Year: 2013

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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I’ve just been dropped from my coach’s 1st boat after 18 months of loyalty & hard work. He did it by email (coward!) so I haven’t spoken to him yet. Is it OK not to want to? Would you expect your rowers to come to you & ask why? I was so angry at first, but I feel like I’ve found peace with it now & in that peace I’ve sort of concluded for various complex reasons that I don’t want the 8+ back, I’d rather move into smaller boats & try to move on that way. Do you think it’s OK to admit that to him?

Hmm. I think it’s OK to not want to talk to him but I still think you should, if only to get clarification and insight since he’s the one who made the final decision. Once you know and understand his reasoning then you can bring up the subject of maybe moving to smaller boats, provided your reasoning is legit and not just because you’re pissed you got taken out of the eight. As long as you aren’t rude, immature, bitter, etc. towards him or the other rowers, I think you’ll be fine. That’s where problems arise when people get taken out of boats, they develop bad attitudes that essentially start to poison the rest of the team, which obviously has a lot of negative consequences.

Be mature about it and say that you accept his decision but after 18 months you feel as though you deserve at least a little background information as to how he came to the decision to move you down. Ask what you can improve on and regardless of whether or not you agree with what he says, make an effort to work on those things. Just because you got dropped down now doesn’t mean you’re going to stay out of the first boat forever. Don’t burn that bridge just yet.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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I know you talked about coxswains trying to lose weight, but do you also feel strongly against coxswains trying to gain water weight before weigh in?

Yes. I fully get why coxswains take this approach but it’s just as big of a risk as trying to unhealthily lose weight. Although it’s rare that for something serious like this to happen, it’s not worth it … at least in my opinion … just to put on a few pounds. Drinking large quantities of water (1-2 gallons always tends to be the go-to amount for people) before weigh-ins (especially when done in a short period of time) puts an extreme amount of stress on your bladder (and kidneys too) because of the amount of excess urine it produces, which can lead to not-fun infections.

The more serious issue of overhydrating yourself though is hyponatremia, which is when your brain starts to malfunction due to an electrolyte imbalance. One of the electrolytes that can get messed up is your potassium, which gets depleted through sweating or urination if you drink too much water. Sodium is the other. This is, like I said earlier, rare but you can still experience side effects from drinking too much, even if you’re not going to that far of an extreme. It can give you a headache, make you act weird (not weird in a socially awkward, funny way – weird in a “this is not this person’s normal behavior/personality” kind of way), cause you to become uncoordinated, and/or become nauseous (or vomit), amongst other things.

Related: How does getting weighed in work during the spring season? I’m a coxswain for a collegiate men’s team where the weight minimum is 125. I’m naturally under 110, so what’s going to happen? Sand bags? Will it be a problem?

The year I raced at nationals I saw a coxswain get really sick like this and I found out from my coach later on that it was because she’d been drinking so much water, partially because it was pretty warm outside and partially because she was trying to gain a few pounds before her race. The EMTs ended up taking her to the hospital as a result because she was just so out of it. Even though you might not fully get to the point of damaging your organs, you’ll still at the least feel the symptoms of it. You don’t want to do anything that’s going to cause you to be anything less than 100% when it comes time for you to race. It’s just not a smart thing to do regardless of whether it’s done over a long period of time or a short one. I know that people are gonna do it regardless but it’s not something I personally endorse.

College Q&A

Question of the Day

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How does a cox/rower know when/if it’s time to quit crew? Especially as a collegiate walk on. I want to make it the four years, but…

I think I’ve talked about this before but if you find that you’re asking yourself that question – when/if it’s time – then that’s probably a good indication that you’re already leaning in that direction.

If you’re not enjoying it as much as you thought you would, it’s interfering with school, work, or other extra-curriculars (specifically, the clubs that relate to your major/minor), your grades are suffering and/or school is taking a backseat in general, the environment isn’t great (due to teammate, coach, or culture issues), if you’re easily frustrated by what you’re doing or find yourself dreading waking up for practice (on a daily basis), etc., those would all be valid reasons as to reconsider being a part of the team. They were all things that went into my decision so I know the feeling. Crew requires an immense amount of commitment and not just with your time. You’re basically throwing your entire self into this sport, mind, body, and soul. That’s not easy for some people to do, and that’s 100% okay, but asking yourself if you’re able to fully make that commitment is something you have to be able to say “yes” to without hesitation.

