Three Rivers Rowing Association 2013 Head of the Ohio Women’s Varsity 8+

Something that I’ve talked about before and talk about a lot with the coxswains I’m coaching is knowing when to call things in three, in two, “on this one”, etc. At 1:47 where she wants to increase the pressure she calls for them to do it “in two”. Now granted, during a head race you’ve got plenty of room to execute your moves and you don’t have to worry quite so much about running out of space like you do during a 2k but some things, like calling for an increase in pressure, don’t need that “prep period” that those two strokes give you. Instead it should be an immediate thing where the coxswain says “let’s increase the power with the legs, on this one … leeeegs chaaa … leeeegs chaaa” … or something like that.

Also, make sure you’re giving your crews regular updates as to your position on other crews (especially if you’re making a lot of calls about pushing them back, walking away, etc.), how far into the race you are (either distance-wise, if you know and/or time-wise since you have a timer on your cox box that you should have started at the beginning of the piece), etc. We just did evaluations with our coxswains last week and this was one of the most commonly made “requests” by the rowers so just keep in mind that little things like this are important for them to hear throughout the race and it requires absolutely no effort on your part to give them that. 

Ultimately I liked her intensity and general tone throughout the piece but she was way too wordy and said a lot without saying anything at all. There weren’t many calls of substance and she got repetitive with a lot of them as the piece went on, in addition to like I said before, not giving any updates with regards to their position on other crews or the course.

University of Texas 2013 Conference USA 1N8+ Grand Final

The race starts at 4:00. Overall this is a solid piece. She does a good job executing the race plan, telling the crew where they’re at on the rest of the field, and maintaining her focus and energy throughout the race. She’s a little aggressive with the rhythmic coxing (in the sense that I feel like she’s really overdoing it), which prevented her calls from having a good flow to them, which I tend to think is a lot more effective in helping to establish/maintain rhythm.

I liked how at 9:08 she said “we’re gonna win this if you do what I tell you”, which is a pretty ballsy call that I think would really only work if your crew had complete and total trust in you as their coxswain.

Other calls I liked:

“We’re at the thousand, new race, sit the fuck up, get your blades the fuck in, and we’re going now…“

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