Improve the Stroke - Body Position just after (at) the Catch  (+ Common Problems)

Please look at the examples below and review your own positions or that of your crew.  Anthony Edwards, 5 times Olympic athlete demonstrates common issues.
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Obtaining the correct body posture at the catch is vital for a good rowing stroke, a good catch sets up the entire stroke.
To get to the correct position at the catch requires preparation off the finish.
Indoor Rowing Course Lesson 1 - Posture
​Rowing Key Skill 4 - Posture and Pauses

Correct Position:

Here Eddy demonstrates the correct catch position for sculling.  Note the fully extended arms, vertical shins and relaxed shoulders.  You can also see the vertical position of the pelvis.  Overall a strong position for a well executed catch.

Too Little Body Reach at Catch
Too Much Body Reach at Catch

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​No Rockover:

This image demonstrates extremely poor posture at the catch.  The most likely causes of this problem are a lack of flexibility and not executing the rockover correctly off the finish.
It can be corrected to an extent by increasing the feet to seat distance, usually by dropping the feet.

Compilation of videos on stretching and flexibility in rowing
​​Using the Pelvis at Rockover - Eddie

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Tense and Raised Shoulders:

Having tense shoulders at the catch makes it difficult to execute a good catch.  Encourage the athletes to relax their shoulders and keep them low when coming down the slide into the catch.

​Relax the muscles in the face to relax the arms and shoulders at the catch
How do we learn to relax - According to John

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Bent arms taking the catch:

Taking the catch with bent arms is generally a weak position and at the catch we want to see the legs engaged with the arms fully extended and relaxed. 
Whilst resulting in a slower boat this issue also can cause stress fractures in the upper body due to the overloading caused by the grabbing.
Stress Fractures of the Ribs with Kellie 
Avoiding using the arms at the catch - How to teach on the erg

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