I had a parent ask me a tough question last week. They mentioned that some Yacht Clubs in our area and their membership don't see the value in supporting a college program and that many parents don't feel there is a point to sending their child to a SEISA school if they want to be a good sailor because the competition and coaching is better elsewhere. They asked me: "What is the value of college sailing to our area if the sailors will never really be competitive on a national level?" I actually think I hav...
Well, it's getting to be the Dog Days of Summer and while I have one more chance to escape the Texas heat and do a little more big boat sailing in Newport my mind is becoming more and more preoccupied with avoiding this rediculous heat (AccuWeather says it feels like 107 here). My father has the ominous feeling that this summer is going to be like 1980, the summer before I was born and hottest year he can remember, with 40 straight days of 100+ weather. I hope he's wrong, but I'm not taking any chances. So avoiding the...
In my first article for Sailgroove I mentioned that most club teams that achieve success have a short run, and that the winning ways don't normally last beyond one generation. The reason this is usually the case is that the program manages to get one or 2 really good sailors (usually just one) and they manage to build up the team around them and their skill. They have a successful college career and when they leave its over and the program falls back to earth. What good is having a great run in college if the only pers...
"We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming." Wernher von Braun Running a sailing team, as with running any organization, requires a bit of paperwork. When I was in school Texas required; rosters and insurance for every team member at the start of each semester, release form and dues for every member for AYC, driver certifications for the use of school vans, and a full travel roster for each weekends regatta. You can add to that registration for the "required" rec-sports fairs, annual budget presentation to justify sailin...
This will be the first in a series of articles about team development and while the focus is on college teams the advice can serve just about any racing program. The Problem: What kills club sailing teams, or at least keeps them from progressing? You could throw out a litany of things that answer this question; no coaching, no money, no equipment, lack of talent, lack of University or YC support, etc. But none of the things I just listed, or any of the others you may be throwing out there probably get to the heart of the issue. Th...
