Month: January 2013

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

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As a novice rower, I’m just wondering: are coxswains supposed to talk at you all the time [erg or boat] or leave you to get in your own zone?

In the boat, it depends on what you’re doing. If you’re doing drills, most of the time talking consistently is required in order to execute the drill properly. Whether or not you talk outside of executing the drill (i.e. giving them feedback/reminders – normal coxing stuff) depends on whether you’re with your coach or not. If I’m with a boat on my own then I’ll cox them normally while executing the drill but if our coach is with us and he’s actively coaching the rowers then I’ll only talk when it involves executing the drill and save any other comments for later. During long steady state pieces, you can interject some periods of silence to let the rowers focus on their rowing.

Related: Today during practice we just did 20 minute pieces of steady state rowing. My crew gets bored very quickly and their stroke rating goes down, so I decided to add in various 13 stroke cycles throughout the piece, but I regret doing it because it wasn’t steady state. I’m just confused as to how to get them engaged throughout without sounding like a cheerleader but at the same time keeping up the drive and stroke.

During races and other hard pieces, in my opinion, coxswains should always be talking just because there’s so much information that you should/need to communicate to the crew.

Related: Interesting question: How often do you think a cox should talk during a race? I feel really awkward and useless if I stop talking for more than a few seconds, and when I rowed our cox would talk almost constantly during races. However, at a regatta briefing the other day the OU Captain of Coxes implied that coxes should only be talking every few strokes. I guess it depends on the standard and nature of the crew, but what do you think?

 On the erg it’s a little bit different. I frequently tell coxswains that for a 2k or other erg test they need to ask the rowers before the test begins if they want to be coxed or not. Rowers often go into bubbles during the test and having someone coxing them can throw them off their focus. If you don’t want your coxswain talking to you when you’re on the erg, that’s fine, as long as you let them know ahead of time.

Coxing Q&A

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I was reading on a rowing forum a commenter said that good coxswains are born not made. They can be guided to be successful but not much more than that. Is there any truth to it?

This is definitely a matter of opinion but I personally think that’s a true statement. Some may argue that the phrase “leaders are born, not made” is false but in the majority of my experiences in playing sports (bordering on 20 years) and working with other people I’ve never found it to be so.

With coxswains, as with any leader, there are certain personality traits that you inherently have to have in order to be successful and not having those traits puts you at a real disadvantage. Most coxswains are, by nature, strong leaders, organized, calm in the line of fire, a little pedantic, stubborn, cocky (in a good way), strong-willed, assertive, outgoing, extroverted, confident, persistent, creative, proactive, competitive, goal-oriented, adaptable, conscientious, observant, meticulous … I could go on and on. Those traits aren’t something you can be taught. I think you can pick them up over time but I can’t teach you how to be any of those things. If someone already possesses them, they can be nurtured and built but they can’t be taught or explained to someone who doesn’t already get it. There’s a mindset that comes with being an athlete and there’s no way you can possibly understand that mindset unless you are one – it’s the same way with coxing. Based off of what I know about myself and nearly every good coxswain I’ve ever met, we were all born to cox. Passion for the sport aside, it’s what makes sense based on who we are as people.

Like I said, it’s all a matter of opinion. There are always going to be anomalies but like I said, a lot of the traits that make coxswains can be nurtured but it’s hard to teach them to someone who’s passive, shy, quiet, etc.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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This is probably a weird issue but I’m a coxswain and a few outings ago I accidentally spit on my stroke seat during a piece. The stroke screamed and demanded to be removed from the boat because she didn’t want to be in a boat with such a gross coxswain. This is the only time it’s ever happened to me but now the rowers are purposefully rowing poorly when they are in my boat and when out coach asked for input about coxswain placement for the next race, they trashed me and I was moved down a boat.

I’m assuming that this wasn’t on purpose and was just a result of you getting into the piece. Yea, that’s pretty gross and I definitely would have been like “…ew, seriously??” if I was your stroke but she and the other rowers took it way too far. If you’re feeling particularly passive-aggressive I would refuse to take their times down after their next erg test because rowers are disgusting and sweaty and covered in snot, vomit, and god knows what other bodily fluids after an erg test and nobody wants to be near such gross shit after an erg piece.

The solution to this problem is to talk to your coach and explain that it was an accident. Ask yourself though if you really want to cox a boat where the rowers evaluate their coxswain on something stupid like this instead of your actual abilities. I sure as hell wouldn’t. I’d tell them to go fuck themselves and stick with the boat you were moved down to. If your coach knew that that was why your evaluations were so poor, I’m sure he’d have something to say about it to your stroke and those rowers.

