Wanted:Rowing Coach

by Brad A. Lewis

Taking on the challenge of coaching the poor-but-humble mens' varsity crew at UC Santa Barbara requires a special sort of person - Olympic gold medalist Brad Alan Lewis is the man for the job. Or is he? Yes, he'd won the gold at the Olympics, but he'd never coached a college crew - not even a novice team. Mountain lions, rattlesnakes, icy roads, crazed bass fishermen - they all conspired to make Lewis's challenge even more... challenging. Read ' Rowing Coach' and find out if he survived. Actually, since it's an autobiography of sorts (thinly veiled fiction) you can pretty much assume he survived. Nonetheless, read 'Wanted' and find out how much fun, excitement, adventure Lewis and his crew had along the way. Several Class 7 rowing/life lessons included at no extra charge.

202 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 1995

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly easy and entertaining read that I borrowed from my friend's shelf. We're both rowers -- and getting a new coach this season -- so I thought it might be applicable to read. Our college rowing club is similar to that described in the book in that it is small, underfunded, and often falls within that difficult realm of 'club activity' for some members and 'serious endeavor' for others. It was interesting to read what a coach thinks of rowers. As someone who has always (obviously) been on the receiving end of what a coach says, it helped me put together an idea of what my coaches want from me. Also, some parts of this book seemed very much like speeches I've heard my new coach give. When I read those parts, I was like 'oh, this is what he meant.' I think the idea that he had that rowing shouldn't exist at the school irritated me, though, and it colored my view of the book and made me enjoy it less.

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Finally ordered, since not available in nearby libraries.]

Wanted to read this as I was curious how a rower (an Olympic one at that) becomes a coach. Haven't read his other book (about his own rowing experience) and thus was not aware he was a sculler (now coaching a sweep team) and aspiring writer.

Overall a decent enough read, written from a male athlete's point of view. Gave me some insights into college men's sports, even into rowing in general. I think what I liked best was the descriptions of some of the more creative workouts he came out with (pushing cars???)

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about basic rowing technique and about how hard it is to be a coach when you consider yourself just a rower.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, easy read. It's written as a collection of journal entries, so it's easy to pick up and put down - good for travel or reading before bed. Some good rowing tips too!