This allows him to increase the volume, without a similar deterioration in technique. The skill lies in the ability to squeeze the last drops of energy out of each athlete, rather than the ability to write a hard program.

“When you think you are tired, you are actually only 1/5th of the way towards death” is one of his sayings.

Each athlete at the centre follows the same training program and there are always individuals performing at a high level. If you are a new athlete to the training centre you could become slower and might blame over training.
But it can take up to six months for your body to adapt to the increase in volume before you begin to see an improvement in performance.

In fact, the harder you continue to push your body when tired, even if it means going slower in the next workout, the faster you will become after you give your body a chance to recover in preparation for a testing period or racing.

“He shows current athletes what others have done in the past to be successful and it up to them to follow or not” said Jeff Powell, stroke man of the 2004 Athens Eight. Participating in his training group is difficult and “some athletes are more capable than others, but no-one could say the path was not clear. It is only the failings of the athlete that result in his lack of success” added Powell.

Mike runs a series of tests every six weeks forming a ranking of athletes. A 6km erg test followed by a time trial in both pairs and singles, of which all three times are added together forming a rank order. He is looking for ability and athleticism and has even included a 10km run and 800m swim. However, crews for the World Championships are selected based on which athletes move their boat the fastest.

Mike addresses his athletes by their first name, never a nickname or last name. He is friendly enough to be a friend, but distant enough to be a leader. If a team is chosen based on whom the coach likes or dislikes the team will be happy, but won’t win.

“Friends come and go, but gold medals last forever” says Mike.

Mike pushes his athletes by continuing to train in situations that he believes other coaches won’t. Hail, wind, rain, cold, snow, waves, humidity, complaining athletes, lack of funding, lack of support, none will stop him.

“The only thing that will stop ‘us’ are fog and ice” is another one of his famous quotes.

I realize now that what he means is, “The only thing that will stop ‘me’ is fog and ice,” and it is up to the athlete to choose follow his lead or not.

“Mike believes that he wants it more than his athletes. I feel I spent the 18 months leading up to Beijing trying to prove him wrong in that respect” said Dominic Seiterle.

Mike is an excellent rowing teacher, coach and leader but it is his focus and ability to do what he says he is going to do that sets him apart. Being the example of what he expects of his athletes allows him to create an environment where those athletes begin to demand those same qualities of themselves.

I hope this gives you some insights as to why I think Mike is a good coach and I hope helps you handle the responsibility of leading athletes down a path that gives them the greatest chance to be the best that they can be.

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