Rowers, if you treat your coxswains like this or see someone treating a coxswain on your team like this and say nothing about it, I have no respect for you. None.

I did something similar in one of my boats in high school and my stroke just busted out laughing and said “now you know how we feel!”. I had a cold at the time when we were doing a really intense race piece and I sneezed but tried to hold it in so it wouldn’t interrupt my coxing. That resulted in me choking which led to me coughing up a lot of nasty crap in my throat, which then led to said nasty stuff flying towards my cox box and my stroke’s feet. It was disgusting and I was like … omg … did that just happen … but my stroke was cool about it and laughed it off (although she wouldn’t let me live it down for at least a year after that).

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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How are coxswain evaluations conducted?

What is asked and how they’re conducted will vary by team, but in general, they’re usually a survey (either paper or online) that your coach gives the rowers to complete. Some coaches have both practice and race-day evaluations but most stick to just general coxing skills without going into specifics.

Common questions that rowers are asked to provide feedback on include:

Something the coxswain does well and should keep doing

Something you don’t like that they do and think they should change or stop doing

Something new or different that they should incorporate

Who is the most/least motivating coxswain and why (or why you find/don’t find your coxswain motivating, if you’re not given the option to choose)

Who is the most/least confident and why (or why you find you find/don’t find your coxswain to be confident)

Skills regarding coaching on technique, how good the feedback is that they give you, etc.

One call you like and one you don’t like, and why

How’s their steering

What level of respect do you have for them, on a scale of 1-10 (or whatever) and why is it at that level

How efficient they are at giving directions – are they clear, concise, understandable, etc.

Do you think safety is a priority and why

Overall contribution to the boat – good, bad, etc.

Are they prepared or running around like a chicken with their head cut off

Do they work well with the coaches, other coxswains, and rowers

Sometimes the evaluations require written explanations from the rowers and some just ask for a number on a scale of 1-10. I think the more feedback you can get the better, so written responses are preferable. I’d like to say that the evaluations are free from popularity contests and personal like/dislike for the individual but that’s not always the case. Evaluating someone on whether or not you like them as a person instead of evaluating their overall skills is pretty immature in my opinion and is something that I feel the need to stress to everyone who reads this – don’t.

Check out the “coxswain evaluation” tag too, there will likely be a lot of information in there going forward on how to do them, what to include, etc.

College Coxing Novice Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

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Our novice team has been shrinking by the weeks! There’s only 7 of us left. All but one rower and me are bent on quitting before trying to make varsity. One of the rowers who has high school experience was saying that our coaches don’t really know how to properly prep the varsity team for spring even though we’re a D1 team. 2x6k test today sounds more like a fall test strategy to me, but being a novice cox I’m not about to diss our coaches, you know? Help?

Has your coach not noticed or said anything about the drastic drop in numbers? What have been the other rower’s reasons for quitting? Why do the girls still on the team want to quit? If you know that your goal is to try and make varsity, don’t let the decisions of the other girls, no matter how legitimate they are, affect your decision. It sucks that your team is dwindling like it is but there’s really nothing you can do about it.

I wouldn’t say a 2x6k is entirely abnormal for winter training. If they’re still having you do 2x6ks after spring break, yea, that might be a little out of the norm. As far as not knowing how to prep the team for the spring, as a D1 team that sounds … odd. Has your coach been with your team for very long or is he/she new to coaching? I feel like winter training is pretty straightforward so there shouldn’t be any confusion surrounding how to go about setting up a training program. I get what you mean about not wanting to question them, but there are ways of going about it without sounding like your interrogating them. You could just ask out of curiosity, since you are a novice, and inquire as to what the benefits of long steady state pieces like this are and how they prep you for spring. Assuming your coach didn’t just pull a 2x6k out of his ass, he’ll be able to give you his reasoning. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with questioning your coaches as long as you’re respectful and conversational about it.

Like I said, if you’re intent on coxing the varsity, stick to your guns unless you have a good reason not too. Everyone else quitting isn’t a good reason … although I would offer up the argument that it is a reason, assuming they all had a legitimate team or coach-related reason for quitting. I would see if you could sit down and talk with your coaches or even with some of the varsity coxswains and get an idea of what the spring season is going to look like and what role you will play in it. Getting a grasp on the bigger picture can sometimes help make sense of how things are now. As far as everyone else that’s quit … it does suck, but you have to let it go and focus on the people who are still on the team.

The “Three S’s of Coxing”

Coxing Novice

The “Three S’s of Coxing”

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I was lucky enough to hear Mike Teti speak at a coxswain clinic I attended when I was in high school and one of the things he spoke about were “the three S’s”. The three S’s are what a coxswain should consider to be their highest priorities. For novice coxswains, consider this an introduction; for experienced coxswains, consider this a reminder.