Related: How did you balance crew, classwork, and a social life while you were in college?

There’s a little bit more leeway for walk-ons, I think, simply because they’re new to the sport and weren’t recruited, but either way I’d talk with your coach if you’re having doubts and see if anything they say sways you one way or the other. Don’t let them pressure you into staying if you don’t want to though.

Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

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Do you possibly have three basic tips for someone who might have to start steering a coxless quad? Much love for the blog as well!!

My three basic tips might be the only tips I have for steering straight boats since they’re obviously something I don’t have much experience with, so if anyone else has any other (more helpful) pieces of advice, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Look over your shoulder every 3-4 strokes, give or take, depending on how well you know the river (switching shoulders each time). Only look when you’re at the finish too, since that’s usually when the boat is the most stable and won’t be upset as much by you turning your head.

Pick a point far in the distance, something right over the head or off the ear of the person in 2-seat, and focus on staying in line with that.

Several small adjustments tend to be better than larger ones because the larger ones are usually made at the last minute and result in you having to make additional (more frantic) corrections later.

If you can, when the boat is in the slings, play around with the rudder and see how much movement it takes from your foot to move the rudder various amounts, that way you have a good idea when you’re on the water how “hard” you need to steer to make a small adjustment vs. a large adjustment. When you first get in the boat do the same thing and feel what it’s turning your foot while you’re sitting there. If there’s enough room and not a lot of traffic on the water, ask your coach if you can play around with the steering while you’re warming up so you can feel what it’s like steering (aka moving your foot) while you’re rowing. From what I’ve heard it messes with how you connect with the foot stretchers (scullers, feel free to confirm or deny this) since you’re kind of twisting your leg a little.

College Q&A

Question of the Day

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How bad would it be for a collegiate rower to take a few days off in the middle of the season for bad grades?? How do you go about asking your coach without head being ripped off / guilt tripped/ “not rowing’s fault”?

I don’t think it would be bad, per se, to take a few days off to get things under control, meet with your advisers and professors, take care of what needs to be done, etc. (as long as you actually do those things and don’t just sit around catching up on Netflix or whatever). Will your coach(es) and teammates be disappointed that you’re not there? Maybe, because it might affect the week’s lineups and practice plans. A huge aspect of demonstrating your commitment to your team is being able to manage your course load effectively so that it doesn’t end up negatively impacting you or your teammates. Spring season is essentially what you spend the whole year training for, which is one of the reasons why that school-crew balance is so important.

School comes first though and your coach should already know that. If they try and guilt trip you, that’s not really an indication (to me, at least) that they’re doing their job correctly. It might not be rowing’s “fault” but that’s not to say that it didn’t play a part. I would approach the subject with them (as soon as possible), explain your situation (in it’s entirety, leave nothing out), lay out a timeline for when you’ll be out and when you’ll be back, and be willing to offer and make some voluntary concessions. That might mean doing workouts on your own to make up for what you missed or giving up your seat to someone else/forfeiting a seat race but the more willing you are to work with your coach, (hopefully) the more willing they’ll be to work with you. Ultimately, communication is key.

Go to your professors’ office hours too and see if you can work out something with them. They might be willing to give you an extension on a paper or work out some kind of extra credit opportunity to help you out. Not all of them are that friendly, understanding, or courteous so don’t expect any favors or special treatment going in. Most teachers though don’t want to see you fail and will usually try to do something to help you. If you can do that before you talk with your coach, that might make things a little easier for you because it shows that you’re actually making a real effort to get things under control.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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A new USRowing rule for sprint starts does not recognize hands at the starting line; they simply wait for alignment and then call the start. At my race today, the marshals called the start before coxswains got their points, which led to us steering into each other’s lanes for about the first twenty strokes fairly severely. How do you let the marshals know whether or not you’re ready without the hand up if they rush the start like they did today?

