Month: December 2012

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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As a cox how do you approach favoritism from coaches? Like, there’s a girl on my team whose dad is an assistant coach at our club (but for novice) and I feel like our varsity coaches favor her because she is the coach’s daughter. What do/can I do? I like her but I still feel like this is unfair.

Growing up, I played softball for about 10 years before I started coxing and I was fortunate enough to have my dad be my coach every year I played. I think a major reason why I’m so unbiased towards people is because he never gave me special treatment – even when I tried to get it. I wasn’t encouraged or scolded any more or less than anyone else on my team. When I got to high school, I was in the marching band (clarinet) and one of the directors had some seriously hardcore favorites that just got treated way better than everyone else. It annoyed me in a “roll my eyes every time I noticed it” kind of way. There wasn’t anything we could do about it and it wasn’t a HUGE deal in the grand scheme of things so we all basically just had to deal with it and ignore it. Since I’ve started coaching I’ve tried to do the same thing that my dad and HS crew coaches did and not have favorites. I’ve found that even though there are people I like infinitely better than others, I have to treat them equally and not let the people I like get away with shit that I wouldn’t let the others get away with.

One of the hardest lessons to learn is that there will ALWAYS be a favorite. It’s an inevitable truth. Why do you think they favor her? I feel like crew is a hard sport to play favorites with but, then again, I’ve never really seen or experienced it with any of my teams. Unless you, for example, pull an infinitely better erg time than she does and she gets boated over you with zero justification, there’s really not much you can do except ignore it. It’s possible that the coaches just know her better than other people on the team if they’re friends with her dad, so general conversations can seem like favoritism if other people don’t experience the same thing with them.

I wouldn’t let it bother you unless it comes to a point where people are getting displaced in the boat in favor of those who haven’t earned that seat. If that happens, then I’d bring it up (maturely) with one of the coaches and ask why that person was chosen instead of you or whoever. Don’t be accusatory though. Go to your coaches from the angle of wanting to know what you need to improve on so that next time YOU are the one that’s chosen. If they give you a legitimate answer as to why the other person was put in the lineup, you have to trust that they made the right decision, even if to you it feels like the wrong one.

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Hi! I’m a novice rower and asking for advice concerning my coxswain. She doesn’t get really fired up during races and falls back on just correcting our technique when we really need motivation. Anything you know that helps? We’re a girls team btw.

Have you talked to her about this? Does she know that it bothers you guys when she only focus on technique and doesn’t give any motivation? If you haven’t it’s possible that she doesn’t know there’s a problem.

Whenever you go out and do a piece, ask her if she can throw in some more motivational calls and then give her some specifics – tell her exactly what you (and the rest of the boat) want to hear. Explain that technical calls are really helpful at the beginning but as the race goes on, you need more motivation because as you get more tired it starts to feel like you can’t go on and you NEED someone pushing you and telling you that you can. Hopefully she’ll listen to you and try and throw in some more motivational calls – if she does, acknowledge that. At the end of a piece or after practice, say thank you and that you really appreciated her trying to throw in some new calls. Tell her that it really helped and ask if she can keep doing that.

Another thing you could do is have the other girls in your boat write down one or two things they want to hear and then give that list to her so she can read it. It’s possible that she knows what to say but just gets overwhelmed or forgets, so perhaps seeing it right in front of her will help remind her of things to say. You could also find a recording or two that you like (check the “recordings” tag on here and you’ll find some sprinkled through various posts) and then send her a link to it. Say that you came across these and really like how the coxswain does this or that or whatever and could she maybe try something similar the next time you go out. If she’s a novice like you, she’s still learning how to do this whole “steer-cox-think about 90430943 things a minute” thing, so maybe having one of the varsity coxswains talk to her might help. Ask them if they’d mind giving her a couple pointers on things to say during races, specifically relating to motivational calls.

Asking coxswains to do something is a little like herding blind cats sometimes … it can be hard because coxswains are usually stubborn and typically don’t like being told what to do. Be nice when you talk to her. Don’t all come at her at once with pitchforks and accuse her of not listening to you or of sucking as a coxswain. Talk about it one day after practice and see what happens.