SAFETY

Safety is always and forever your absolute number one priority. Why? Because you’re in charge of a $20,000-$40,000 boat and eight other lives. If something happens on the water, it is your responsibility to do what is best for your crew. I tend to compare being a coxswain to sitting in the exit row on an airplane. You have to understand how the boat works, how to operate it, be able to follow the instructions given by your coach, and assess, select, and follow the safest travel route(s), amongst many other things. Remember, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

STEERING

Steering is an imperative skill that all coxswains must become proficient with as quickly as possible. It’s not something to joke about and spend four months trying to figure out. Yes, it’s tricky learning to navigate a 53 foot long shell along waterways with a steering system that consists of two strings and a credit-card sized rudder but again, it goes back to safety. Zigzagging across the river and not following the traffic patterns can have disastrous outcomes for both your crew and anyone else on the water. The rowers are not there to steer the boat for you – it is your responsibility to figure it out.

SPEECH

I think if most coaches (and experienced coxswains) had their way, novices would be seen and not heard. Unfortunately, coxswains must be heard if they are to do the job that is required of them and to additionally ensure the safety of their crew. HOWEVER, I do believe that novice coxswains should be silent until they’re comfortable with steering the boat and have a firm grasp on their duties. Essentially, you must prove to me that you can handle everything that is being asked of you. Instincts are key as a coxswain and once safety and steering become second-nature, then you can talk. Another important part of “speech” is learning and knowing what to say. If what you’re saying isn’t constructive to the crew, you shouldn’t be saying it.

Being a coxswain is an amazing position to hold, but it is not one without responsibilities. Although these are just three of them, like I said before, they should be considered your top priorities. Mastery of these skills through practice, listening to your coach, and learning from your fellow coxswains will put you on the path to becoming your crew’s biggest asset.

Related: What do coaches look for in a coxswain?

For more on each of the three S’s check out the “safety“, “steering“, and “communication” tags.

Image via // @merijnsoeters

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Hi there, I love your blog! Some of my rowers were talking about coxing personalities. They said I am the happiest person on the team and I’m the “positive cox” while the other cox is the “kick your ass” kind of cox. We’re both competing for the same varsity spot in the spring. I don’t know if this is a weird question but do their comments mean anything? When I heard that, I got a bit deflated thinking that they take her more seriously as a cox. Am I being too self conscious? Thanks for the help.

Just like rower’s earn their nicknames (threetard), so do the coxswains. I wouldn’t read too much into what they said, especially since it obviously wasn’t coming from a mean place. I definitely don’t think it’s a bad thing that they consider you the happiest person on the team – you’ve basically shown them that regardless of the situation, you’ll always be the coxswain that has on smile on her face, which can be a really good thing for them when they have a shitty workout ahead of them and need to find some way to get pumped for it.

I would talk to them and ask them why they consider the other coxswain the “kick your ass” kind. Is she aggressive (in a good way) with them on the water? How does she push them? Does her “kick your ass” style actually kick your ass? What about it works for them? I think that’s all valuable information to have because it gives you more insight into what you’re rowers are looking for in a coxswain, which is something that can in turn help you get in the varsity boat this spring. Keep your bubbly personality but also try and take on a little bit of the edge that the “kick your ass” girl has. The combination is good, especially when you can flip the switch and know when you need to be in “normal mode” and “ass kicking mode”.

You have no reason to be self-conscious. Observe this coxswain and see if you can pick out what she does that has given her that nickname. Try and emulate that a little, in your own style. Don’t be deflated or any less enthusiastic. Each coxswain has their thing that stands out to the rowers. It doesn’t mean they take you any less seriously unless you’ve given them a reason to, which it doesn’t sound like you have.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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Hi! I love your blog, it’s really helpful! I’m a novice coxswain and our team integrates varsity and novices for the spring. Combined, there are 2 varsity coxes and 3 novices including me. We’re all competing to make one of the 3 cox spots for the spring travel team. Being on the west coast, we’re able to be out on the water once a week during winter. The problem is, I’m the least experienced cox. I’ve coxed for total 2 1/2 weeks before our last head race in the fall. Do you have any advice?

As a coach, right off the bat there are three things that I observe with coxswains: how you interact with your teammates, how interested/focused are you on learning (everything there is to learn) and what efforts are you making to practice what you’ve learned, and what kind of leader you are. One thing you do NOT want to do is to get in an obvious competition with the other coxswains to the point where there’s just an abundance of negative energy in the atmosphere. Competitiveness for a spot is fine to an extent – I touched on that briefly in the post linked below.

