The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-11
Ed Kerns Tells
About Them.
ENGLISH METHODS.
They VIII Have Little IN
huence on 80 College Crews


the strokes of the various college crews,
has been revived. 1t is now being con
sidered and discussed in college rowing
circles as we'll as among others inter
ested in rowing. The other afternoon
a Spy man met Edward J. Kerns, who
had so much success coaching the high
school crew, and during the chat the
changes in the style of rowing were
taken up.
Yes" said Mr.. Kerns, in reply to a
question by The Spy man, Il have no.
ticed many changes in the styles of
rowing in colleges during the past
eight or ten years. There has been a
| decided difference from year to year in
the methods of applying power to the
strokes.
Now, all men that have knowl-
edge of rowing know that there is only
one correct stroke. But different
coaches have had different ideas Of how
to utilize the power Of the oarsman,
and therein has come what has popu-
larly, but not altogether correctly been
called difference in stroke.
'Of course, the stroke consists in
putting the oar into the water properly
at as far reach as is proper for the
oarsman without handicapping his abb
| lily to get power into the stroke. The
finish should be the same, thus leaving
the body in an easy position for re-
covery.
Il have never been a believer in ex-
aggerated methods, as 1 call them. The
easier a man can do his work, the
better; he will last longer and ought to
be able to increase his effort perceptibly
when the sprint is called for. Team
work, however, counts above all other
points, for no matter how the body is
worked while applying the power by
| the individual oarsman; no matter how
beautiful his style, if the men did not
work as a unit they will not get good
results. 1t takes united effort and good
| time to keep speed in the boat.
Naturally, l am interested in all that
! pertains to rowing, and | have followed
the college oarsman rather carefully:
| have noticed a great many changes in
the body swing and the way the power
is applied at the start and finish. They
have all talked about the Cook stroke
| and many believe the Yale crew has
| rowed one stroke for years. 1t may so
| appear to a casual witness, but the
man who watches the crew work very
| carefully will discern that there is a
| slight difference.
| Very often the style of rowing de-
|
man. 1t is sometimes easier for a coach
when he has a capable stroke oar, to
| change slightly the stroke in order to
! obtain unity, than it is to develop a
new stroke. The qualities that go to
make UP a good stroke oar are not al
ways to be found in one individual.
He should be cool-headed, plucky and
regular in his work.
| Within the past two years nearly all
| nj no M,
| ing with what is known as the English
| stroke This calls for a short slide and
| for a long body swing forward and
| back. The popular demand at the col
! leges-at Harvard, perhaps, even more
so than at other institutions-among
| students and graduates seemed to be
| for English methods for American
! crews. The coaches in all the big col
| leges in consequence began getting a
little English" into their boats. They
would not always tell you, but it was
| there just the same.
| ut is my personal opinion that every
| crew that experimental with the Eng
| fish stroke and responded to the popu-
lar demand for things English, was a
| decided loser. l think the three var
sity crews that rowed at New Haven
| last June were three Of the sloWest
crews that I have seen in q college boat
| race for {. number of years. l lay it
all to the fact that the three crews
tried to a greater or less extent to fol-
low the English methods.
ELLIS Ward, the coach Of the Uni
| Versity of Pennsylvania, was the first
| to wholly discard English methods. His
varsity crew in 1897 made a very poor
! showing in the national regatta al
! Philadelphia against crews rowing the
natural-or as some people call 1.-THE
| American stroke. Ward told me per
| sonally that if he had the University
of Pennsylvania crews TO handle an
| other season, he would go back to his
| old methods and lose no more time in
| experimenting with the English
stroke. The result was that he had
the winning college crew last season
his men defeating Cornell, who had
previously led the way for Yale and
| Harvard at New London.
ANY one who has followed college
rowing for the past few years, knows
| full well that the result of the claims
for English methods has been to the
| disadvantage rather than to the adj
! vantage of the crews. If there ever
was the slightest doubt in my mind as
to what stroke and what methods were
| the best for q crew to adopt, the race
at the lake between the Weld and the
| Worcester high school crews dispelled
| it all.
!
more speed in the stroke used by the
Worcester high school, both at the
start and finish of the race. Weld got
about a half length at the start. on ac-
count Of Worcester high not hearing
| the referees signal to start. Before
| Summers point was reached, the Wor-
| cester crew had gained that half length
and had the nose of it's boat in front.
The crew was making no special eff
fort to take the lead at that time, their
| instructions being to hold Weld and
| keep them up to their limit until Re
gatta Point was reached, and then to
sprint for the finish after Regatta
| Point.
1.-THE high school boys, for the most
part, We're not the equal of Harvard S
crew physically, and most certainly
| they had not the advantage of the
years of experience, four of the school
| crew never sitting in a race boat be-
fore last season. They also rowed
with blades half an inch narrower than
| those used by the Weld men. The
superior physical condition Of the high
school oarsmen at the finish showed
| that the stroke they were using was
more easy upon the men.
THE high school boys rowed what l
! call a natural stroke, and naturally
their work in Worcester attracted the
attention of oarsmen in other parts of
| the country.
: 1T looks to me now as though next
season every American college crew
would discard whatever English there
is in their methods, and perfect what
is known as the natural or American
stroke"
GLOVES AND UMBRELLAS.