Coxing How To Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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I know coaches are always looking for “team leaders” but there’s this one girl on my team who TRIES to be a leader but is just ignorant & bossy. Inevitably, she only hurts herself by getting on her teammates & even coaches nerves. She’s leaving next year (along with a huge majority of my team) & I want to be an effective leader but I’m afraid of being annoying to underclassmen like this girl is to me. How do I lead w/o being bossy and making people want to straight up slap me in the face?

Ha, I know exactly the kind of person you’re talking about. It’s painful being on a team with someone like that.

Step 1. Think of all the reasons why she is a poor and/or ineffective leader and why it doesn’t work … then do the EXACT opposite of that.

Step 2. I really do believe that being a good leader involves invoking a form of the Golden Rule – lead others as you would like to be led. Do not unnecessarily raise your voice or yell at people (unless they have genuinely done something to deserve it – and if they have, let your coach handle it) and don’t treat them like crap and think you can get away with it because, like you said, inevitably you’re only hurting yourself.

Step 3. Being a team captain or leader is less about telling people what to do and more about leading by example. Think of what you want your team to be or what you want them to become and then start ACTING like that. At the start of the season, hold a team meeting and set goals for the season. Throughout the year, remind your team of what you’ve accomplished so far and remind them of the goals still ahead.

Step 4. Encourage others by pushing yourself – everything you do will be noticed by your teammates so make sure you’re giving 150% one hundred percent of the time.

Step 5. Keep open lines of communication with EVERYONE on the team – not just the people in your boat or just your friends. Let it be known that if anyone is having a problem, rowing related or not, they can come to you. No judgement either. Keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they’re having a rough time. When they’re alone, either before or after practice, let them know that if they need to talk, they know where to find you. Leave it at that and don’t push the issue.

Step 6. Embrace the leadership role. Don’t act like it’s a burden but don’t do what this girl is doing by trying to force the role upon herself. If people see that you’re dedicated to the team and you’re committed to becoming a good leader, people will be more open to accepting you as their captain. Try not to channel Napoleon and develop a complex.

Step 7. Don’t wait to become a leader – do it now! You don’t have to wait until this girl is gone to start leading your team. Don’t incite a power struggle whenever you’re around her, just start doing the things that a leader should do. It’s up to you to determine what your team needs. Talk with your coaches and explain that you’re not trying to cause drama or anything like that, but you’d like to see someone take a more effective leadership role on the team. Since you’ll be a senior (I’m assuming) next year, you felt that it would be good to begin gaining that experience now. Ask if there is anything you can help with or anything specific they would like you to do and then go from there.

Talk to this other girl and ask if there’s anything you can help her with. If she says “OMG yes, nobody ever listens to me when I try and do … (whatever)”, take that opportunity to say “OK, I’ll see what I can do” and then go do it. If she says “nope, I’m good” say “OK, well, if you need anything or get overwhelmed with (whatever), feel free to let me know” and leave it at that. Don’t make it blatantly obvious to her that she sucks as a leader and you think you can do better. Let her come to you. In the mean time, find little things you can do to start building up your rapport with the coaches and your teammates.

Coxing How To Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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I am in my 3rd year coxing and I’m fighting for the JV boat with another girl who is in the same grade as me. I was really, really bad my novice year and wasn’t really good until now. I really want to beat her so I asked some rowers what I could do better and they said that people respect her more, and that she is more authoritative. But the thing is when I try to be authoritative people just think I’m a bitch because I’m normally really friendly and nice. How do I earn their respect?

Instead of focusing on “beating” the other coxswain, focus on improving your skills. OBSERVE HER. Ask her for advice. Yes, it’s a little “keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer” BUT seeing you swallow some humble pie will in fact help your rowers begin respecting you more. What about her demeanor, attitude, personality, etc. makes people respect her? When she’s coxing or leading the team, how does she do it? You don’t have to emulate everything she does, but if something is working for her and that same something is something you need to improve on, there’s nothing wrong with adopting the same techniques she uses.

As far as gaining respect in general, think about your parents. Most of the time, I think we can all agree that our parents are fairly chill – maybe a little uncool, but chill nonetheless. When we screw up and they get pissed at us, that’s where the learning opportunity arises. If your parents get mad and yell and scream at you, what are you more likely to do? Listen to them and do exactly what they say or ignore them, roll your eyes, and walk away? For most of us, we’d ignore them. When they get pissed and talk to you in a stern but eerily calm voice, that is when most of us are like “shit, ok, I’ll do what you want.” Tone of voice means everything. If you are less likely to listen to someone who is erractic while trying to be authoritative, what makes you think your rowers are going to listen to you if you exhibit the same behavior? Part of being an effective leader is self-control. You have to stay calm in the face of chaos and not fly off the handle at little things. Use the “stern parent” voice instead of the “she needs some mood stabilizers” voice.

