I've been paddling for a few years now, and I've noticed that many teams seem to have problems in the late summer and into the fall. Why is it that a team that had no problem filling the boat in the spring is scrambling to fill seats for races later in the season?

What's the cause of this and what can be done to avoid this?

some people call it burnout, esp. if the teams intensity has been at maximum all season long.

1. People get tired of each other. You end up spending a LOT of time with your teammates through the summer. Things that were endearing in the spring become intolerable by the fall.

2. Priorities change through the season. Some team members will inevitably get excited and want to train more, while others already thought the team was too serious, and would like to drink more.

3. In the spring, people have been cooped up all winter and can't wait to get out on the water. By the fall, it's just one more drain on your time when you could be out doing other fun stuff.

4. Similar to 3 - In the spring, it's a new learning experience. The coach has fresh training ideas and you've kind of forgotten how to paddle. By the fall, it's boring. Rotate. Ya, ya, whatever.

5. In the spring, you're fat and pudgy in all the wrong places. Paddling will purge the bulge! In the fall, you're tanned and buff. Wouldn't it be more fun to show off at the beach than go to practice?

6. By fall, the team has clearly shown that they haven't progressed against the field from the previous year (at least not to spring goals), and people get frustrated.

7. Injuries?

And, you know, burnout.

What can you do about these? Well, not much in some cases.
1. Spend some time apart during races. Have other friends.
2. Have regular(ish) team meetings to make sure everyone has the same priorities. Does half the team actually want to go on team runs?
3. I dunno. Make practices fun?
4. Try to mix up the training routine mid season.
5. Gym and tanning booth memberships for all team members. Wait, that just means beach all year... Hmm.
6. Slackers! Quit en masse. Or, um. Recommit?
7. Advil.

Beyond burn out, a crew can really suffer if, by their estimation, they've not met their performance targets for the season.

In our case, last season, we got too focused on festival placement. If we didn't make the final we were expecting or got crushed by teams we thought we could beat, we got pretty down on ourselves. This led to an increase in friction among team members.

To remedy this, we decided on a calm, relaxed team meeting about a month after the end of the season to set more constructive goals for the upcoming year.

This year, we're concentrating on absolute performance goals (500m times, start speed, etc) rather than relative goals (like placement) and it's made a huge difference in morale and general enjoyment. Plus, as a bonus, our average placement is improving too!

You can't have half the team gunning for the A-final and the other half wanting to spend more time with the kids. That's just a recipe for disaster. So my suggestion for avoiding falling apart is to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to purpose.

I think that the expectations of some crews are too great. If they don't win, then they bail out. The average recreational paddler should look at this as a social opportunity to get away from the hussle and bussle of life plus get a little exercise.

I find that paddling is a great stress relief for me but saying that sometimes am a little beat up physically after many practises and several festivals. Sometimes I need to miss a practise or two just to rejuvinate my enthusiasm (and tired body) at this time of year.

My team's philosophy is to try our best to get to practise and to give our best when we are there. If someone misses then it's no big deal. Many teams can't operate under this philosophy because of their over ambitious coaching staff and keeners who want to move up the rankings ladder no matter what.

If it's fun, people will continue in the sport. If it's all about winning, many great paddlers will come and go because of the belief that they have underachieved.

The club PFD's are April fresh in the spring, but by the fall the festering stink is enough to discourage the most robust paddlers.

I aim for perfection in execution in my team. How we "place" as a result of that, is a bonus. Constant improvement and a team that stays together. That is a recipe for success.

"Nerd girl" brings up some interesting points .. thanks! I'll definitely look into some of those (even if they were ment to be a joke) for planning my next season.

"I aim for perfection in execution in my team. How we "place" as a result of that, is a bonus."

Much respect. Yours is a team that 'gets it'. Too many teams in this sport don't.

Exactly.

You can't control what the other guys do, only what you do. If you execute your race plan then you should be happy. I feel for the teams who measure success purely by how they place against others.

In that world since only one team wins, everyone else fails and it simply isn't a realistic expectation to set.

<cough><cough>hypocrite<cough><cough>

and the thread goes back to shit. that's the forum i know..

I scoff at claims of burnout from people that don't show up to half the practices.

How about the paddlers who are in attendence for those half-boat practices? I really have sympathy for them.

Seriously.
What pisses me off the most is how people will say yes to the season before really thinking it through. That's why teams fall apart in the fall. People being dishonest with their crew and themselves.

Yup. Some people can get lazy/tired/bored/dumped and start skipping practices and free loading off of the commited paddlers. This causes a rift in the team and may cause it to fall apart

I'm on a fun rec crew this year and everything is super except for one paddler. His overbearing nature is hard to take and now that its the end of the summer it has just been too much. He's annoying and lives to point out flaws in others. Nothing constructive comes out of his mouth or when it does its so fake that you know he wants something. A few of us would rather not go to practice instead of dealing with another confrontation with him

Teams can fall apart if a proper mandate for the team isn't set before the start of the season. As M-B pointed out, some people may be too eager to win, and as others pointed out, some people join a team to simply socialize. If a mandate for the team isn't set in time, expectations for the performance of the team may vary on an individual basis, leading to frustration and worse.

So in my eyes, more important than anything else, is to state out the requirements of the team: What placing expectations should be like. How the team should deal if these expectations are not met. How critical is attendance. Fun vs Pain levels. Etc.

I think alot of times its burnout. The team is in the gym a couple days a week starting in November, then we do 3 days a week training in Jan. through to the summer (& throughout the summer). Compete until middle of September ... that gives a month and a half off of training with the team. Not that people don't love their teams, it can just be alot of commitment and people start to feel burnt out (my opinion of course) BUT after a month and a half of doing my own thing, I can't wait to get back with my team in the gym and have someone kickin my butt to train hard. That always feels really good.

PLUS ... people have to catch up with their lives outside of dragonboating (families, friends, vacationing, work ...) If only we could do nothing but dragon boat and get paid nicely for it. Wouldn't that be grand! haha.

OMG how do you deal with that hectic schedule and year round training? More importantly is it worth it?