APS Rowing: How Brighton Grammar plans to defend its Heads of the River crown

With a chance to defend its Heads of the River title, Brighton Grammar is reviewing and refining its approach, staying open to new ideas for a historic repeat.

Brighton in preparation. Picture: Supplied.

Brighton Grammar is “open to different ideas and formats” in its pursuit for a piece of Heads of the River history.

The reigning champions of the prestigious rowing regatta are aiming towards becoming the third school since the millennium to defend its Fairbairn Cup crown.

Geelong College won back to back titles in 2000 and 2001 while perennial contender Scotch College has won an impressive 14 Heads of the River since then.

Brighton Director of Rowing Mitch Nelson said he and his coaches reviewed the team’s season thoroughly despite its success to maintain improvement.

“I think the thing is you take the good stuff you did well and then review really, really hard,” Nelson said.

“My coaches and I reviewed hard and went through with a fine-tooth comb to pick out what worked well.

“We made some mistakes in terms of the way we set things up and the way we executed processes and that sort of stuff.

“We want to be willing to make mistakes in pursuit of getting better and we’re still open to different ideas and formats in the way we run to try improve that one or two per cent.”

Brighton in preparation. Picture: Supplied.

Nelson said Brighton’s quest for improvement this off-season started at the source, ensuring the program provided the team with the foundation to grow against healthy competition.

“It’s a real challenge, there’s a lot of work that goes into it through the back end, making sure we set up the program looking to improve,” he said.

“I suppose the challenge with success is that there’s expectation, which is always the negative byproduct to success, but success is awesome.

“We know what we’re doing is good but always trying to improve, whether it’s our processes, our coaching, our support structures, conditioning, all of that sort of stuff.

“We’re just always making sure we’re trying to do that and striving for a bit of consistent improvement.

“Everyone gets faster each year and the competition gets harder and harder to perform really well in, so I think that side of things is really important.”

Picture: Supplied.

There will be a different look to the Brighton First VIII this season, with a strong group of up-and-comers rising through the ranks.

Nelson thinks the new-look group will not only assist against the challenge of being the reigning winner, but also bolster the overall program.

“We’ve sort of turned the page on last season and looked to a fresh one this year,” he said.

“It’s a new group, they’re different boys, we’ve got three coming back from last year and five new rowers.

“It’ll be a different experience for them and I think that organic experience of working through a new season will be really important for those guys.

“It’s a really competitive bunch at the moment, we have probably 14 to 15 guys who could mount a case to row in the top boat.

“It’s a great position to be in and a really strong foundation for a successful season, not just for the top boat but for the broad majority of the program.”

The Heads of the River is held in Nagambie this year on Saturday, March 22.