Zack Marks on the College Sailing Experience and Eckerd College

Name: Zack Marks

School: Eckerd College

Position: Assistant and Women’s Sailing Coach

Career Highlights:
- Honorable Mention All-American (2011)
- Academic All-American – 2nd Team (2010)
- Competing in Singlehanded Nationals in hometown St. Pete, FL.
- Sailing my final nationals in the Gorge!

Learn More About Eckerd's College Sailing Team: http://bit.ly/EckerdSailing

Eckerd's College Sailing Team on Facebook: http://bit.ly/EckerdSailingFB





Tell me what was most exciting about the recruiting process for you personally as a student and as a coach?

As a student, this time of year is so exciting because you get to explore a lot of different options and possibilities in evaluating what the next four years of your life will look like.  It’s also an opportunity to position yourself for life after those four years are up, which adds another dimension of excitement to the process.  It is kind of like window shopping.

As a coach, it is really exciting to meet so many other athletes that are passionate about sailing, and who are looking to make it a part of their time in college.  I have always enjoyed passing off my own knowledge and experience to the younger generations, and getting a look at the selection process that college coaches go through.

What did you enjoy most about the College Sailing Experience?  What did you enjoy least?

The most enjoyable part is that you will sail a lot!  When you think about how many starts, mark roundings, and unique situations you encounter every day, it is really astounding how much sailing you actually do in a single week.  When you add that up over four years, it is no surprise how much you improve by the time you graduate.  Also, you get to sail with your friends all the time.  When you do something like an Olympic Campaign, you are usually on the water with maybe one or two other boats.  It makes the practices and hard work that much more enjoyable when you are surrounded by your best friends.

The part I enjoyed the least is the conflict that is sometimes generated by having to earn your spot.  In high school, whenever I wanted to sail a singlehanded event somewhere, I could just go and sail.  Not having that option anymore was initially difficult to accept.  When two or more people are competing to get a starting spot for a big event, this often leads to conflict rather than everyone focusing on the big picture, which is to make everyone better as a group.  While this was upsetting at first, you eventually start to see an event as the team going to a regatta instead of individual sailors.  I eventually came around to that side of it, and enjoyed this aspect of college sailing that much more.

What’s the toughest part about adjusting to the college sailing lifestyle in and out of the classroom?

A lot of people struggle with this.  In high school, there is a lot of structure to your day.  You are forced to go to classes for a certain period of time, and then you do your extracurricular activities right afterward.  In college, there is some structure in the form of practice times and team workouts, but there is almost an infinite amount of free time that you have never had before.  You have to learn how to manage that time to do all of your other school work as well as sailing practices and workouts.  Based on Eckerd’s location, we fly to a lot of places for competition, so the sailors usually take advantage of that time and do their school work.

Why should a sailor come to Eckerd College next year?

The school is in an interesting position this year.  We almost always get into one of the spring national championships, but we have never really contended for the championship.  As of July 1, 2012, the sailing program at Eckerd was upgraded to a varsity program under the guidance of the athletic department.  This gives us access to a great deal of resources such as tutors, trainers, etc., and allows us to go to more intersectionals throughout the year than we ever have.  We have two full fleets of FJ’s and 420’s (20 FJ's/12 420's), and two full time coaches.  The head coach is Kevin Reali, a two-time ICSA All-American.

As an additional note, the temperature averages about 75 degrees all year which means a lot more sailing.  Even if you don’t initially get to go to a lot of regattas for the team, there are tons of local fleets that are really strong and competitive outside of college sailing.  This will allow you to keep improving outside the system, and reach your goals much more quickly.

What are you looking for most in a recruit?

A lot of kids that look at our program are also looking at similarly small schools all over the country.  While a lot of these schools are similar in size and what they offer in terms of education, they are all very different sailing programs.  I essentially want to see someone who is passionate about sailing and willing to put in the hours.  Attitude is everything if you are going to succeed at the college level.  I can make a less experienced sailor much better quickly, if he or she has a great attitude.  I won’t have the ability to make much progress at all with someone who has talent, but won’t commit their time to the team.  Typically, the ideal person is selecting the college because they want to sail, and wants to be at the school for all four years.  This goes for both skippers and crews.  We get a lot of walk-ons at the crew position, which I think undervalues how important the position is.  We always want to look at talented high school crews and make them part of our team.

What are your team’s goals for this season?  What about over the next four years?

