Army Crew Case Analysis

Situation Analysis:
Coach P, the coach of the Army Crew team for the United States Military Academy at West point was in a dilemma on the selection of Varsity and Junior Varsity crew while the crew season was coming to an end in May 2002 with just one week before the commencement of the National Championship race wherein over 100 schools were expected to compete. With his vast experience of nine years of coaching and selection of the top eight rowers based on long series of objective tests measuring individual strength, technique and endurance using the ergometer machine, which had helped him in producing consistent result of creating a winning team, he is now faced with a situation of his best eight rowers team- Varsity consistently losing

Avoid demotivation or any negative psychological feeling amongst the individuals in the teams.
Recommendation:
Although Varsity Crew had top eight rowers, they lost to Junior Varsity crew mainly due to lack of trust between team members which is a critical parameter for success in this sport. Ideally, Coach P should have immediately got into actions on Psychological dimensions when he realized the psychological difference in the two teams, i.e. when he read the different tones of email messages. Because it was at this moment, he understood the main issue with the Vs. This would have given him the correct approach and enough time to take corrective actions in this area, before the start of National Championship.
If Coach P. chose to switch few individuals within the teams, he is likely to face reluctance as the JVs will feel they are “sent down” and Vs will not get along with the JVs. Also, it was difficult make the choice as all the tests were in favour of the Vs.
Alternatively, it was too late in the day to still work on improvement of the Vs performance. More so because, after his last attempt to discuss the matter, his best 8 rowers in Varsity have split, felt dejected and

As this has a precedent of chances of winning for both teams in the respective level. Also, there are been many positives psychological behaviors witnessed of the JVs.
And as suggested in the case, of all the critical success factors in selection of crew under 4 distinct categories namely -Strength and conditioning; Rowing technique; Psychological dimensions; Program organization, psychological dimensions played the most crucial role in a successful crew.
On the other hand, Vs has proven to be an incorrect mix of individuals who are not bound together as a team. This might lead to Vs not winning any level but JVs have high chance of winning the higher level.
Action