Month: November 2013

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Help! I was told by our head coach that I was head coxswain because I was most experienced and all of the others were novices. But he’s kicked me out of the position for some girl who coxed for two months at a ‘top rowing school’ at the end of last year and had never even coxed a regatta before last weekend! She also has no idea how to race cox and never makes the right calls in a boat and almost all of her boats performed badly at the regatta. What do I do?

I don’t think you should do anything. Keep doing what you’re doing while still doing all the usual stuff you would do to ensure that you’re actively making improvements. Unless you’ve been specifically told to “do this differently/better/more effectively”, change nothing. Sometimes coaches make really … interesting … decisions for absolutely no reason whatsoever and they only realize how bad of an idea it was when it blows up in their face.

The one thing you shouldn’t do is give up or slack off. Act like nothing has changed so that when your coach sees you coxing pieces on the water and hears from other coaches that your practice went great, he’ll question his decision and if two months at a “top rowing school” (with less than favorable results thus far) was really enough to warrant kicking an experienced coxswain out of the boat.

Related: This is probably going to sound really stuck up but I promise you I am not intending it to be that way. I’m the only coxswain my team has. I’ve coxed them through every race and I love coxing so much and I love my team, but one of my rowers now says she wants to be a coxswain and there’s only enough girls for one boat. I’m honestly terrified she’s going to try and take my spot and I want it way more than she does, to be quite honest. I’m just really worried and idk what to do.

This whole situation really has less to do with you (and to an extent, the other coxswain) and more to do with the coach. Any coach that puts a coxswain in because of superficial reasons like “she coxed at a top rowing school for two months”, “he weighs 120lbs, the other guy weighs 126lbs”, etc. deserves to suffer through the inevitable consequences of such a dumb decision.

Regardless of what happens, don’t shun the coxswain. Try to at least help her out, give her some pointers, etc. so that she can begin making the necessary improvements. Yea it sucks that she took your spot but it wasn’t her fault or decision so there’s no reason to let her keep doing poorly when there’s clearly info you could share with her, being the most experienced coxswain and all, that can help her get better. You don’t have to give up all your secrets but if you hear or see her doing something blatantly incorrect, talk to her after practice and explain how it should be done.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

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I read an article by Pete Cipollone and he said coxswains should say “I don’t know” instead of bluffing. In yesterday’s race, I couldn’t see the finish buoys around a large curve and I told my rowers I didn’t know how far was left. This really frustrated my stroke who shouted at me after the race and told me I should’ve made something up. After we docked, rowers in the other 4+ complained their coxswain gave a misleading distance. Was I right to say I didn’t know or should I have bluffed?

So just to preface this, I do think that it’s necessary for coxswains to be comfortable saying “I don’t know” when they truly do not know the answer to something. If you can’t ask your coach for insight or clarification at that moment then it’s your responsibility to say “I don’t know but I’ll figure it out after practice” and the report back the following day. I would expect your stroke seat or whoever asked the original question to hold you accountable to that too. If my boat asked me something that I didn’t know I’d typically wait until we took a water break and then ask our coach if he could explain whatever it was we were talking about that wasn’t clear.

However, this only applies at practice. During a race, if you say “I don’t know” the trust your rowers (and coach) have in you can and probably will plummet since it’s expected for you to know this stuff. I can understand why your stroke was frustrated. As a coach, I would have been irritated too. Personally, I think you should have bluffed but this only works when you’re properly prepared. This involves knowing the course, knowing the overall distance, and being aware of your surroundings. If you’re not it can be tough and you might end up giving a misleading distance, similarly to that other coxswain. This is one of the reasons why I constantly stress studying the course ahead of time, learning the landmarks, etc.

Related: I still have trouble judging distances [m] any tips?

Knowing the total length of the course and where the individual mile markers are can allow you to guesstimate how much you have left based on where you’re currently at. Yes, it involves some quick math but it’s really not that hard (and that’s coming from someone whose math abilities are comparable to that of a rock’s). For example, the Charles course is 3 miles long. During the race there are mile markers between River St. and Western Ave. and right after Newell Boathouse that denote 1 mile down and 2 miles down, respectively. If you’re unfamiliar with the course but at least know where the mile markers are, you can always tell your crew where you’re at.

Related: HOCR: The course in meters

Say you’ve just passed Weeks and your stroke says “where are we”? You already passed the 1 mile marker, you know that the the 2 mile marker is somewhere near Anderson, and that Weeks is roughly in middle. A quick guesstimation let’s you assume that you’re about a mile and a half in. Knowing that the course is just over 3 miles long also leads you to conclude that you’re halfway through the race. This allows you to tell your crew that you’re coming into the second half of the race or that you’ve got 1.5 miles down. Don’t say anything about 1.5 miles left because that’s just mean. During head races I don’t say anything about the distance we have left until we hit the last mile or 1000 meters.

Another thing you can do if you don’t know the distance you have left is tell them the time. This requires you to roughly know your crew’s 5k time (or whatever the applicable distance is). It also requires you to start the timer on your cox box at the start of the race. If you forget to do that then you’re kind of out of luck unless you’ve got a watch and happen to catch the time as you cross the line. If you know that your boat’s time last week was 17:44 for 5000m (roughly 6 minutes per mile) and you’re currently at 15:34, then you can guesstimate that you’re probably close to 2.5 miles in and have roughly half a mile left to go.

