Team Race Tuesday!
- go to marina and check every single 420. Apparently #12 doesn’t even have a vang? We need to make sure all these boats are rigged properly and working.
- I will bring electrical tape. Let’s tape every single ring.
- Those that need to run, do so immediately. Mr. Beckman or I will start you.
- We also need to make better tie-downs for the coach boats
- Seniors, time to take home a mark and leave your stamp on it. You will take one home Friday.
- You have all been placed on a team, within our team. Read this and then meet your new team at the end of this note.
TEAM RACING 101
Team racing is a very unique part of sailing. Most top college programs now consider it to be the most-sought after and prestigious national championship trophy. Why? Team racing requires a group of athletes working together toward a common goal against an opponent seeking to do the same thing, and many feel this is a big part of the definition of what makes a sport a sport. Rather than individual focus, team racing celebrates the team. In other words, Team racing isn’t really a “race”, it’s a game, played by 6 sailors, and the best “team” wins, not necessarily the fastest racers. Sounds easy, but often it takes youth sailors a long time really to appreciate this, and move genuinely away from self-focus to a team-first attitude.
First two lessons:
- team racing is a game, not a race. Learn to play the game.
- team racing requires a total team-first mindset and attitude. Learn/live that there is something more important that one’s self
TEAM RACING SKILLS
First, read our online playbook…. Today there are 3 big-picture things you need to do learn right away. I have had a grand total of 2 people ask for the password.
- Recognition -> Execution / Communication
- Golden Rule
- Never Give Up
Fundamentally, the best team racing teams have
- great boat handling
- great boat speed
- great communication
- shared sense of commitment, responsibility & respect (teamwork)
If you don’t have these on your team, you will not be successful at the highest level. While there are innumerable situations, complex plays, etc., most of the very best team racing teams practice simple things:
- passbacks
- balance drills
- starting
- covering schemes
You (and your partner in your boat) will need to be supremely confident and skilled with boat handling to be on the top TR Team. We will work on
- stops/starts
- acceleration
- tacking quickly
- speed control (be able to slow down upwind and hold lane, be able to slow down under control downwind)
DRILLS
Acquaint yourself with some of our articles on our TR page https://severnschoolsailing.com/team-racing/ and then with some of our drills https://severnschoolsailing.com/practice-drills/
Today we will do
- GO out as soon as your team is ready and self coach, work on whatever you want to for 15-25 minutes. I highly recommend a simple passback drill within your team, if necessary I will explain it briefly before we head out. You are on our own in your team to practice pig in the middle for a few minutes. Then………………
- TR Tournament. Work on the basics of everything. Umpires, you name it. If you have time to get some type of pinnies together, all the better.
—because in heaven, everybody team races.
| Shake ‘n’ Bake | ||
| 1 | Mariner Fagan | Ryan Wahba |
| 2 | Zander King | Chase W Hilliard |
| 3 | Thomas Sitzmann | Raam Fox |
| Los Lobos | ||
| 4 | Maddie Hawkins | Alex Brenia |
| 5 | Kyle Reinecke | Chase O’Malley |
| 6 | Patrick Dolan | Hayden “planetarium” Lamb |
| MeatHook | ||
| 7 | Owen Hennessey | Addi Harris |
| 8 | Jordan Bruce | Rees Tindall |
| 9 | Jack O’Donnell | Anna Howell |
| The MicroChips | ||
| 10 | Sam Bruce | Cole Petrinko |
| 11 | Teddy Cromwell | Charlie Granitto |
| 12 | Robby Meek | Ella May Corckran |
| FJ | Nick Garcia | Chris Sixbey |
| FJ | Lilly Baker | Ben Saunders |
| OUT | ||
| Brooke | ||
| Andrea |
Severn School Sailing Team 