Being friendly and nice is a great thing when you’re off the water but when you’re on the water you have to separate the friendly person from the in-control coxswain. You are in charge, so you must act like you’re in charge. Look to people you see every day that are in leadership roles – teachers, your coach, your boss, etc. – and see how they conduct themselves.

Your rowers also need to understand that when you’re on the water, your friendship is still on land. It cannot come in the boat with you. If they get pissed every time you tell them to do something just because it’s not something they’re used to hearing, life is going to be pretty hard for them. Explain to them that you aren’t trying to be a bitch and apologize if it comes off like that, but you’re trying to be more authoritative and it’s hard to do when they a) don’t take you seriously, b) don’t listen, and/or c) take it personally every time you say something to them. Tell them to respectfully and maturely tell you (after practice or in private) if/when they think you’re being a bitch so that you know exactly what situations they’re referring to and can work on improving or adjusting how you do things. Ask them why it comes off like that and what you can do to NOT come off like that in the future.

You can’t it personally either, even though that is easier said than done. Having a mature conversation with your rowers when situations like this come up will show them that you really are trying to improve your communication skills so that you can become a better leader, which will in turn continue building more respect between the two of you.

Also talk to your coach(es). Explain to them that you want to cox the JV boat too and want to know what they are specifically looking for in a JV coxswain. Having good rapport with the rowers is important but having the trust of your coach is CRITICAL. If they don’t think you can handle the boat in ANY situation, there’s no chance you’ll cox it. Ask them to spend some time critiquing you one day at practice and pointing out things you need to improve, but also some of the things you’re doing well (so you can continue doing them). Your coach’s feedback is just as important as your rowers so again, be mature and take any constructive criticism that you get as an opportunity to get better. You asked a great question which to me shows that you DO want to get better, so make that obvious to your coaches and rowers as well.

A huge part of becoming an all around better coxswain is force-feeding yourself multiple servings of humble pie. Improving not only our technical skills but our personal skills as well requires us to take a step back and reevaluate how we handle various situations. A true sign of maturing as a coxswain is when you can freely admit that you messed up or you could have handled a situation better, and then be able to figure out ON YOUR OWN how to do it right or better the next time.

For a few practices, focus on yourself more than you focus on “winning” the JV boat or “beating” this other coxswain. Make a list of things you think you can improve on and then work on them. Talk with this other coxswain and try not to make it blatantly obvious to everyone on the team that you are hell bent on getting this JV boat over her. Maturity, remember? Competitiveness between coxswains is fine but when one coxswain is super competitive and the other one is effortlessly just doing her thing and ROCKING IT, people will notice that and it tends to work out better for the calmer coxswain.

Coxswain recordings, pt. 3

Coxing Recordings

Coxswain recordings, pt. 3

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Australian Men’s 8+ at the European Training Center

Not too much in this video since it’s only about a minute long but I wanted to point out how he gives them something to focus on (“length and power through the water”) even though they’re at the tail end of practice and taking it back to the dock. It’s really easy to assume practice is over when your coach says to bring it in but it’s not so you should be taking advantage of whatever time you have left to get in as many good strokes as possible so you can end practice on a high note. This is particularly important if the rest of practice was mediocre or didn’t go well.

Other calls I liked:

“With hips, this one…”

“Lets set ourselves up for the row home…”

“One continuous focus to the end…”

Texas Rowing Center Rowing Starts

One thing she says that I remind my crews of a lot is that you have to row well even when you’re tired, otherwise your chance of getting injured or tweaking a muscle goes way up. Another thing she does that I do too is the “BOOM” at the start of a shift. When racing, I would do it on the first stroke of our settle after our high strokes at the start. The aggressiveness in your voice helps to reiterate the fact that the “settle” doesn’t mean there should be a drop in power.

