​Max Goodwin - big decisions

Photo credit: Steve McArthur/Rowing NZ

Max Goodwin is accustomed to making big decisions, but in the past week Goodwin has been forced to make two of the biggest of his life.
 
Goodwin is the head prefect at Christ’s College. On Saturday, Goodwin was a central figure in his schools’ Aon Maadi Cup triumph, a success which has enhanced his considerable reputation in rowing and earned him a chance to train permanently in the New Zealand high-performance programme in Cambridge.
 
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I have to settle it this week. I’ve got extra responsibilities as head boy of Christ’s and I love Christchurch, but moving up north to train is a big opportunity,” Goodwin reveals.
 
Three days earlier Goodwin was one of only two returning members from Christ’s College’s eight in the 2017 Maadi Cup regatta. Goodwin was positioned in the sixth seat or ‘the powerhouse’ section of the boat. Goodwin’s role is to literally row as hard as possible as he is the heart of the boat’s engine. Christ’s needed a big heart to topple North Island champions, Hamilton Boys’ High School. Goodwin provides an insight into Christ’s tactics.
 
“We knew Hamilton would come out hard, they are big, strong boys and that had been their approach all week. We knew if we could hold them to a lead of less than a boat length early on we could take them at the end,” Goodwin explains.
 
At what point did Christ’s choose to accelerate?
 
“Hamilton Boys’ led from the 500m mark, but we weren’t far behind and starting pulling away at the 750m mark. We just rowed quicker as the race went on and it was pretty special to win,” Goodwin answers.
 
Christchurch Boys’ High School finished third, but had beaten Christ’s in the South Island Championships. What did Christ’s learn from that defeat?
 
“We learned we can be behind and still win. The key is to know your strengths and ours was endurance. The whole crew was outstanding; rowing is one of those sports where you can't hide,” Goodwin concludes.


The winning Christ's College Maadi Cup crew was: Alex Todhunter (stroke), Max Goodwin, Sam Darry, Jack Elvy, Zac Cran, Will Chaffey, Jamie Batchelor, Sean Swanson + Guy Flynn (cox)

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