What It Takes to be the Best

When we look at RJC, NJC, maybe even LKC what do we see in common? We have to ask ourselves this question so that we know where we are lacking. I have a few things to say about what it takes.
1. Mental Toughness

This is ambrosia to all athletes. Without it all efforts to improve stops at the point where you feel uncomfortable. This is the most essential ingredient! As a team we force it on all our rowers by peer pressure and exercises so that as individuals we can learn to break our limits

2. Discipline

And you wonder where all the militaristic parts of our training come in; it serves as a way to instil discipline because without basic discipline and focus we will waste resources and time

3. Team Spirit

When you row in a group you have to have team spirit. As individuals you may be able to excel but as a team effort your improvement will be phenomenal

4. Higher purpose

Sportsmen who do very well in their sport often dedicate their sport to a higher purpose than their own glory. This being said, there are sportsmen who compete for themselves and still excel. However most dedicate it to family, friends, fellow team members and God.

5. Technical expertise

Needless to say, this is self explanatory

6. Initiative

The best athletes are not spoonfed the training routines. They do not sit there and wait on their coach or friends to tell them something is wrong but always run critical analysis of their performance in the heads, and then seek the answers for themselves. the Best athletes will look for their problems and find their own solutions to deal with them if no one tells them how. They always seek to improve themselves past their peers. On an individual perspective, this is the second most important element below mental tenacity.

7. Sense of Urgency

Every second of rest means every previous efforts are being wasted. We must bring ourselves back to a short and sharp mentality, and so in everything that we do we must show and make sure we have a sense of urgency. The most pressing issue with us is that we do not have it yet. This also reflects our focus in our training. When you see rowers strolling along what is the impression? to me it gives me the impression that this is a bunch of people who have no goals with regard to their training. Spoonfed! No discipline! No Desire!

8. Desire

AKA Hunger, The Want. Going down in the water to row you must have the desire to excel and be the best. This will automatically give you the initiative and discipline, but only if you have the desire. Not for gold mind you, but for better than gold. Perhaps for dominance and superiority in the water. Therefore getting gold is not enough. We should strive to dominate the race by pulling as far away from the competitors as we can even though we know our race is secured.
BTW, taking it easy at the endpoint because you know you are going to win is a grave insult to all the other competitors and is unsportsmanlike, not to mention it is unbearably arrogant, and warrants immediate expulsion from the team.

9. Humility

We have always said humility is one of the most important aspects of training in the team. Arrogance limits your ability to accept new concepts and feedback. But when you are humble, you learn from any perspective thrown at you. J2's, there is no shame in learning from J1's. There is no shame in learning something from an insult thrown at you from your competitors. Humility is essential for continuous improvement, therefore if any rower now still has not learnt to be humble, the J2's will have to take him one side and teach him humility, in the way we know best, by breaking him and showing him that he is nowhere near the standards.

This list is not extensive. if you guys have anything to add please feel free to continue.