I like the authoritativeness in the commands during the tens but outside of those strokes she sounds bored (or annoyed), like this is what she’s been doing all day and she’s over it. That’s something you have to pay attention to because whatever energy you’re projecting through your tone will get picked up by the rest of the boat and that can either make a good practice better or a mediocre practice worse. You can keep your tone chill and conversational but it should never get to the point where it sounds like you’re just going through the motions.

You can find and listen to more audio by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

How to Survive Winter Training: The light at the end of the tunnel

How To Rowing Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

How to Survive Winter Training: The light at the end of the tunnel

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Previously: Rowers || Coxswains || Music + TV

Lately I’ve gotten a couple emails and questions about how to make it through the winter season mentally in tact so I figured that was enough to warrant its own post. I wrote this with those in mind whose teams aren’t doing anything organized over the winter but the more I wrote, the more I realized that this is really for everyone. There’s going to be a point during the winter when everyone is going to have that “blah” feeling, so even if you are lucky enough to have your coaches and teammates around you on a daily basis, this is for you too. I reference a lot of college-y stuff too – that’s just out of habit. This is most definitely for high schoolers, in addition to collegiate rowers. And coxswains, don’t think that this doesn’t apply to you either. Just because we aren’t necessarily following a training program like the rowers doesn’t mean we can’t still experience that drop in motivation over the winter.

What do you do when you’re on your own? When your team has closed up shop for the winter and your training is up to you? When your motivation is at an all time low because all you can see in front of you are four long months of erging, lifting, and the proverbial lack of light at the end of the tunnel…

You sit down and you think about three things. One, why did you join this sport? Two, what do you want to get out of it? Three, where do you want to be in five months when spring season is in full swing? Think about your answers. REALLY think about them. None of this “I joined because of my friends, I want to have fun and compete, I want to be on the podium” bullshit. That answer is OK for runners and swimmers and basketball players. No. YOU are a rower. You can’t be in this sport if you can’t come up with more complex, more REAL answers than that. THINK. What are you here for?  Once you’ve answered those questions, look at yourself again. Think about the common thread between all three of your answers. It’s the same, no matter what your answer is or who you are or what team you row for or whether you’ve been rowing for three months or three years. Know what it is?

Hard. Fucking. Work.

You wouldn’t have joined this sport if you weren’t ready for the hours of commitment each day or the amount of physical exertion it required. You wouldn’t have joined this sport if you didn’t have goals and expectations for yourself. You wouldn’t be HERE right now, getting ready for spring season, if you didn’t want MORE. Hard work prepared you for it and hard work is going to get you through it. The work never stops. If you’ve lost your motivation, there comes a time when you realize you need to find it again if that hard work is going to continue. That time is now. I’ve gone through many periods of lost motivation over the last few years and each time I look back on those periods I realize that it comes down to three simple things:

Related: Words.

I don’t think I can do it, so why bother trying … I don’t know what I want, so do I even want anything … I have no direction, so what am I even doing all of this for…

For most people, I think these are the three main reasons why we lose our drive. With rowing, if you spent the fall season frustrated by your erg scores, splits, spot in the boat, etc. it can weigh on you and make you lose confidence in yourself. If your focus is all over the place to the point where everything is a blur, it’ll make you wonder if you really want anything at all. If you don’t know what you’re training for, it’s hard to get started because there isn’t anything tangible to latch your motivation onto (yet). Remember how I said there comes a time when you have to find your motivation again and that time is now? I mean it. That time is RIGHT fucking now. Look in the mirror and tell the person looking back at you to get their shit together. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to figure out what you want and how you’re going to get it.

Why did you join this sport?

You joined this sport because you wanted a challenge. Sure, the allure of a new sport was there but you were really in it for the adrenaline rush. That feeling of pushing your body to the brink, of knowing what the brink felt like. You stuck with it because you felt that adrenaline running through you when the official dropped the flag and you realized in that moment that you don’t ever want to NOT feel like this. You stuck with it because you know your body still has more to give, that you haven’t pushed yourself hard enough yet, that you can go harder.

What do you want to get out of it?

