Create a Culture

Whether you’re coaching a squad, rowing in a crew, or a single sculler, creating a culture is vital in ensuring that your training is effective in achieving your goals. The culture you adopt should focus on the things which make success possible, while address potential weaknesses and factors which may hold you back. It should be simple enough to be summed up in a ‘mission statement’ style paragraph, or even just a sentence.

The University of Washington rowing team create the culture “Who we are is why we win”. Athletes become part of the bigger picture; the team. The feeling of teamwork pervades through everything that Washington do, allowing athletes to draw motivation from each other. The psychology which develops is one of pride in the team, not just individual performance. Success can only come through the team and the team must be greater than the sum of its parts. Rowers at UW know that when they are pushed to the limits the team will hold together.