In Part I, I pointed out that knowledge gained about rowing technique from watching an expert on a videotape has to be transferred to action in the boat. I outlined several visualization exercises that can enhance that transfer, both the transfer itself, and the quality and quantity of information in an image. Now, I'd like to elaborate a few ideas related to those exercises..

First, related to the point that expert rowers are used as models of correct technique: Coaches know that the rowing style of an expert is different from that of a novice (or even an intermediate rower). If novices are to avoid, mistakes such as, pulling so hard and quick at the finish, that they are unable to extract the blade, or lifting up at the drive so that the seat rolls out from under them, they need an "expert" novice on the video. The expert novice should resemble ordinary novices in strength, and fitness, as well as coordination so that ordinary novices will be challenged to match an image that does not require them to stretch too far beyond their capabilities. As the ordinary novices gains skill, fitness and strength, they can view "intermediate" experts and progress to elite experts.

Second, coaches know that height and body type make a difference in rowing style. It may be difficult to match every athlete on your crew to an expert of the same height, weight, and strength, but when watching a video, the athlete is mentally floating into the body of the expert, and feeling how it feels to row like the expert. The better the match in body type, the better the results. If video viewing sessions don't seem to be paying off, consider your selection of experts.

Third, related to improving the quality and quantity of information in an image: Another exercise (in addition to those in Part I) which a coach can lead the athletes through after they have viewed an expert on the video is a "submodality exercise". Submodalities are the various aspects of the sensory modalities. For example, visual submodalities are color, size, shape, light, perspective - all the structural features of images. Auditory submodalities are volume, pitch, rhythm - all the structural features of sound. In a submodality exercise, athletes create a mental image of the expert. Then, for example, they changes the light in the image; if they made an image that was brightly lit, then they change it to dimly lit. They can make a change the submodality of color. If they made an image that was in color, they can change it to black and white. Similar alterations can be made in the auditory and kinesthetic submodalities. If the sounds associated with the image are loud, the athlete can make them quiet. If they were quiet, he can make them loud. If the pitch was low, he can make it high, and visa versa. If he was feeling heavy pressure, he can ease off the pressure. If the air temperature is warm, he can change it to cold.

In varying the submodality of perspective, the athletes mentally move themseleves around the image. If they originally created an image of the expert in profile - a typical video perspective - they can shift to a view from overhead, from the back or from underneath (making the boat transparent). He can choose a perspective at random or choose one that is most natural or most comfortable, and be curious about how the comfort or naturalness with the choosen perspective may influence his rowing.

The point of the submodality exercise is to look for details in the stroke of the expert that emerge under the varying conditions. Just as a sunset highlights, and makes visible clouds that were previously unnoticed, by altering the submodalities of a mental image, a person notices different aspects and details.

One final point. It is commonly accepted that all learning is contextualized - information will be remembered and used better in the context in which it was learned than in a new context. Consequently, athletes have the problem of transferring information that they learned sitting on a couch in front of the video to the boat. Coaches can assist their athletes in the transfer by periodically mentioning "contextual markers" during the video sessions. Although athletes naturally provide their their own contextual markers, coaches can remind athletes of them: "notice the appearance of the water, the feel of the oar handle, and the sensation of the buoyancy of the boat, the sound of the blade, etc." When actually rowing in the future, these contextual markers "trigger" or "recall" what the athletes learned in front of the video.