Blackmore Club Blog

The 1992 Head of the River saw the end of an era, with Lindsay Southcott concluding an extraordinary career as coach of the St. Peter’s College 1st VIII. Lindsay’s record of 14 Head of the River wins in 27 years is unprecedented in Australian schools’ rowing and is unlikely ever to be challenged. An analysis of the results of the Gosse Shield, since it was presented in 1932 for competition between the school First Eights, yields the information that St. Peter’s College has won the shield more times than all the other schools combined. Furthermore, PAC has the second highest total with sixteen wins, which means Lindsay’s own record of fourteen victories puts him well ahead of any other school excluding Princes.

Lindsay Southcott began his rowing career at Saints and was a member of the 1957-58 First Eights. He began club rowing whilst still at school and went straight into the South Australian King’s Cup eight when he left school. He spent four years in the state crew before moving to Melbourne, where he concluded his rowing career. Lindsay’s first stint as coach of the Saints 1st VIII lasted from 1961 to 1964, coaching jointly with Rowing Master John Ellis. After returning from Melbourne, he resumed the 1st VIII coaching duties in 1970 and continued without a break until the 1992 Head of the River. At one point he again coached with the Rowing Master, by this time Selwyn Owen, and over the last four years of his career, he achieved great success with Dean Clayton.

The bare statistics of Lindsay Southcott’s coaching career are remarkable, though they only tell a part of the story of his contribution to the Boat Club. The enormous amount of time devoted by him to this job, which, it should be made clear, is an honorary one, in itself says a great deal about Lindsay’s commitment. His meticulous preparation of his crews and his attention to every minute detail of training, rowing technique, racing and rigging of boats brought him his well-deserved successes.

How did Lindsay maintain his effectiveness and enthusiasm for so long? The last three years brought him three wins, so he certainly retained his touch throughout his career. His obvious enjoyment of the intellectual challenge of producing a winning crew has played a large part in this. No mere follower of a successful formula, he has rigorously analysed the strengths and weaknesses of each year’s crew and has developed a programme specifically designed to capitalise on the former and eliminate the latter. Furthermore, he has been innovative and flexible in his approach, receptive to new ideas and developments in rowing where they have been applicable to schoolboy oarsmen. At all times he has been mindful of the needs of his charges, recognising that they are schoolboys first and oarsmen second.

He has also produced some very fine oarsmen in the process, including two Olympians. Lindsay is a modest and reserved man. In his coaching, words are used carefully and sparingly and are all the more effective for it. Indeed, as many Saints oarsmen would attest, his silences can say so much! A generation of Saints oarsmen, parents, fellow coaches and supporters of the Boat Club owe Lindsay Southcott a great debt of gratitude for all that he has done for the Boat Club over such a long period of time. The school can be proud of its association with this doyen of school rowing coaches.

Featured Image: 1959 South Australian Eight

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