Laker Camp

SUMMER ROWING CAMP 2008

Separate Sessions for Racing…Technical Skills…Coxing

July 6-11, 2008  

Camp Roster  

This year, CLRA’s summer rowing camp will be led by guest coach Sandra Chu, head coach of William Smith College Crew, and former Princeton University varsity coxswain and intern coach.  

Two camps will run concurrently during the week of July 6 to 11:  

  1. Competitive Preparation Camp—a 5-day morning camp, July 7-11 at 5:30 am)
  2. Technical Improvement Camp—a 3-day evening camp, July 6, 8 and 10 (Sun at 5 pm, Tues and Thurs at 7 pm)
  3. Race Coxing Clinic – Sunday, July 6 at 1:30 pm  

Video Review Session for all campers on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 pm.  

Rowers may sign-up for one or both camps but must be able to make all sessions.  

The Competitive Preparation Camp will combine technical skill sessions with specific preparation for 1K racing. This camp is geared for the competitive individual who wants to improve his/her racing skills and be pushed as a competitor. Athletes who will benefit most from this camp will be able to complete five days of strenuous practices, and able to make individual changes to benefit whole boat speed. The main focus of the camp will be to maximize each rower’s skills with the sole purpose of maximizing big-boat speed. An inter-squad race will conclude the camp.  Sessions begin Monday, July 7, and run M-T-W-TH-F (5:30am); Video Review on Wednesday, July 8 (7pm).  

The Technical Improvement Camp is geared for the person who feels s/he will benefit from personal coaching of the stroke within the context of big boat rowing.  This camp enables the coach to rebuild the stroke and cement strong foundations.  The athlete who will be most successful in this camp will welcome the chance to have his/her stroke evaluated and improved, and to better understand the visual, aural and kinesthetic feedback that enables a rower to self-correct.  The camp will be drill-intensive and will encourage a dialogue between coach, rower and coxswain to maximize the learning time on the water.  Sessions: Sunday, July 6 (5pm), Tuesday and Thursday (7pm); Video Review on Wednesday, July 9 (7pm).  

The Video Review session will be open to other members of the club who wish to learn more about technique in general.  

Race Coxing Clinic, Chu On This: We Make Coxes Faster, is a three-hour stand-alone clinic for the master’s coxswain. Will include tape review, race-plan development for the 1K distance and a general Q&A to address any club-specific issues. Session: Sunday, July 6 at 1:30 pm.  

Rowers will receive a written summary of their skills and areas for development one-week following the camp via US Postal Mail. Coxswains who create digital voice recordings will also be able to receive special voice reviews but all voice recordings become property of Chu On This for instructive purposes only. NCAA Eligibility will NOT be impacted by this agreement and all subsequent use will be anonymous.  

Optional, Individual Consultation: 30-minute mid-day or post-evening session meeting with the coach to discuss your rowing. Cost per rower: $25 per session.  Sign up for an appointment on the first day of your camp.  

COST:

Competitive Preparation Camp: $50 per rower (in lieu of regular seat fees)

Technical Improvement Camp: $30 per rower (in lieu of regular seat fees)

Race Coxing Clinic: No fee to participate – open to all club members

Individual Consultation: $25 per session (optional; sign up first day of your camp)

 HOW TO SIGN UP:

Instructions will be sent shortly for using easy signup.

About Coach Sandra Chu

Sandra Chu as named the head coach of William Smith crew in July of 2002. She joined the Herons following three seasons as an assistant coach of women’s crew at Kansas State .

Chu wasted little time making an impact on the Herons’ program, mentoring six All-Americans in her first four seasons, while guiding William Smith to consecutive Liberty League Championship in 2004 and 2006. Over the past three seasons, the Herons have garnered the Liberty League Crew of the Year three times and the 2005 Liberty League Novice Crew of the Year, while Chu and her assistant have been selected the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year all three times the award has been presented.

Widely respected in the rowing community, Chu is a member of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Board of Directors and the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee. In 2006, she began a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Championship Committee. A graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches' Academy, Chu also travels the country, teaching a coxing clinic called “ Chu on This: We Make Coxswains Faster,” a comprehensive seminar geared for all levels of coxswains.

A 1991 graduate of Princeton , she served as an intern coach for the Tiger women’s rowing team in 1998-99 before joining the Wildcats. With the Tigers, Chu helped lead the third varsity four to a third place finish at the EAWRC Sprints Championships and an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Chu competed as a coxswain for the Tiger varsity crew from 1988 to 1991. An All-Ivy League selection, she earned medals at the EAWRC Sprints Championships in 1989 and 1991 and at the Head of the Charles Regatta in 1990. She also was a 1997 Master’s National Champion.

An accomplished mentor, Chu has coached athletes who have rowed for the men’s and women’s junior U.S. National teams, as well as the Senior Mexican National Team.

Chu earned a master’s degree in English and creative writing from New York University in 1996, and has earned national recognition for her poems, which have been published in many journals and anthologies.