People start rowing with a lot of “wants”. They want to get in shape, they want to win … that’s fine. No sarcasm. It shows you have goals and like with life, it’s hard to move forward if you don’t know what you’re moving towards. As your rowing progresses, your goals are going to evolve. Like you, they’ll mature. They’ll go from “wanting to win” to “placing in the top 3 of the Grand Final at Dad Vails”, from “wanting to lose weight” to “increasing your squat PR by 45lbs by the end of the season”. You might not know what those goals are yet (which is why most people start to lose motivation when December rolls around) so you have to set new ones. It’s like New Year’s resolutions, except better, because you’ll actually stick to these.

Take some time and really think about what you want for yourself this year. Put your team and your boat aside for a moment and think about YOU. Grab a calendar for each month from now until the end of your season. Sit down and think about what your goals are and when you want to achieve them by. Goals can be ANYTHING – hence why they’re personal goals. Remember to make them tangible, relevant, and something that is genuinely attainable with the proper amount of work and commitment.

Now that you have that written down, think about how you’re going to attain each goal. What’s it going to take? What are you going to have to do over the next few months (potentially on your own with no outside motivation) to make sure those goals are met? Make a list and hang it and the calendar up somewhere where you are going to see it each day. I mean it – every day. A day should not go by over the next few months that you don’t see those two pieces of paper. As the days go by and you begin meeting your goals, cross them off.

As the season progresses, your goals might change or need to be modified. That’s OK. It’s not a sign of failure, AS LONG AS you aren’t changing them simply because you weren’t putting the effort in to meet the original ones. The goal of this goal-setting is to give yourself something to work WITH and something to work TOWARDS.

Where do you want to be once spring season is in full swing

 This is a question that most people think there’s only one answer to – “I want to be on the dock in Worcester getting a Sprints medal.” Awesome, but no. Mentally, where do you want to be? You want to be in that place, that place that only athletes know. That place that is the most evil and beautiful combination of tranquility and intensity where you can feel yourself getting stronger, mentally and physically, as you start knocking down walls, brick by fucking brick.

Psychologically, you want to be 100% sure of the fact that you spent the entire winter busting your ass to get to where you are right now. You don’t want to get back on the water in March wishing you’d erged more over the winter or be about to seat race in April wishing you’d gone to those optional lifts – you want to KNOW that you did exactly what you needed to do and THEN some. Remember what I said about attitude? Prime example, right here. Your mentality is everything and the one you have when you wake up each morning can make or break you.

Now that you’ve got the “whys, whats, and wheres” figured out, it’s time to figure out the “whos”, “hows”, and “whens”. The “who” is that person that is going to be there to push you, to motivate you, to kick your ass when you can’t kick it yourself, to tell you that you deserve it, you want it, you’ve worked for it, and it’s yours to take. I am a firm believer in always being there for yourself before you’re there for anyone else, so the first person on your list of “who” should be you. Sometimes you’ve got to split yourself in two so that the part of you that wants to give up can be pushed by the part of you that has their eyes on the prize or so that the part of you that always knew you could do it can congratulate the part of you that just did it. Whoever comes next on your list is up to you. Parents, friends, teammates, siblings, coaches, mentors, teachers, significant others, etc. – it doesn’t matter who they are.

Next, the “hows”. How are you going to make it through the next five months? Through the next 5k? Through the next lifting session? Through the next run? Simple. One day, one stroke, one lift, and one step at a time. Don’t look at it as being the same day, stroke, lift, or step all the time … it’s one at a time. If you made it through the last one, you will make it through this one. Confidence and assurance in yourself will get you through winter training. Know how each part of your winter training is going to affect you when you’re in the boat. Those squats, deadlifts, leg presses, and jumpies? They’re all building up your leg muscles so you can explode off the stretchers at the top quarter of the slide.

Every time you do one of those exercises, think about that. When you do the second set that is 10lbs heavier than the first and you feel like you can’t get through one rep, let alone ten, think about the start of your race at NCAAs in May. Think about the final sprint against Harvard, Brown, and Washington at IRAs. Think about that move in the middle of a race, the one your coxswain saves for just the right moment. You want to build up as much strength as you can for THOSE moments. Don’t think about how sore you are from the bench pulls and pull ups you did yesterday – think about how happy you’re going to feel when you’re sore in May but you’ve got a medal around your neck to show for it. Remember, you’re stronger than you were yesterday, but not as strong as you will be tomorrow.

There are two outcomes to winter training, both relating to how you feel. You can either feel proud, encouraged, motivated, and strong or you can feel disappointed and “meh”. How much effort you put into training is going to effect how you feel when the winter season ends. We both know which one you should be aiming for, so … how are you going to go about getting there?

