Crew Coach Tries to Instill Eastern Edge : Aztecs’ Datte Gets Serious in Preparing Rowers for San Diego Classic

When asked what makes his lightweight crew potentially better than his other crews, San Diego State crew coach Chuck Datte didn’t talk about speed, power or experience.

Technicalities such as number of strokes per minute, weight and the voice quality of his coxswain were not high on his list, either.

“They’re the best because they have an East Coast edge,” Datte said. “They have a lot of fight and spirit.”

And that makes them special among West Coast crews, according to Datte.

“Since coming here from Philadelphia,” Datte said, “I’ve been trying to figure out why East Coast crews are typically better. I mean, the West Coast teams get to row twice as long each year.

“I’ve come to believe it’s because crew on the West Coast is regarded as more of a functional aspect of life rather than as serious competition.”

Members of the SDSU lightweight team quote esoteric authors who describe the beauty of rowing. But they also talk continually about how winning is what makes it all worthwhile.

East Coast aggressiveness has teamed up with West Coast sunshine at the school off Montezuma Road.

After losing their first race of the season last weekend to UC Irvine (which will compete today), the Aztecs face a major test in today’s San Diego Crew invitational in East Mission Bay. The races get under way at 6:30 a.m. and are expected to last until around 4 p.m. Admission is free.

The SDSU lightweight men’s team is expected to battle Harvard and defending champion Yale. Heats for the lightweights begin at 9:30 a.m., and the final will probably be held around 2:30 p.m.

SDSU returns seven members from its lightweight team that finished just behind Yale last year. But that was under Coach Doug Perez, who resigned his position in November.

Datte took over the team in January. He’s a volunteer crew coach from 5 to 7 a.m. and a software engineer during regular working hours.

Crew was dropped an an intercollegiate sport at SDSU in 1975, and has been operating as a club sport without university financial support ever since.

That’s in direct contrast to the intercollegiate crews from Ivy League schools, which send their teams to California in April and to the Henley Regatta in England in June.

This year, neither Yale nor Harvard sent their heavy or varsity eight crews, but they did send their lightweight crews. Lightweight male rowers must weigh under 160 pounds, and female rowers cannot weigh more than 125 pounds. The average weight in a men’s lightweight boat must not exceed 155 pounds.

Lightweights have not raced in previous Olympics, but they will participate in the 1988 Games.

So why is there suddenly more interest in rowers who often have to go on last-minute diets designed for wrestlers trying to make weight?

“Little people seem to catch on to movement better than big people,” said Datte, who rowed in the lightweight division back east and has coached all divisions. “They have the ability to focus better and seem able to quickly pick up the technique.”

Lightweight crews average three to four more strokes a minute than do the heavier crews. The lightweight Aztec crew averages 35 strokes a minute and steps up the pace to as many as 40 strokes a minute during a race’s stretch run.

From 5:30 to 7 a.m., six days a week, the Aztecs row and row and row. Before the sun has risen, the Aztecs are on Mission Bay working on technique and strategy.

“Chuck is more technical than Doug (Perez) was,” junior Josh Gruenberg said. “He’s teaching us how to row more.”

He also has them running a lot. In crew, weights are used to build up strength, and running builds up endurance.

The Aztecs simulate the pace of a 2,000 meter, six-minute race by running six minutes at Montezuma Hill.

“There may be crews that row better,” Gruenberg said, “but we hope we’re stronger.”

That’s why the Aztec crew was not upset when today’s race was switched from 2,000 to 1,500 meters. When raw sewage spilled over into Sail Bay on Wednesday, race officials switched to the shorter course at East Bay, alongside Tecolote Shore.

“Being a shorter race, it should be a faster race,” junior Del Hayes said.

Datte’s strategy is to have his crew keep a steady pace and then try and pour it on at the end.

“Some crews like to go out fast, cruise for a while and then go fast again,” Datte said. “Physiologically, I think my way is the smarter way to do it. Psychologically, my way can be tougher because my crew can’t always see the other boats.”

Datte points to last week’s season-opening loss to Irvine as an example of how important strategy can be.

“We performed well, but we lost totally on the strategy,” Datte said. “I hope they learned their lesson.”

Rowing Notes

Officials expect a crowd of 25,000 at today’s Crew Classic. Spectators are advised to park on Fiesta Island between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Shuttle buses will leave Fiesta Island every 15 minutes. . . . Because of the change in venue, there will be six lanes instead of the customary seven. Seven additional races have been added. Therefore, the featured Copley Cup is not expected to start until approximately 4 p.m., instead of at 2:20, as scheduled. . . . The University of Washington will be looking to defend its titles in the Copley Cup and the Whittier Cup, the featured race for women. The Washington men’s varsity team has won the Copley Cup the past two seasons and six times in 11 years. The women’s varsity team, four-time defending national champion, is undefeated since losing to Victoria in the 1982 San Diego Crew Classic.