Rowing is more than a sport, says coach

Life as a rowing coach can sometimes be a juggling act, says head coach for Hamilton Girls High School, Scott Wilson.

It turns out he’s a good juggler as he divides his week 60/40 between work and rowing – 60 percent work (fortunately he is his own boss).

The 40 percent involves putting together  programmes and coaching schedules and training the girls – 14 rowers and three coxes.

It is not as easy as it sounds, as training has to fit around availability of coaches, the pupils themselves and, oh yes, their schoolwork.

“Sometimes you feel like you need a scientific degree just to get the coaching schedules working,”  Wilson says.

“We work around school time and exam time – academics always has to come first. You have got to have an education”

But it’s not just him doing the juggling act and he shares the load with three other coaches. Without them, he says, they just would not have a rowing club.

The students’ parents also have a huge influence on their rowing, Wilson says. They are the ones who help their daughters with their nutrition, make sure they are in bed early, and do the  drop offs at the river for the 6am trainings.

It is such a time consuming sport, but it is also a lot of fun, Wilson says. He started coaching three years ago – when his daughter Jaimie  began rowing for Hamilton Girls High – and he has since became the head coach for 2015.

When he trains the girls, he reminds them – “don’t go out and give less than a 100 percent, as you’re not just cheating yourself, you’re cheating everyone else”. He tells his girls that out on the water there is nowhere to hide, if one rower is not pulling their weight then it shows and it affects the whole team.

His passion for the sport and being a coach shows as he exclaims: “I could talk about rowing for hours. It’s a sport that I never thought about getting involved in. I just sort of clicked with it and I can’t get enough of it.”

See related story about Hamilton Girls’ High School here