What does this mountain represent?

On the flight from Philadelphia to Toronto I ended up talking to a semi-pro soccer player/graduate student who is training youth soccer players to prepare for collegiate level athletics...she had some fascinating things to say about training.

Our discussion was about how she trains aspiring soccer players using a combination of treadmill running technique and conditioning, agility drills, strength and core exercises, and soccer skills. All of the fitness work related back to how well you can play soccer. She also mentioned how very often less talented teams would play up to the level of their competition and play their best against better teams and worse against lesser opposition.

How would you approach that situation and prepare for it in training?

For our team, with no on the water rowing option to try and make boats go fast, our training needs to prepare us for all of the different aspects of physical and mental fitness that are tested on the water. Even though there is a tremendous amount of variety in our training activities I hope you can link them back to the mechanical rowing motion AND challenge your mental limits.