What’s supposed to happen, from what I understand, is that as people are getting locked on to the stake boats and being aligned by the officials on the side, you’re supposed to be getting your point at the same time, which is how it normally is. Previously they would wait until all hands were down until they would start the countdown or just say “attention, go” but they eliminated that (understandably, too) because coxswains were taking way too long to get their points, which was causing events to run behind schedule, which eventually led to the entire regatta being behind schedule. It’s a huge hassle and it sucks that the change had to be made but all in all I think it’s a good thing because it forces coxswains to really be on top of their game.

You can still have your hand up while you’re being aligned and everything so they can tell that you’re getting your point but as soon as the crews are aligned and they start the countdown, you’re on your own. Nobody is going to wait. It’s not so much them rushing the start though as it is them just following the new rules – although admittedly, to all the coxswains it’s going to feel rushed, especially if you aren’t ready. You’ve got to use the time beforehand wisely and know exactly what needs to be done to get you straight. Typically the announcers will say “2 minutes to start”, “1 minute to start”, etc. so you know how much time you have (at least, that’s what they did at my races). That’s a good question to ask at the coxswain’s meeting too, if they alert you to how much time there is before the start. It’s always good to practice getting your point during practice (in varying weather conditions) so you know exactly what needs to be done and how long it should take you to get your point if the wind is calm vs. when there’s a strong crosswind, etc. That’ll help you be more prepared for situations like this on race day.

If you have a problem with other coxswains steering into your lane and it somehow inhibits your race, that’s something you can protest afterwards, but in this situation I’m not sure what they would do if multiple coxswains are steering into each other’s lanes due to not being ready for the start. It’s a tricky situation. My suggestion is to get locked on to the stake boats as quickly as possible so that you have plenty of time to get your point. If it’s windy, remember to overcorrect so that when you start you’ll be blown straight. There’s nothing wrong with a little steering at the beginning of the race but that’s really the only place you want to have to do it. Also make sure that your rowers are paying attention and do what you ask them to do immediately. That’s one of the things that always heightens my nerves is when I ask someone to row and they don’t immediately respond.

The last resort is to just not leave the starting line. If you are so far off course that you know you’re going to steer into another crew’s lane then just don’t go when the officials say “go”. They’ll tell you this at the coxswain’s meeting to. They’ll stop the race, bring everyone back to the start, you’ll probably get a warning, and then they’ll re-start you. The biggest thing to remember is to not let it have any lasting effect on your race. Just stay calm, readjust, straighten out, and get on with the race.

Coxing Novice Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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I’m a novice walk-on coxswain and I’m coxing a boat largely made up of walk-ons as well. We’re a pretty decent boat, but they have a tendency to just fall apart whenever they start hitting higher stroke rates. Races make them nervous and before we know it we’re rushing up those slides, our technique’s falling apart, and we’re hitting sprint rates at the 1000m mark. Being right next to other boats in particular freaks us out, especially when they’re making a move. Is there any way I can calm them down other than the obvious, “bodies calm, slow on the recovery,” calls? I’m having a hard time balancing the need to calm them down and keeping the intensity of a race piece. Thanks!

This is more of an issue you have to work on during practice over a period of time vs. being something you can fix with a few good calls on race day. They have to recognize that rowing at an unsustainable pace isn’t getting them anywhere and it’s not going to get them anywhere. I’ve said this before but rowing in a race is like driving. You’ve got to be aware of what the other cars are doing but in general not pay them any attention. I don’t know how they expect to have a good race if being by other boats freaks them out.

Why it freaks you out is the bigger question. Until you figure out the answer to that question, nothing else will do you much good. I know that sounds super shrink-like but whatever you do to fix the problem isn’t going to make much of a difference if you don’t know what the actual problem actually is. My first suggestion would be to sit down with them and figure that out. If their answer involves them saying “I don’t know” or anything about thinking they’re going to lose because people are beside them, feel free to smack them on the head and tell them to suck it up and get their shit together.

Call wise, telling them where they are in the race and what they need to do to maintain their position, make a move, or walk away is always helpful. Sometimes rowers get frantic like that because their coxswain isn’t telling them what’s happening so they assuming the race is going to hell and then they start freaking out and then the race really does go to hell. Keep them updated on their progress. Also tell them to FOCUS from the very beginning. As soon as you get locked on at the start, tell them to forget about everything else other than the other eight people in the boat and the oar in their hand. Deep breaths, focus on the goal of the race (whatever it is – winning alone is not a goal).

