Coach P started his selection of the Varsity team by measuring individual rowing skills using the ergometer machine. The expectation thus set was that rowers’ with the best physical ability will make it into the Varsity team and this was reflected in the improved ergometer times over the previous year by about 10 seconds. His assignment of rowers to the teams was based on a series of ‘seat races’ to compare rowers’ individual skills while operating with the rest of the team. The seat races where designed such that motivation to excel was maintained high among the rower’s with only the best 8 performers awarded a place in the Varsity team. However, there was no tests done to identify if the individuals were all equally motivated to win the national championship. While some of the rowers’ with high abilities might have strong motivation to succeed in the national championship,

While the ‘seat races’ method facilitated the measuring of individual ability in regard to strength and conditioning, rowing technique and individual performance as part of the team; it failed to address any concerns regarding the rowers’ mental strengths. The rowers’ assignments did not focus much on their individual psychological elements. The ‘seat races’ were done with teams of 4 rowers against each other and did not account for any disruptions in the team cohesiveness when all 8 rowers came together for the final team. Despite identifying individual performance in a team, there was no assessment