TIS Rowing athlete, Olivia Yeates reflects on the recent Rowing Camp at Lake Barrington, where athletes had the privilege of hearing from JackJumpers Head Coach, Scott Roth.
His presentation was centred around personal stories and experiences both as an elite basketball player, assistant coach (both in the NBA and NBL), and now Head Coach of the National Championship team, the Tasmania JackJumpers. Scott spoke about what it means to win in the dark, and throughout the weekend, many of the lessons he shared could be reflected in both rowing and the environment TIS is trying to create within the program.
In his talk, Scott spoke on the lessons his late father taught him around work ethic and what it means to be the best when no one is watching. Scott’s late father owned a restaurant as well as working as a part-time policeman and volunteering as a firefighter.
One summer, just before graduating high school, Scott was tasked to painting 90 fire hydrants a day around the city through his father’s volunteer fire station. Through his story of discipline to paint each fire hydrant the ‘right way’, he learned the importance of good work ethic, listening and learning to be humble. Driving around a bright red firetruck to each of the 90 fire hydrants each day was both humiliating and embarrassing at the time to Scott, but it was a rule given by his dad to ensure he knew there is no place for ego in doing what is right.
This teaching has continued throughout Scott’s life, which has been applied both as a coach and athlete. For me, this was one of the strongest messages from the camp, as rowing requires a similar level of discipline where the work you do when no one is watching ultimately contributes to performance when it matters.
Internal culture can impact how a team performs, and this was touched on by Scott, asking whether people are investing in each other when a teammate comes in on a bad day, ensuring that each person is showing up wanting to do the work without shortcuts. This focus on people is why Scott reviews the bench instead of the 8 players on the court, as even though they are important, the JackJumpers is a team. How the bench displays body language, standing for all subs, connection and communication, as well as engagements in timeouts, are as important, if not more, than performance on the court.
Hence why Scott Roth refers to himself as a manager of people, where the end game is each person wanting to get better. This was something that resonated with me throughout the camp, as rowing can often be focused on individual performance, but the environment around each athlete can have a major impact on how a team performs.
Scott Roth introduced a book club in the JackJumpers, which analysed and studied books such as ‘Win in the Dark’ by Joshua Medcalf and Lucas Jadin and ‘Chop Wood Carry Water: The Yoga of Work’ by Andrew Taggart. This created both inspiration and motivation for athletes last season, allowing them to perform their best. Scott spoke about “being the buffalo” to explain as an athlete what you want is always on the other side of hard.
Explaining the difference in reactions to something hard, Scott used the analogy of the difference between a buffalo and cow when a storm is approaching. The cow, knowing that there is a storm, would run away, ending up enduring the storm for longer; however, the buffalo would know that running towards the storm would mean that it would endure it for less amount of time.
This choice of attitude is what defines athletes, and Scott emphasised that your attitude affects your training. There are no shortcuts for your goals, and wanting to be better is always on the other side of the storm, on the other side of hard.
Be courageous, be hardworking and be the best you can be like the buffalo.
This message was particularly relevant to the weekend, as the conditions at Lake Barrington were not ideal. Rowing at Lake Barrington was limited on the Saturday due to high winds, but this did not prevent the TIS team from getting out on the water three times that day. While the scheduled goals were to complete 12-14kms each session, this quickly became more of a focus to maximise 6kms to the best of your ability, applying this attitude of trying to get better each session. Additionally, Sunday turned on some good weather, allowing athletes to complete as scheduled and race against other crews in step-rates, which allowed an opportunity to test speeds and ‘be the buffalo’. Looking back on the weekend, this was a practical example of the attitude Scott spoke about, where the goal was not necessarily to complete the original session, but to make the most of what was available and continue to get better.
Additionally, Scott spoke to athletes regarding culture and the journey it takes to create a NBL Championship-winning team. He said very rarely you get an opportunity to build a team from the ground up, which is what initially excited Scott the most about Tasmania.
Understanding the value of hard workers and having people that want to get better each day in a team is what is important in Scott’s eyes, and luckily he was able to create something special with the JackJumpers. Many of the athletes, including myself, resonated with this through rowing, as it can be applied to many areas of our sport. Both on the water and in the gym, TIS create an environment that allows a growth mindset, and to get 1% better each session is a clear standard which Nadia Bleaken is striving for within the program.
Overall, this camp taught clear values which reciprocated over the weekend that athletes will take forward in preparations for the upcoming season starting in October. Scott’s messages around work ethic, culture, attitude and being the buffalo were not only relevant to the JackJumpers but could be directly applied to rowing. The weekend provided an opportunity to reflect on how athletes approach difficult sessions, support each other and continue to work towards their goals, even when conditions are not ideal. The biggest takeaway for me was that there are no shortcuts for your goals, and wanting to be better is always on the other side of the storm, on the other side of hard.