Finally, the “whens”. Finals, holidays, and life all get in the way of training if we let it. Don’t take that as saying rowing should be a higher priority than all of those – theoretically it shouldn’t but in reality, to some, it probably is. Priorities are good. It’s up to you to look at your schedule, look at your activities, etc. and figure out your order of priorities. Where does training fit in? Even if your coach doesn’t give you a set schedule for the winter, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one. One of the best ways to make sure you stick to your training is to schedule a specific time every single day when you’re going to erg, run, bike, lift, etc. Treat that block of time like you would class – you wouldn’t skip or schedule something during a lecture, so why would you do that during your scheduled practice period?

Now some of you are probably thinking, “um, hi, we’re in college – of course we’re going to skip class.” I know you are. I did. But think about this scenario for a second – the first few weeks of class are always boring and you don’t really learn much but then there are those few occasions where the midterm or the final rolls around and you’re thinking to yourself “DAMMIT. I should have gone to those first few lectures…”. Sure, you might end up doing OK on the exam but think about how much better you would have done if you’d gone to all 15 lectures instead of just 10. Your races are your exams, conference championships are your midterms, and NCAAs are your finals. Sure, you might do alright if you go to 30 winter training sessions, but imagine how much more you could have achieved if you’d gone to all 50. Make a schedule and stick to it. The benefit of winter training, especially on your own, is that the times are usually way less strict than they are during the fall and spring. Your coach might give you the workouts and say “do this on Monday, this on Tuesday, etc.” but on your own time. If you don’t want to wake up at 5:30am to go to the gym during the winter, then don’t. Doing so doesn’t mean you’re more committed just like not doing so doesn’t mean you’re less committed. Find a time that works for you and stick to it. That’s all that really matters.

You’re a rower, which means we can assume a lot of things about you. One is that you’re a team player. You’re someone’s teammate. Rowing is not an individual’s sport – you simply cannot be an individual and be a part of a crew. Even if you’re a sculler in a single, it can’t be done. Why? Because your team has goals. Your team wants to win the overall points trophy. Your team wants to be the first three time defending champion at Junior Nationals. That can’t be accomplished if even one person thinks about “me” instead of “us”.

If motivation for yourself is ever lacking , take a second and think about your team. Think about how your performance is going to directly effect the eight other people in your boat and the 54 other people on your team. Don’t be that teammate that slacks off and thinks they can get away with it by “pulling hard”. There’s one on every team and it doesn’t take long to figure out who it is.

Before you go on Christmas break, sit down with your boat or your team and figure out what the preliminary goals are for the spring. Look at past results from regattas and determine where you’re capable of placing this year. Set team goals for weight lifting (a 1RM squat average of 200lbs for the boat), 2ks (everyone under 7:35), etc. Add these goals to your calendar so you see them along with your own goals. Work towards them with the same intensity as you are your own and know that everyone else in your boat is working towards those same goals. They’re just as tired and sore as you are right now, but in five months, would you want to share the podium with someone who isn’t tired and sore? No. You are not nine individuals, you are ONE eight. Remember that.

Winter training is a psychological battleground to see who’s willing to put the effort in on the days when they don’t want to. It’s a test of discipline and doing what you know needs to be done when you don’t want to do it. You will make it through and you will be a stronger person when you make it to the other side. Keep your chin up – you got this.

Image via // @cuse_mrowing
How to Steer an Eight or Four

Coxing How To Novice

How to Steer an Eight or Four

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Steering is a crucial skill that coxswains need to master quickly. How you steer a race can mean the difference between winning and losing and it’s something that rowers think about when determining who they trust as their coxswain. Rowers don’t want to put all that effort into a 2k only to end up 3rd because their coxswain was drunk steering or playing ping pong with the buoy lines down the course.

Steering is by far the toughest technical aspect of coxing – a 53′ long fiberglass shell is no easy piece of equipment to maneuver, especially when you first start out, but the coaches and rowers are relying on you to steer the boat safely down the river. Steering is, above anything else, a safety issue. If you’re not paying attention or over steering or whatever, there is the potential for you to hit something or someone, causing injury to the boat, the crew, or someone else on the water.

