seat position | OCPaddler.com

Branded by whom .... a coach, your mates ???

Rambo

#1 Sun, 08/19/2007 - 6:31pm

coach. i sit in 5 if i'm in a boat with a more experienced stroker. is this a subtle way of telling me i suck?

#2 Sun, 08/19/2007 - 8:03pm

Actually no. Seat 5 is usually one of the best "followers" in the boat, helps steer when asked by the steerer and may paddle on the left more often to protect the Ama,

Strokes are sometimes paddlers who are not good followers, Johnny Puakea is a great believer of this. Many times i have changed the stroke to someone who is having trouble keeping in time somewhere else in the canoe (blending) and the canoes run and speed picks up noticeably.

Take on the position at 5 when it's handed to you and make the most of it and forget about the notion that some people think it's the last seat picked.

Cheers Rambo

#3 Sun, 08/19/2007 - 10:19pm

Coach Rambo couldn't have said it any better, huki. Although seat five does have a bit of a stigma as a spot for novice/rougher paddlers, it is perhaps the most challenging seat for the reasons Rambo listed.The best crews always have an awesome paddler in seat five. Make the most of it, in the long haul it will make you a better team paddler. Jim

#4 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 5:30am

Huki,
I don't know where you paddle but if your crew spends much time in rough water seat five is critical in helping the steersman. In a rough Molokai Channel seat five can be a fairly difficult seat because you need to work in tandem with the steersman to keep the ama down while not screwing up his course/attempts to catch bumps.Also, this needs to be done without the steersman having to tell when and how to do it every time.
In addition, 2 is a very difficult seat also. So I wouldn't get too concerned about your suckitude.

#5 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 7:02am

Seat 5, if he has problems is the least likely to throw everyone else off.

Since 3-5 are the "engine room" they are the one's responsible for providing power. So you are a dubious paddler but damn strong.

Steadiness is what you want in a 1 and the ability to paddle air in rough water without rattling. I guess that's steadiness again, isn't it.

1, 2, and 5 means your all over the lot and doomed to be a steersman.

#6 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 9:45am

thanks for all your imput. i was feeling pretty good until yankee doodle threw his two cents in! only kidding, yankee. funny thing is, i'm a fairly decent steerswoman, too. trying to avoid that job like the plague. why is it nobody wants that job.....?

#7 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 12:46pm

guys, I have to agree with Rambo once again..

"Actually no. Seat 5 is usually one of the best â€œfollowersâ€ in the boat, helps steer when asked by the steerer and may paddle on the left more often to protect the Ama, "

I have seen brand new paddlers put in 5 with the thought that; "it's the place they'll have the least chance to mess things up and the steersman can coach 'em...with steering being a full time job, watching the ama this becomes unrealistic for the new paddler or the steer.

our seat 5 is often the seat 2 guy..a great follower, and super smooth. all those things Rambo spoke of.

IMO putting them in "meat seats" like 3 or 4 would accelerate their learning curve for timing and power application- helps you check fitness too.

checkout photos of the 2007 Canadian Championships in the blog area* at www.outrigger.ca or www.theoceanexperience.blogspot.com

( okay...it's not as cool as Rambo's but I'm tryin')

#8 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 5:54am

Why many don't want to be in the #6 seat:

A steersman/woman can lose a race, but he can't win one.

Your contribution isn't always obvious to the others. Some think you're lying back there with your feet on the furniture reading movie magazines and eating bon-bons painting your toenails (and that's the male boats)..

You can't just lock into paddlling and zone out. Frequently your paddling is out of sync with the rest of the boat (because of adjusting strokes and pokes) and the boat is always shimmying across the oceans and YOU MUST STOP THAT because the boat ought to drive like a car.

The type of exercise you get isn't consistently aerobic. It is more like erratically stressful.

But guess what? It takes less time to groom seats #1-#5 then it does to groom a competent #6.

Your club's ability to grow is directly tied to your ability to produce steersmen.

#9 Mon, 08/20/2007 - 2:10pm

"iâ€™m new to the sport and iâ€™ve been branded â€œa 1,2 or 5â€ what would this be based on? size, strenght, technique, what?"

Probably you're smaller than the people who usually sit in 3 and 4.

#10 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 9:07am

Believe it or not, I do a lot of coaching. I coach for a team that usually has 4 to 5 strong paddlers and a sudden drop from there. The person I put in 5 is almost always the one that is weak and has bad timing and technique. I won't tell that person that, I'll probably tell them something like Rambo said.

Everyone is answering this question like they have many good athletes to fill in the boat.

A better question: If you had 5 excellent paddlers and 1 weak one where would you put the weak one in the boat?

poops

#11 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 1:31pm

But Poops, do you offer that "weak" paddler, drills or tuition so that they can become better and re-challenge for the other seats? Granted, there will always be paddlers who will never attain the "excellence" of your other 4 paddlers, but they should be in another crew of the same ability. Everyone deserves a chance though and if they work hard they should always be reconsidered. Given the chance to gain confidence some paddlers rise to the occasion and surprise you.

Cheers Rambo

#12 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 3:49pm

Poops, you're right, but those exceptional teams always have a great five with all the abilities rambo mentioned. We mere mortals will continue putting the novices etc. in seat five, however. Jimbo

#13 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 4:13pm

OK, I'll join the party:
I paddle, I used to sit one alot, I used to coach, and now I mostly steer. But sometimes I sit 5. As a coach who steers, I liked to put less experienced people in 5 so that I could give them attention during practice. I sometimes put the lighter, less powerful person in 5 if seat 2 and 4 were very powerful to even out the power between 1,3 and 5. As said above, in an equally strong crew I tend to pu a lighter guy in 5 if there are alot of bumps, but if it is really big (bumps), I prefer to have a steersperson in 5. It is great when you are flying and you need a little help if the guy in 5 can throw a couple draw strokes or a little poke without being asked.. I also put guy in 5 who I am teaching to steer. That being said, as a steersperson, I like to sit five when it is big so I can help steer. When I am not steering and the steersman doesn't need help, I sit five sometimes 'cause I am light.
Don't sweat where you are placed too much. If you are there 'cause you are smaller, I suggest you push to learn how to steer...It can be the most fun out there (and the hardest)!
There is my $.03, fo rwhat it is worth!

ps. We are racing Saturday...and I am sitting 5!
J

#14 Tue, 08/21/2007 - 5:36pm

aloha hukihuki,
there is not a better seat to start than # 5, you are right next to the steersmen so he/she can coach you into blending, and you have a full crew to follow, emulate and blend in. if you are allready hoocked into this sport, you will move from seat to seat through the years to come and you will have your chance to master all of them.
again, mastering #5 is an awesome way to start.

no rush, this is an ancient tradition, enjoy each minute and try your best, in a blink of eye you will be reading this post 10 years later..........make'em count!!!!

live aloha!!

#15 Wed, 08/22/2007 - 4:05am

Rambo, of course I offer those opportunities. But in a group of 6 people you will always have a weaker paddler of the bunch. If you asked me where he/she goes I'd say 5.

#16 Wed, 08/22/2007 - 10:20am