Talk to them about their technique – swinging together out of bow, moving eight as one, no weight on the legs on the recovery, smooth, controlled, and composed on the slides, rotating towards the riggers, getting that length, unweighting the hands, strong, sharp catches, jump on the first inch, drive the legs down, power through the water, layback, still maintaining the strong core and straight back, chin up, eyes forward, loose upper body, get the handle all the way in, clean finishes, tap down with the outside hand, aggressive with the feathering (you want to hear the oarlocks – one sound), smooth, quick hands away, sitting up tall at bodies over, patience on the slide, maintain the handle heights, building excitement to the catch, catching sharp, driving determined through the water.

The more you work on this during practice, the better you’ll be on race day. It can’t all happen during the race. Talk to them and figure out what’s up. From there, start working with your stroke on maintaining a good rate and not letting the bow 7 push him/her up the slide. Get the overall technique and slide control down, then start pushing them. When you know they’ve got it, demand more. Push them to push themselves. During the race, you’re not their friend, therapist, etc. – you’re their coxswain. The intensity has to be there 100% of the time, regardless of what is happening around you. If you’re confident, they will be too. Talk like you believe every single word that’s coming out of your mouth and they’ll believe you too.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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What would you do if one of your rowers caught a crab during a sprint race?

If they caught a small-medium crab that was easily recoverable from, I wouldn’t do anything. Maybe a quick “get back into it, good recovery” but that’s it. If it was a large crab that caused the handle to go over their head and threw off my point, I’d stop, let them recover, then re-start as quickly as possible. I’d also remind the rower(s) to shake it off, refocus, and get us back in the race.

If it were an ejector crab, I’d do whatever we were told to do in the coxswain meeting. Sometimes you’re required to stop, other times you’re supposed to keep going and let the launches following the race pick up the rower. It depends but it’s something you should know.

Related: So I was watching ejector crab videos for a fun and I was wondering if someone falls out of the boat during a race should I stop or just keep going and leave them behind? I’m a novice coxswain. Thanks!

What I would not do, however, is freak out, lose my composure, and forget about the other seven people in the boat … or the fact that we’re racing. You’ve gotta be ready for anything because it’s your job to instruct the crew on what to do and how to recover. If you don’t have control over the situation and all the rowers are yelling and doing their own thing, it’s gonna make it that much tougher to get back into it.

Sometimes when we were doing 4x1k pieces, our coach would tell a rower on land (unbeknownst to the rest of us) that he wanted them to catch a crab sometime during the 3rd piece. We never knew it was coming and it was good practice for us because it was different every time – sometimes it was an easy recovery, other times the rower would really commit to it and catch an overhead crab that would not only force us to stop but also give me the added challenged of correcting my point while trying to manage everything else. I can’t recall if anyone ever caught a crab during a race but if they had, I definitely think we would have been prepared for it.

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 7

College Coxing High School Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 7

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Oxford vs. Cambridge 2011 Boat Race

https://soundcloud.com/kpcc/olympic-sounds-boat-race-coxes

This is a short clip of Sam Winter-Levy (Oxford) and Liz Box (Cambridge) from the 2011 Boat Race. The thing to listen to is their tone and how they’re communicating their calls to each of their crews. One spot in particular is right at the beginning when there’s a clash of blades – nothing changes with her tone, she doesn’t fall apart, she just communicates what’s happening and moves through it without any loss of focus.

Abingdon vs. Belmont Hill 2009 Henley Royal Regatta princess elizabeth cup Quarter-final

At the start, good job telling the crew what’s happening as far as when your hand is up, when it’s down, that your timer is ready, etc. I feel like this helps keep the crew focused and prevents any surprises (like, “oh shit, we’re starting now!”). Maybe – maybe – overdid it by telling them about Belmont’s coxswain but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal considering there’s only one other crew there. Personally I probably would have just focused on what I was doing and only said “both coxswains’ hands are down” when I saw that we were both ready but it’s really not that big of a deal. I don’t think any crew has ever complained about their coxswain giving them too much information.

Right when the marshal says “attention”, you can see Belmont bury their blades just a tad. Look at their blades at 0:43 compared to 0:45. This is a good habit to get into practicing with your crew just so you can be positive that the blades are fully buried at the start and you’re able to get as much water on the face of the blade as possible. It also drastically reduces the likelihood that you’ll wash out on the first stroke.