We would like to qualify for all three spring championships.  Our women’s team is doing really well, and we have four solid women’s skippers.  We are really close with the competition in team racing, and we are returning all of our starting fleet race skippers from last year, when we missed nationals by one spot.  We graduated a few of their crews, but we should have a very strong shot of bursting through the bubble this year.

Four years down the road we would like to be a more established team, and get to the point where we are consistently ranked in the top 10.  Essentially this will mean we transition from going to nationals to competing to win the national titles.  It will take some time and a lot of persistence to get there, but it’s something that we view as a very real possibility down the line.

What does it take to be an All-American in College Sailing?

Above all else: Persistence.  This was a frustrating process to me, where it felt like I kept doing the same things over and over again at practice and regattas, and it did not feel like I was getting any better.  In actuality, you are getting better, so the trick is to try to keep a positive attitude the whole time.  The season is so long, and there are so many variables in play at each regatta, that you really need to worry a lot less about results and focus a lot more on the process.  Eventually it will all work out if you put the time in, and go about the process the right way.

Zack Marks

Charlie Enright on the College Sailing Experience

About Charlie:

Charlie graduated from Brown University in 2008.  He is a four time ICSA All-American, who now works and sails professionally for North Sails® in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  Visit him and the experts at the Portsmouth North Sails loft to see how they can help you with any of your sail making, sail repair, and other sailing needs.  See what they can do for you today!

Phone: 401.683.7997

Email: charlie.enright@northsails.com 

North Sails Portsmouth Loft on the Web: http://bit.ly/NorthSailsPortsmouth

                                      

North Sails on Facebook: http://bit.ly/NorthSailsUSAFB 

What did you enjoy most about College Sailing?  What did you enjoy least?

What I enjoyed most about college sailing was definitely all of the competition from week to week, and the time I spent on and off the water with my teammates.  At Brown, we had a very deep team and a great coach.  Having those two things made the experience that much more enjoyable for me.

In terms of things I liked least about college sailing, I certainly don’t think it hurts you, but you don’t spend a lot of time working on things like tuning, sail trim, or boat speed.  Everything is much more about kinetics, starting, and positioning your boat effectively on the racecourse.

How would you advise an aspiring high school sailor on selecting their collegiate program, or whether or not they should participate at all?

If you’re on the fence about sailing in college, you should just give it a try.  It really can’t hurt.  When you are making the decision, spend as much time around the teams you are looking at as possible.  Try to get an idea of how you fit in with that group’s atmosphere. 

Another big factor is deciding how much you want to sail or not sail in the starting lineup.  Some people will go to a really strong program and run the risk of not getting any looks, or not getting to go to the big events for at least a couple of years.  Other people want to go to a smaller program and be “the guy”.  They go in with the attitude that they will take some digs early, but will figure it out later.  There is something to be said for each, so it’s something need to decide for yourself.  

What is the biggest thing a high school sailor should be aware of about sailing in college before they make the transition from high school?

Your success or failure as a sailor in college will primarily fall on your time management skills.  It is hard to do everything well.  Our coach used to say that you have to balance sailing, school, and social life, and you can only do two of them well.  If you do all three, your work in all of them will be mediocre at best.  In the end, you will either figure it out or you won’t.  Just try to make the most educated decisions that you can.

How important has college sailing been to developing your career, and helping you become a professional sailor?

When I sail on bigger boats, college sailing has prepared me best for working at the helm or as a tactician.  After the experience in college, it is much easier to look back and get a quick snap shot of the fleet, and know how to put yourself into a more advantageous position on the course.  However, college sailing did not really prepare me for any position on a boat where I was responsible for things like sail trim or boat speed.  Again, I don’t think it hurts, but you have to find the time and opportunities to get that practice elsewhere.  

Following the 2012 Olympic Games, the college sailing system has come under a great deal of criticism in its development of professional and Olympic sailors.  What is your take on college sailing’s role in the system?

First of all, not everyone in college sailing wants to go to the Olympics or make a career out of sailing.  I think 99% of the people participating value their education, more than the sailing itself, and will go off into the “real world”.

  

I think the biggest problem sailors run into is not in the college sailing, but how they spend their off seasons, particularly summer vacation.  People tend to do a lot less sailing then and get summer jobs coaching, relaxing, etc.  The bottom line is that the summer in particular is a great time to explore different kinds of racing, and fill in the deficiencies that college sailing doesn’t really touch on.  Nothing beats time on the water, and people need to start taking advantage of those months you have off.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to future college sailors?