The problem with being thrown into the coxswain’s seat as a novice is that coaches give you two pieces of advice before sending you on your way – “don’t hit anything and steer straight”. The thing they forget to do is tell you how to steer straight. Below are some basic pieces of advice that will hopefully help you decode the steering process and improve your own steering abilities. It’s a simple and complex process all in one but if you’re diligent about practicing, you’ll pick if up in no time.

Pick a point and steer towards it. Make SMALL adjustments when necessary to stay on that point. Every so often during practice (NEVER during a race) look behind you and see the path you’ve taken – you should be able to see it in the water. If for the most part it’s pretty straight, good job. If it looks like the kind of zig zag you’d see on an 80s t-shirt, lay off the strings a little.

When the rudder isn’t straight it can throw off the set, which distracts the rowers and takes their focus away from what they’re supposed to be doing. Don’t make them work any harder than they already have to. Turning the rudder also adds a bit of drag to the boat and will slow it down (something to be aware of if you need to make adjustments during races).

Keep your body centered in the seat, try not to shift from side to side. This can throw off both the set of the boat and your point, since you’re adding more weight to one side. Lean when necessary but keep such movements to a minimum. If you’re moving around a lot AND telling the rowers to adjust the set, they’re never going to know if it was their handle heights that fixed the boat or you re-centering your weight. If you’re trying to see around the rowers, sit up on the back of the coxswain’s seat for a stroke or two. This keeps you fairly centered in the boat and causes minimal movement from side to side. Never, EVER do this during a race – only during practice.

There’s a delay between when you adjust the rudder and when the boat actually turns. Depending on how fast you’re going it could be half a stroke or two strokes. Don’t over adjust thinking that the boat isn’t turning…give it time. The time it takes for your boat to respond depends on many factors, including how old the boat is. The older it is, the longer it typically takes to respond. Pay attention when you get in a new boat to how long it takes so you know ahead of time how long it takes for your boat to start turning.

When you make any steering adjustments is really up to you and what you find works best. The most common rule of thumb is that you should steer when the blades are in the water since that is when the boat is most stable and is less likely to be thrown off balance by the rudder movements. For me, I’ve found that I get a better (and smoother) response from the rudder if I steer when the rowers are on the recovery. This might differ depending on your shell, the rowers, etc. but you should find what works and is most effective for you and then stick with it. When you’re on the rudder make sure you tell the rowers since it can/will mess with the set a bit, particularly if you’re going around a long turn. All you need to say is “I’m on the rudder” and what they need to do to compensate to balance the set (lift/lower the hands). On small adjustments though this is unnecessary since one tap of the rudder is unlikely to throw the shell that far off balance.

To turn left (port), push your left hand forward. To turn right (starboard), push your right hand forward. Once you’ve made your adjustment, bring your hands back to their original position. The best way to know when your rudder is straight is to get some brightly colored electrical or duct tape and mark the center of the string (above your cox box). Do this when the boat is on land that you can move the rudder to it’s straight position before marking the string.

If you’re using the rowers to turn or point you, make sure you only use as many rowers/as much pressure as necessary. If you use more of either, you’re going to be pointed in the opposite direction that you want to go. Specify exactly who you want to row and how much pressure (ie “bow and 3, take three 3/4 pressure strokes”). Know when to have them stop rowing too. If you have them row until you’re perfectly straight, you’re going to end up over-adjusted. Row until you’re about 90% pointed and then use the rudder to adjust the last 10%. If it’s windy or there’s a strong current, you’ll need to adjust for that too.

When sitting easy in the water, use bow and 2 to get your point. For large adjustments have them take a full 1/2 pressure stroke and for small adjustments have them take an arms only stroke. (Remind them that half-pressure means half-pressure, not zero-pressure.)

Anticipate turns and bends in advance and make your adjustments as necessary. Don’t wait until the last minute – by then, it’s too late (think Titanic…). The pivot of the boat is usually somewhere around 3 seat, so the turn the boat takes might not be what you expect. Think about the trajectory of the boat ahead of time.

Always keep your hands on the strings. Never take them off unless you’re sitting easy and not moving. If there isn’t some kind of tension on the balls while the boat is moving, the water current will move the rudder around, which will cause your steering to be all over the place.

