The master of British men’s rowing

From his roots as a coach in East Germany, Grobler moved to Great Britain in 1991. His career has seen him coach some of the greats in rowing including Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell and from Germany Harald Jahrling, amongst others.

Just shy of his 67th birthday, Grobler remains the men’s chief coach of British Rowing. He returns to the home of the London 2012 Olympic Games rowing regatta, Eton Dorney, later this week when he fields his team for the Samsung World Rowing Cup II beginning on 21 June 2013.

World Rowing: How has the British Rowing coaching system changed since you began in 1992?
Juergen Grobler: When I started I was one of very few full-time coaches in the country. You had mainly part-time coaches, like at Oxford and Cambridge (universities).  So I was one of the few. Now we have a system of different levels of full-time coaches.  Things are done to support the coaches from Start (talent ID) coaches up to high performance coaches. The whole system is a lot more professional.

WR: What or who has driven that change?
JG: That change was driven by Brian Armstrong of the ARA (British Amateur Rowing Association) at the beginning and later by David Tanner. But overall the ARA has always had, even when I started, a relatively professional approach to the sport. At that time there was also a coaches’ advisory group at the British Olympic Association and I was able to look at how they organised other sports.  The ARA was always quite advanced in their thinking.  They always felt that you need to have full-time coaches to perform.  

A lot of it was also driven by Di Ellis (former chair of British Rowing) and by the athletes who were asking for more. The athletes felt that if they spent the time to train and compete and they had to give up things and make sacrifices then they wanted to be coached well and to be successful.  They wanted to have more full-time coaches.  But the start was always from the management of the ARA who are now British Rowing and the GB Rowing Team.

WR: Where do you like to be when you’re coaching?
JG: I would always wish to coach from a boat but unfortunately since I am in Britain there have been only a few times I have had the chance to coach from a launch. In the early days I was at Henley on the river. It is a busy river and there’s a gentleman’s agreement not to use launches as you would wash other crews down.
So there was no other way than to be on the bike.  It hasn’t changed since the move to Caversham. We are driven by respect for other athletes. So I am still on the bike. I really like it when we are on training camps. You are closer to the athletes and the boats and you can talk better. You don’t have to shout out over a megaphone or a walkie-talkie.

WR: Do you ever put your sweep rowers into sculling boats?
JG: Yes, we have introduced sculling in the autumn so every sweep rower sculls throughout this season. Single sculling is important. We know that we are a team sport but single sculling is something special in our sport. You learn to train on your own and you gain more skills.  You learn a lot more waterman-ship. Not every sweep oarsman likes this. Sir Steve Redgrave liked to be a sculler and would probably have loved to change one of his gold medals for a single sculling medal. Matt Pinsent was different, he didn’t like it but still he did it and it didn’t complain.

WR: Do you think it’s best to watch and stay with the athletes when they are training or give them some time without you there?
JG: I always try to be with the athletes most of the time to help to give them the best possible advice and I always think that if I write the programme it sometimes can be a bit difficult. So I have to be there (especially at the start of training at 7am) and not find an excuse not to be there.  So far, in my career, I like to be around the athletes.

WR: Is there a piece of rowing technology that you always like to have with you?
JG: I think the key thing is my head, my voice, my eyes and that I am always listening and that is the key part of my coaching as well as my knowledge and experience about training and technique. I like to be there and to be approachable for athletes.

WR: Are there any computer programmes that you like to use?
JG: No, there is no computer programme that I like to use in particular. The computer is very helpful. In the past I had piles of folders in my loft with data but now I can store data and get quick access to it.  I have a camera. That is a very useful tool now. But I don’t have a special programme on the computer. Sometimes I use Dartfish but not other big programmes. There are other things on the iPhone which are quite useful tools, too.

WR: Where can you be found when one of your crews is racing in an important race?
JG: I really like to be there and watch it live on my bike, when the venue is one where we can cycle and follow the races and FISA makes it possible for us to do that. If that’s not possible, I look for the nearest TV. I like to see the beginning of every race on the TV and the rest live.

WR: Do you get nervous when your crews are racing?
JG: I think I am nervous like every other coach.  It’s quite a common thing. Of course, you can’t predict sport even if you have beaten everyone before and you are supposed to win, it can come down to the last stroke. I am nervous and hold myself back and don’t move to celebrate early.

WR: What is your main philosophy on what makes a good coach?
JG: A good coach can first deal with young people and have skills in managing young people/athletes and other people around them. It’s a relationship or a partnership between the rowers and the coach. You have to have a good scientific background and a vision about how your sport might develop in four years’ time.  What will help win a medal in Rio or even after, what changes will there be in that time?
Dealing with stress well is also important with all different types of athletes and their personalities and being able to bring them together well as a team. The team is a key thing. Every individual has to be not a copy of somebody else, but a strong individual.  It is the same for coaches. People should have their own ideas about being a coach and not just copy others. Every day is a new day and a new life and the people you are dealing with are not machines so you have to be flexible and you have to be a good guide and you need to change the programme from time to time if you feel that people can’t cope with it.

WR: Do you get on well with your athletes or try to keep a distance?
JG: I think a little bit of both. In one way I know that I am not dealing with kids. Many of them already have their own children. I respect what they are doing and I hope they have respect for me and that makes a good partnership. But you also have to have fun. If you create fun you have laughter and then you are closer to the athletes. Otherwise you need to have enough distance to have respect. Someone has to set the guidelines and to make the decisions and that’s the coach or the chief coach and that’s how I always see it. I have a good relationship with the athletes but also enough distance to see the athletes and coach in a positive way. Not a dictatorship but a good partnership. Athletes need to have their say and their input to the programme. They should feel they are able to ask “why” we are doing this.

WR: When picking out potential in an athlete, what do you look for?
JG: I look in rowing, in heavyweight rowing, for the body size. Secondly when you talk to those young people you try to find out how single-minded and how strong their will is to do sport.  What it means to them to be at the top of a high-performing sport. They should really want it. You can’t work with people who shy away from the workload; they should want to do it of their own free-will.  I ask them to be honest about what it means and what they have to sacrifice to be a top athlete.  

I was in charge of talent ID and development when I started and talking to the rowers was very important to me. Quite often you do the physical tests and the big guys might not be the most talented athletes. You can also see things if you set them a 3km run test. It’s not always about being the fastest but how they do it.  Even if the 100kg or the 100kg-plus guys had never run that far, it’s about how they do it.

WR: In your time coaching in Great Britain have you ever had a break?
JG: No, I have never had a break other than the normal three-week holiday every year.

WR: Do you row yourself?
JG: No, I haven’t been in a rowing boat for a very, very long time. Last time was probably at Henley on Thames when I went out in a four with Steve (Redgrave) and Matt (Pinsent) for a bit of fun.

WR: Of the athletes that you have coached who would you like to go out rowing with?
JG: [Big laugh] it’s probably more the question of who would be happy to row with me. It’s not fair to say one name. I am sure whoever did it they would have to be very understanding and pull me along.

With thanks to Caroline Searle for the interview.