The Army Crew Team

Problem

The Army crew team consisted of students involved in sport of rowing at the United States military Academy at West Point. The team consisted of a varsity squad and the junior varsity squad that was picked by their head coach Col. Preczewski, known to the students as coach P. The article gives a very thorough outline of the sport of rowing. The crews, as the young men are called, competed in rowboats of varying sizes up to 60 feet long. The crews compete in pairs, fours and eight oared units. The sport is highly strenuous. The Spring Sprint season was the most important time in this sport. During the winter team members would condition to build strength and endurance.

To be a success in this sport one had to have a combination of individual skill and meticulous team coordination. Each member needed to be strong and have a high level of endurance. This case also relates that teamwork was equally as important in that the athletes have to synchronize their rowing. Mental strength had to be attuned to each other with the common goal of winning.

Coach P looked forward to the upcoming season. He felt that the crew had worked hard in the winter to improve their individual skill and strength. In what was routine for him he began the season by conducting a series of exercises which he would use to determine placement of his group into varsity or junior varsity boats. The first set of exercises looked at objective measures of individual strength, technique and endurance. Later in training, He began to put his group through what was known as seat racing, where by using four-man groups that raced against each other, would be evaluated to determine the top physical members of his team. These top members he placed in the varsity boat the other members were placed in JV.

Back on campus coach P. began to see very serious issues related to his rowing team. The varsity boat members were not working well together. To his concern they unhappy, and began to be outwardly...