Day: April 10, 2013

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By

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

By

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

By

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

By

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

By

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

By

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.