Word: oarsman
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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What makes Harry "the winningest coach" at Harvard? One oarsman put it succinctly: "Having raw muscle is just the starting point--what counts most is the psychology behind it. Harry gives us that psych factor...
Unlike most sports, crew trains all year for a single season in the spring. Throughout those 300 hours of fall and winter practice, each oarsman is sustained only by the distant image of racing season. As a result, those long hours of pre-season rowing--in a racing shell, in an indoor rowing tank, on an "unpleasant machine" called the ergometer--develops in each oarsman a formidable mental drive that will be focussed, months later, into a six-minute race...
High school talent and an intense freshman training program provide the foundation for Harvard's varsity crews. As one crew member said, "You've sweated through Ted's training--now you're ready for the professional discipline Harry demands." Coach Parker's credentials are also lengthy: an oarsman and sculler since college, he has worked with Harvard crews for 19 years and coached the U.S. national and Olympic women's crews. Gordong Gardiner '79, the team captain and varsity boat stroke, describes Parker: "Harry's the best in the country. He treads the very thin line between undercoaching and overcoaching...
Higginson decided to reinstate veteran senior Kevin Cunningham at stroke while sliding in towheaded junior Jim Russell at the pivotal seven seat. "Jim's a smooth oarsman whose style complements the strength in our boat," Cordeiro said...
Some of the varsity oarsmen held Higginson himself partly responsible for the unsettled nature of the squad. Five man Bill Chapman said last night, "Having been a good oarsman with a strong sense of rowing himself John expects a certain demeanor in rowing from his oarsmen. I don't think he's comfortable with very different personalities and levels of talent. He has an enjoyable penchant for self-effacing humor which goes well with national championship teams. But John doesn't know how to switch to a crew that may get beat...