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Short season helps team practice basics

By Ben Ward

Friday, October 30, 2009

For the experienced members of the Kansas rowing team, the fall season essentially boils down to a few scrimmages used to gage the competition. For the team’s freshmen, however, it means much more.

“It’s the first race for all of the freshmen, which is really important for them.” coach Rob Catloth said. “Most of them are walk-ons, so it’ll be their first time in the water at the collegiate level.”

And they’ll get their chance, when the Jayhawks travel to Wichita on Sunday to compete in the Frostbite Regatta. Catloth said that everyone on the team would see action, mostly in either the Collegiate Eight or Collegiate Four races, if Mother Nature feels like cooperating, that is.

Kansas’ last meet, the Oct. 10 Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan, Kan., was cancelled because of inclement weather. In this short, fall season the Jayhawks have only competed in one event, the Boot of the Oklahoma — on Oct. 3. Still, the team enjoyed a strong outing, albeit nearly a month ago. It finished near the top of the field in every event in which it entered.

The time away from competition has provided the team with plenty of time to work on the basics, said Catloth. He considers this to be the essence of the fall part of the schedule.

“This is mainly our conditioning time of the year,” Catloth said. “So we’ve been focused on the fundamentals and technical aspects while simply getting into racing shape.”

While most of the team’s upper-classmen will be gearing up for the ‘regular’ season in the spring, Catloth will also be looking to them for leadership on Sunday.

“I expect some of those freshmen will be nervous,” Catloth said. “But our older players will help them out and show them support.”

— Edited by Jonathan Hermes

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