Joshua Brodsky

3/3/2015
The Army Crew Team
Z494
1. Being as specific as possible, what factors might account for how the 2001-02
Army Crew Team JV boat consisting of the bottom eight rowers on the team
frequently beat the Varsity boat?
a. I think the fact that the lack of pressure and prestige of being on a
lower team kept these individuals from developing strong egos that
hindered their ability to work as a team. I also think that the fact that
they were working together against adversity (they were, in fact, the
lower team with much less expectation) made them more prone to
working together to accomplish a goal (beating the Varsity team and
out-performing expectations), whereas the Varsity teams only mission
was to continue excellence. It doesnt seem like the Varsity team has
the same team cohesion because of competing egos and a lack of a
distinct mission. In a sport where minutiae determine winners and
losers, the lack of teamwork displayed by the Varsity squad
counteracts and their physical and experiential advantages.
2. Would you allocate rowers to the boats in the same way that Coach
Preczewski did?
a. No.
3. Briefly justify your answer.
a. I would have set 2 teams at the same hierachial level. I would have
used the allocation experiments to see who worked best together as a
team, rather than who seemed to be the strongest individual rower. I
would have run duals throughout the season, and would assign
Varsity to the team that won the dual taking night before each match.
However, I would treat each match and the National tournament as
their own events, giving both teams the chance to compete. This would
give each one of the teams a mission, and would ensure that we had
enough competition all season to produce the strongest squad for
Nationals. The constant fear of losing and the realization that each
time the team as a whole needs to improve, would keep individuals
from becoming complacent and ego-driven.
4. What other reasonable options exist?
a. The other reasonable option, in addition to switching out individuals,
switching the teams, and intervening with the Varsity team, would be
the option that I detailed above regarding the constant competition of
the two teams for Varsity, rather than the individuals.
5. Identify another example where the best group of individuals had lower
performance as a team than do less talented teams.
a. The 2002 Oakland Athletics had a group of relatively average
individuals who performed well as a team and out-performed many of
the leagues top organizations. The general manager, Billy Beane,
utilized not only sabermetrics (a statistical approach to baseball), but
also maintained a team rid of individuals with egos.