I often find that when I have both hands on the strings, I over steer. To force myself to only steer as much as necessary, I only steer with one hand. 90% of the time it’s my right, since I’m right handed, but if I’m making a particularly large turn, I’ll switch to my left. I hate wearing the mic so I always hold it in my left hand (during practice only, never races), which means I only have one hand available to steer anyways. If your coach is OK with you doing this, try it during practice one day and see if it makes a difference. It has REALLY helped me combat my over-steering, which has always been my biggest issue.

For more tips on steering, check out the “steering” tag.

Image via // Hear the Boat Sing

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

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Hey I’m currently a sophomore & I’m interested in rowing in college. An older teammate suggested I make a beRecruited account. What are your thoughts on the website? Is it helpful? If so, what are your suggestions about keeping it updated? I feel weird writing about myself! Should I list any regatta my boat has placed in or just major races?

I do think it’s a great tool to help you get noticed by collegiate coaches but keep in mind that it’s just a tool – you’ve still gotta do the majority of the legwork. Most of the guys I’ve coached so far used it in some capacity while they were going through the recruiting process. I think if you put the time and effort into maintaining it, it can be pretty helpful. Once you get it set up I’d check it maybe once or twice a week and follow up with anyone that contacts you immediately. After each race, I’d also update it with your results. If you can get some video of your rowing, either individual video or video of your boat from a regatta, post that, because it’ll give coaches the opportunity to see you in action. (If you post video of your whole crew, make sure you specify what seat you’re in.)

Don’t feel weird either – this is your opportunity to brag about yourself, your team, your boat, etc. If your crew was the first to go to Nationals or you’ve won Head of the Charles twice in a row, that’s stuff you should be writing about. As far as what regattas to list, I would post any major regattas you’ve attended and where you placed overall. I’d also write down if your club won any overall team trophies or if they’ve won something BIG, like USRowing’s Club of the Year. That really makes an impression on coaches. The only races I wouldn’t put down are small/local races or ones that include just you and one or two other schools.

If I were a rower and was making one for myself, here’s what I’d include.

2k, 5k/6k PRs (overall time and splits)

If you’ve done watt tests, your watts PR is good to put down. (Not everyone does them so don’t worry if you haven’t done one.)

What side(s) you row and if you have sculling experience

Any notable personal accomplishments (dropped your 2k by 50 seconds since you started rowing, made the varsity 8+ as a freshman, etc.)

Who your coaches are (and their contact info)

Any camps/clinics you’ve attended

I don’t know if there’s an option to put all this down (I haven’t looked into the site that closely) but it’ll give you an idea of what might stand out to coaches.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

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I’m a guy who almost exclusively coxes women at the moment. However, I rowed for an entire year up to this October and I’m pretty naturally athletic. I still run and cycle pretty quickly. When we do land training, I feel like if I got on an erg and joined in I wouldn’t be helping as I’d be faster than most of them – and your cox being quicker than you would be pretty demoralizing. The only time I’ve joined in was when we did a 5k run and I agreed to be a backmarker and make sure nobody got left behind the pack by encouraging them to keep running and not give up. Do you think I’m right that it would be demoralizing for the girls if I joined in or do you think joining in would have a “leading from the front” aspect which would be beneficial for the squad?

I definitely agree that your cox being faster than you might not make you feel too good about your own abilities. I think you’re in a unique situation though where your rowers would understand the physiological differences between men and women that come into play here. You should make clear that you’re not trying to one up them, you’re simply trying to workout with the team. I’d make sure that you stick to that too … don’t take someone’s 5k time as a challenge and try and beat them. That’s not your job. I like what you said about being the person at the back of the pack … that’s what I would expect any coxswain to do when you go on a run. Unless there are two coxswains out running (where one can be at the front of the pack and one can be at the back), I think sticking to the back and making sure everyone makes it through is the best thing you can do.

I would talk with them and just explain that you’re trying to be a leader by participating in the workouts with them and then get their opinions. Do you think it bothers them when you work out with them? If you’ve gotten the impression that it’s not helping the crew, I’d talk to them and your coach to figure out an alternative way that you can be of use to them while they’re doing land training. If it turns out it’s not a big deal, I’d keep doing what you’re doing and work out with them. I would however, let your stroke seat or the team captains set the standards as far as how hard/fast/etc. the rowers should be pulling and you just fall in line with that, if that makes sense.