You have to be all in and understand that you will have to make sacrifices.  Succeeding in sailing is about being good at working hard.  Sailing is just a medium for that.   

Charlie Enright

Sam Blouin on Zoning In

Sam Blouin
Age: 23
College: Hobart and William Smith (Geneva, NY)
Career Highlights:
- Finalist - ICSA College Sailor of the Year (2012)
- ICSA All-American (2012)
- ICSA Atlantic Coast Championship – 1st place, A Division (2011)
- Thompson Trophy  – 1st place, A Division (2012)
- Danmark Trophy – 1st place, A Division (2011)
- ICSA Co-ed National Championship – 5th place, A Division (2012)
- ICSA Team Racing Championship – 3rd place (2012)
- ICSA Co-ed National Championship – 2nd place, Team (2011)


I refer to “Zoning In” as the technique used to focus on feeling what a boat needs to achieve the best boat speed possible.  Often times it is easy to get carried away with what is happening around you in the middle of a race instead of paying attention to what is happening inside of your boat.  Remember, your boat is what needs your full attention, and you should not waste any of that attention on your competitors.  When I was coaching junior racing this summer, I told my kids that they need to treat their boat like a girlfriend or boyfriend.  In other words, you have to give it all of your attention.  Otherwise, it may get jealous, and you will have problems.  As silly as it sounds, this is an easy solution to a problem that can affect any of us.  If we focus more on whether or not we are going to win a crossing situation that is 100 seconds away, or if our competition on the other side of the course is getting lifted, then we are not focused on the most important factor in our control: our own boat speed.

In my mind, boat speed is the most important factor at stake at all times.  If I am not paying attention to my boat speed, then I am not moving as fast as possible.  This is a serious problem, as boat speed is always my number one ally on the water.  It gets me out of tough situations, puts me in the front of races, and helps me win regattas.

The technique I use to properly channel my focus toward my boat speed is called “zoning in” (at least that is what I call it).  This technique involves picking out a spot or two on the boat where I can focus my eyes in order to tap into the feel of the boat.  This “feel” I refer to is essentially balancing the flow over the foils with the pressure in the sails. This yields a fast boat with effective height.  When you obtain this feel, the end result is a balanced helm, allowing you to make subtle adjustments to your sail trim and body position in order to stay locked into the narrow groove where you are syncing the pressure on the sails with the pressure on the blades.  In other words, you are matching up your sail trim with the proper amount of heel needed to get the boat driving smoothly through the water.  Typically your boat is sailed flat, or with no more than five degrees of heel to leeward.

 For me to fully “zone in”, I pick a spot on the boat where I can focus my eyes.  This way my body maintains its balance within its position in the boat.  I like to compare this to balancing on a ball or standing on one leg.  If you stare at one spot your body will maintain its balance.  However, if you alter your gaze, you will start to wobble and lose your balance.  When this happens, your body can quickly fall out of touch with the boat’s rhythm as it moves through the water.  When you pick this spot, you should choose a point on the boat or the sails.  Otherwise you may miss the subtle visual changes that occur to the boat’s heel or the sail’s shape and lose some boat speed.  Dinghies are very responsive to subtleties in where you sit or how you trim your sail.  Thus, the most seemingly minor adjustments can make all the difference in terms of speed.

Here are some quick tips on adjusting this technique to different boats:

Singlehanded Boats: When sailing a singlehanded boat, I find that I zone in best by focusing my eyes on the tip of the bow or the bottom half of the sail’s luff.  This way my focus is forward in the boat in case I need to quickly eye the fleet or look for a shift moving down the course.

Doublehanded Boats: When sailing doublehanded or larger boats, I always focus on the leach of the main sail or the upper tell tales on the jib's luff (typically my eyes move occasionally from one to the other).  I also make sure to communicate effectively with my crews regarding fleet management and shifts so that I do not mismanage my strategy or tactics.

By focusing my eyes on these spots in the boat, I eliminate my temptation to look around and get carried away with everything happening around me.  Instead, I focus on the largest factor within my control: making the boat go fast.  This prevents me from nervously eyeing a boat windward or leeward, and losing to them because I was not focused on the basics.  Obviously, it is much easier to do this in a doublehanded boat where you have a second pair of eyes to keep watch on the fleet and the water.  You are always racing the boats around you, but, ultimately, the only boat you can control is your own.  By focusing my eyes on a few spots on the boat I can “zone in” effectively to my own boat and create that extra bit of boat speed that will set me apart from the fleet.

Sam Blouin