Related: 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?

Focus on improving yourself and not what the other coxswains are doing. Take inventory of the two and a half weeks you’ve spent as a coxswain so far. What are the most GLARINGLY obvious things that you need to work on? (You should have plenty of stuff to choose from.) Was there anything you picked up quickly? How assertive were you with your crew and teammates? Would you consider yourself a leader? How can you continue to improve your leadership skills? In observing the varsity coxswains, what did you notice about how they did things?

Give yourself goals of things to work on so that you’re not just showing up every day and going through the motions. Be enthusiastic about being there and make sure everyone else is excited as well. They don’t have to like what they’ll be doing that day but they need to come at it with a certain level of “pep” if they want to do well. If the coach asks “who wants to run circuits”, volunteer. If he says “who wants to take down erg times”, volunteer. Don’t be that coxswain that slinks to the back and never steps up. Get to know everyone on your team, even the people you know and don’t like. Your role on the team is to be objective, so personal relationships don’t matter when you’re in the boat.

Related: Hey there! Basically, my team lost all of their coxswains for the fall season, so I got bamboozled into coxing the Varsity A boat at the Charles with only 2.5 weeks of experience. So now winter training is in full swing and the novice team found a coxswain who coxed all four years of high school. The varsity guys are thinking about “stealing” her as their coxswain instead. On one hand, I want the boys in my boat to win and if they could do better with her as their coxswain then I want what’s best for them. But on the other, I don’t want to lose them! I feel like I’ve improved so much over just one season and I’ve been doing tons and tons of research these past few months off the water to prepare for the spring. I don’t know what I can do to keep my spot at their coxswain. What are your thoughts?

Also spend time learning about technique, what calls to make, steering, etc. When you’re taking the boat out, take your time, especially if you haven’t had much actual experience with the boat (more on that below) – better safe than sorry. Talk with your coach beforehand and see what the plan is for when you’re on the water. If you’re not comfortable yet with steering, spend a practice or two figuring it out and getting comfortable navigating around your waterway before you start trying to talk to the rowers. Learn the calls you’ll make with your crew, what the warm ups are, how to transition, etc.

Related: How to cox a boat in and out of the boathouse

Basically, make an effort to show that you are just as committed as the other people on the team. Don’t skip practice or assume that your presence isn’t necessary. The respect you gain from your rowers is like currency … the more you have, the better off you are.  It doesn’t mean you should work any less hard but it does put you in a much better overall position.

Ergs Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Do you have any advice on tackling a verrrrry long steady state erg piece without music?

Focus and concentration. Take each stroke one at a time and focus on making each one a little better than the last one. Try not to pay too much attention to the overall meters – when you’re tired and sore, the number of meters you have left just looks like a black hole. If you can, just put the screen up so you don’t have to look at it for awhile. Otherwise, break the piece down in chunks and give yourself a “technical focus” for each 500m or 1000m. For example, the first set’s focus is connection with the feet, second set’s is sitting up tall on the recovery and keeping your core tight, 3rd set’s is a quick turnaround with the hands, 4th set’s is visualizing the stokes your taking on the erg as stokes in the boat, 5th set’s is controlling your breathing, etc. This will give you something to direct your mind towards OTHER than the number of meters you have left.

If you know what you need to work on, spend some time doing that now. Have your coach or coxswain come watch you so that when you’re finished, not only will you have gotten a workout but you’ve also gotten some feedback out of it too. I talked a bit about negative splitting the other day, which is something you can also utilize in situations like this. Instead of bringing your split down every 500m, bring it down every 1500m or something similar. If your steady state is doubling as a test, negative splits are a good strategy to utilize. It gives you something else to focus on, especially as you get closer to the end of the piece. As you get more fatigued, the amount of power your body can produce will start to fall off, which you don’t want, so focusing on staying within a +/- 2-3 second range is another way to keep your mind occupied as you near the finish line.

Related: On a lot of rowing blogs I hear people mention “negative splits”, especially when discussing 2k’s. What exactly are they and can it be beneficial to know how to properly use them?

The one thing you don’t want to do though, like I said, is just focus on the meters. The only thing longer than microwave minute is an erg minute, and when you’re doing steady state pieces, erg minutes last ten times longer than microwave minutes. If you spend your time watching the meters tick down, you’re going to eventually get frustrated because, even though you see them decreasing, it doesn’t feel like you’re going anywhere. Frustration leads to waning focus which leads to mental blocks which can lead to you getting off the erg before you’re ready. Take a couple closed-eyed deep breath before you start and remember: one stroke at a time.