Last week, the participants of the Women in Coaching Pathway took part in a co-coaching session with Rowing Ireland’s high-performance coaches at the National Rowing Centre. The session provided an opportunity for the pathway coaches to enhance their knowledge and skills in various aspects of coaching, technical understanding, and athlete development within the sport of rowing.
To kick off the session, the pathway coaches observed a high-performance training session. This offered insights into effective coaching techniques and athlete interaction as they shadowed the high-performance coaches. The session was followed by a technical workshop with the High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, which gave insight into the Rowing Ireland technical model, rowing efficiency, and provided the coaches with specific drills and exercises that can be implemented at a club level.
Women’s Head Coach Giuseppe De Vita offered a rigging workshop covering fundamental principles of boat measurements, adaptation for athletes, and the importance of boat setup for performance and comfort. This was followed by a nutrition workshop with para coach and nutritionist David Breen. The workshop discussed fueling strategies for athletes and offered advice on how to deliver nutrition advice to athletes appropriately and effectively.
In the second half of the session, women’s coach Ashlee Rowe hosted an S&C workshop where she highlighted the target muscle groups for rowing and discussed the implementation of strength exercises in a rowing program to improve rowing performance and athlete robustness. Along with this, Ashlee offered examples of how these exercises can be tailored for athletes to suit their age, experience, and proficiency.
The session concluded with a Q&A and feedback session with Women in Sport Officer and high-performance athlete Sanita Puspure, who facilitated the session and offered insight into her career as a high-achieving athlete. Overall, the co-coaching session provided a comprehensive learning experience for women in sport pathway coaches, equipping them with valuable tools and insights to enhance their coaching effectiveness and support their athletes’ development and performance in rowing.