The intensity in his voice off the line is solid. Take note guys, this is how a good start is called. The intonation at 0:57 when he’s saying “one, send, two, send…” is spot on. The catches are called with a sharp bite to them while the recoveries are a bit drawn out, just enough to remind the rowers to keep the slides long. Similarly, notice at 1:13 that coinciding with the shift in pace is a shift in his tone of voice? The intensity is subtle but it’s there even though the volume isn’t as high as it was a few strokes ago. Don’t get so caught up in coxing that you forget to talk to your crew.

At 3:33 he makes a call for a “…concerted effort for one minute…” If you remember Pete Cipollone’s HOCR recording, this is exactly like what he says when he calls for that one minute commitment through the Powerhouse Stretch. I think this is a great call – you should never be afraid to ask for, or at times demand, a commitment like this from your teammates. This is a strategic call though and not something you should just randomly call out for because you think it makes you sound like you know what you’re doing (novices). You’re essentially asking them for a power 10 except over the course of 60 seconds – it’s not always an easy thing to do which is why this should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Later when he says “level, now walk“, that’s where you finish the job that you started with the one minute commitment. If that was where you started to break them, this is where you finish it. Once you’re level, you don’t give up a single inch to that other crew. Commit and go.

I love the call he makes at 4:04 – “they went too hard, fucking punish them…” I obviously respect the crews I’m racing against because when it comes down to it we’re all doing the same thing but you can bet when we’re racing that I’m sure as hell not going to feel bad for them. If they make a mistake and I see it, I’m gonna nail them on it and do my absolute best to make sure it haunts them long after the race has ended. Watching the other crew(s) in addition to your own can be tough but it gives you the advantage of seeing when someone else messes up, which then gives you the opportunity to say “punish them” and really mean it.

Another thing to pay attention to is when he’s telling his crew where the other crew is. Abingdon is down for the majority of the race but I doubt any of the rowers ever felt defeated by him saying where Belmont was on them. Several times he’d say “they’re up half a length” or whatever the margin was but I don’t recall him ever saying that his crew was down. Other times he’d just say “half a length” without saying “up” or “down” at all. There’s a subtle bit of psychology there that I think is important to think about. If you hear that someone else is up it’s like, “ok, time to do some work to close the gap” but if you hear that you’re down it’s like “ugh, dammit, how are we gonna get out of this”. Think about the words that you’re using (another reason why recording yourself and planning ahead is important) and see if there are any subtle changes you could make that might affect your crew differently.

The last thing is at 4:45 when he calls for the “magna shuffle”. You can hear him at 4:46 call for the bow pair to get in quick and for the middle four to “lift”. Calling for the bow pair to go in quick isn’t necessarily saying “go in before everyone else”, it’s more so about being so spot on with the timing while erring towards being just the tiniest bit early (less than a nanosecond-tiny) in order to get the bow out of the water right at the catch. Lifting the bow like this makes it easier to accelerate the boat, which is what he’s asking for when he calls for the middle four to “lift”.

Another thing that helps “lift” the boat is making sure everyone is sitting up tall and is light on the seats. Lightness is key. Generally when the boat looks or feels heavy it’s because the bow isn’t coming out of the water at the catch (for whatever reason), which results in the rowers feeling like the load is heavier. Think of the bow being lifted up like you walking on your tiptoes through molasses. The lighter you are and the less you’re touching the molasses the easier it’ll be for you to traverse it, whereas if you were walking normally with your feet completely flat on the ground it’d be very difficult for you to move because there’s more surface area for the molasses to attach itself to which in turn increases the load you’re working against in order to move. Watch this video of the USA men’s 8+ and pay attention to the bow of the boat. Look at the difference between when they’re paddling and when they’re on. See how at the catch there’s just a little bit of daylight under the bow of the boat? That’s what I’m getting at.

Other calls I liked:

“Swing the waists into the headwind…” Good job reading the wind here and telling the crew how to react to it.

“Loose, long in the wind…”

“Now we’ve broken them, go, go, go…”

“On bowman, finish the fight…”

“I’m coming for you Belmont!”

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