Recently I started posting a 15 second "Technique Tuesday" clip on the McBrideWilsonSailing Instagram every Tuesday with a description of what to look for for that specific segment of a maneuver. I started with some of the most common mistakes that I see when coaching, so be sure to check the last few Technique Tuesday posts including:
Side Force Kite Float
Spinnaker Set
Tack Handwork and Footwork
Upwind plays are intended to allow teams to execute their strategy upwind. Generally, strategies can be grouped into two categories:
1. Outside track
2. Inside track
Although not always true, these two categories can be closely correlated with the two subcategories of game plan that we discussed before: (1) predicting wind versus (2) fleet managing. Choosing the outside track implies that we are willing to assume slightly more exposure because of our confidence in a wind prediction. In contrast, the inside track implies more of a focus on fleet management and playing the angles either because of a shift pattern, confidence in your position when you get 70% of the way to lay line, or because of lack of confidence in wind prediction data.
How do you simplify your upwind strategy?
With the regular coaching playbook it is easy to get sucked into the black hole of the same monotonous drills day after day, practice after practice. In reality, creativity - not monotonous repetition - is the key to building strengths and overcoming weaknesses. Consider the two main pitfalls that lead to plateau:
1. You practice a drill that you are comfortable with.
Got flashy looking roll tacks? Then you're probably not getting a lot out of tacking on the whistle. Dusting your training partner in every acceleration-on-the-whistle drill? It's going to be hard to notice small improvements if you're consistently the first one out of the gates. When looking to build on your strengths, instead of repeating an easy drill that you have already mastered, try something completely different. Sail with your eyes closed and try to make it around your coach using only whistle signals to find the mark (best with an inflatable coach boat!). Try to keep the boat stable while sailing heeled to windward as far as possible without taking water over the rail. If you're working on tacking, try your tacking on the whistle without the crew wearing a harness. If that's too easy, see if you can tack with the crew crossing the boat in front of the headstay. To work on down speed maneuvers (like accelerations), try sailing around a buoy without ever being on port tack.
If you mix in drills that force you outside of your comfort zone, your foundation skills will improve a lot.
2. You practice a drill that pulls your focus in too many directions at once.
So on the surface, tacking might seem like a pretty simple skill, but consider the ingredients of a good tack: feet in the correct spot, smooth movement into the boat from the wire, consistent unhook, good timing between skipper and crew, fast hand switch, precise sail trim, precise weight placement, and much, much more. If you're having trouble executing the perfect tack (and trust me: you are...) single out one skill to perfect before you move on. One of my favorite ways to do this is to create simple drills that emphasize one aspect of a technique. For example, if you are having trouble breaking the habit of clipping in before you are at full extension on the wire, practice hanging, and counting to ten after each tack before you clip in. If you are struggling with your hand switch, practice completing the tack with your arms still crossed (i.e. don't do any hand switch at all). Sail the boat perfectly for twenty seconds steering with the tiller behind your back and allowing the skipper to trim main, until the boat is back to full speed, and then switch hands.
There are tons of creative drills like these that can help isolate your issues, or bring a new aspect into focus, so don't get stuck doing the same thing every day!
Throughout the season, there are a lot of opportunities to get on the water with coaches, but it's important to incorporate each opportunity into your overall plan in the right way. Here is a comparison of Training Camps, Clinics, and Regatta Coaching to help you plan the right combination for your goals this year.
Training camps generally have more boats, broader goals, and higher sailor-to-coach ratios than other categories of training events, which makes them super productive tools for improving boat-on-boat skills, but it is important to incorporate them into your training plan in the right way. With many boats on the water, there is a premium on self reliance and goal setting: you need to be able to get yourself on the water on time, and know what your goals for the weekend are. At our 29er HP training camps, we place a major emphasis on sharing information, and the list of drills is set accordingly: round robin racing (every crew sails with every skipper), short course boat handling drills, starting line execution drills, and generally a list of weird skill drills to force everyone to experience the boat in a new way.
Best ways to take advantage of training camps: Learn new skills and get fresh ideas for what you should be pursuing in your training at home. Hone racing skills in a non-regatta environment.
Note for parents: Training camps are generally cheaper because we have more teams to cover costs!
In contrast to training camps, clinics are all about the coach-sailor interactions. For newer teams, clinics are an opportunity to get immediate feedback on skills such as boat handling mechanics and sail setup. For experienced teams, clinics are the perfect environment for speed testing and advanced skill work. At our 29er HP clinics, we try to break up straight line tuning with personalized skill drills and course work to send everyone home with a whole new list of things to work on.
Best ways to take advantage of clinics: Know what you want to improve before the clinic starts so that you can ask your coach to look at specific skills.
The most important thing to remember about regatta coaching, is that without a good training program, regatta coaching is far less effective than spending some quality time at a training camp, or a clinic. Regatta coaching provides athletes with the opportunity to benchmark their skill set, while coaches can focus on helping to improve communication on the boat as well as tactics, and strategy. Learning tactics and strategy is one of the best parts of sailing, but without a solid foundation in boat handling and tuning skills, it's almost impossible to learn the process of making good tactical decisions. Once you have reached the top level, regatta coaching is an essential part of developing a consistent playbook.
Best ways to take advantage of regatta coaching: Do your homework between regattas! Take notes during debriefs so that you know what to work on. Keep a playbook to document all of your tactical plays.