In addition to prepping yourself ahead of time, you should also make sure you’re not ignoring what’s happening outside the boat in favor of spitting out the race plan like a robot. If you’re doing this then you’re neglecting one of the crucial rules of coxing which is to always be aware of your surroundings. If you pay attention to what’s around you and think back to the course map that they went over during the coach-and-coxswain’s meeting (or that you looked at on your own), you should be able to find some landmarks that give you a clue as to your location.

Bottom line, there’s no excuse for saying “I don’t know” during a race. It’s unlikely that they expect you to give them an exact distance but it does have to be in the ballpark. They’re going to know (and feel) the difference between half a mile and a mile. It’s the same as saying “last 20” during a 2k three different times – if you do it, don’t be shocked if your crew is pissed once you get off the water.

Coxing How To Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

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Do you have any tips on making super tight turns?

If it’s sharp enough that you can’t get around using just your rudder, then you’ll have to tell one side of the boat to row light for a couple strokes while the other side increases the pressure. Anticipate the turn ahead of time and start turning before you actually get there, that way you’re already well into before you need to ask for the rowers to adjust their pressure. I’d say that at least 75% of the work should come from you and the last 25% from the rowers.

Related: I was wondering what the difference is between checking it and holding water. I think checking it is just once side and everybody holds water? But I’m not sure. and then also what do you think is the easiest way to turn around? I usually have my stern or bow four row with ports backing. Is that pretty standard would you say? Thank you again so so so so so much.

If you try to take the turn completely on the rudder, you’ll end up going way wide and if you try to go around having one side row at 110% while the other side is still rowing at 100%, you’re not gonna go anywhere. As you go around the turn, make sure you tell the rowers you’re on the rudder (and have them adjust their handle heights accordingly, if necessary). When you need them to “add in”, tell one side to go light for however many strokes (make sure you specify but try to make it five or less) while having the other side pound it out for the same number of strokes.

That’s really the secret to navigating tight turns – one side rowing lighter, not one side rowing harder.

Erg Playlists

Music to erg to, pt. 15

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Raise your hand if you started winter training this week. Most teams are probably off the water now and, if you’re a collegiate team, are transitioning into their routine of weightlifting, rowing in the tanks, and everyone’s all-time ultimate-favorite thing ever … putting in several thousand meters a week (or day!) on the erg. Spring will be here before we know it…

https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/783KTzOtN1nnNhHZ9HZh6i

Seat racing's maybe one of the hardest things about this sport. You go all fall and winter and then you get this one shot after six months to make the boat, you know, and if you don't, it's hard to not look back and have regrets and doubt yourself. And also, one week you're helping your friend through an erg test, you know, he's your best bud in the world, and then the next week you got switched across the gunnels with him for a seat race. It's hard to keep emotions out of it. It's hard to not make it personal. In the end I guess you gotta just make whatever boat you're on go fast and just train again for next year's one shot to make it. Making the first boat isn't everything. You'll have more opportunities to do it but if you let that shit distract you for too long, you'll miss the opportunity to just race boats and have fun.

Drills Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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When we row with our feet out of the foot stretchers I have a lot of trouble getting up the slide never mind getting up on time, and it’s really embarrassing being the only one in the boat who obviously struggles with these drills. Is there any thing I can work on to improve this area?

It sounds like you’re not getting or staying connected throughout the stroke and are most likely trying to use your calves and shins to pull you up the slide. If you lack connection at the catch, as you pull through the drive your feet are going to come off the stretchers and you’re going to “fall” backwards, which is obviously going to make it pretty difficult to get back up the slide on the recovery in time with everyone else.

The first thing you have to do is establish that connection right as the blade enters the water at the front end. In this instance the connection refers to the grip the blade has on the water and the relationship between the body and the handle. In order for you to have good connection, regardless of whether you’re rowing feet in or feet out, the blade has to go straight to the water at the catch, meaning there has to be an immediate unweighting of the handle as you come into the front end. If you’re already at full compression when you unweight your hands, your entry to the water will be late. You have to anticipate your arrival to the catch and time your hands accordingly, if that makes sense. Basically what I’m saying is that when you’re about two inches away from the front end with your slide, your hands should already be moving up to drop the blade in.

Once your blade is in the water, you have to maintain a consistent application of power throughout the entire drive. Keeping your quads engaged will be a big help here. As you approach the finish also be aware of how much you’re laying back. If you’re laying back too far then you’re going to end up in the lap of the rower behind you, which is going to result in your feet flying off the stretchers. Having a good squeeze right at the end of the stroke combined with maintaining a similar layback to when you’re rowing feet in will help you maintain that connection with the stretchers. If you lack connection at the finish you’ll end up having to reset your feet and use your hamstrings, calves, and shins to pull you up the slide which will lead to all sorts of problems, the least of which is your timing at the catch.

When your coach or coxswain tells you to stay connected, don’t just think “OK, I have to keep my feet on the stretchers”, think “I have to keep X, Y, and Z muscles engaged throughout the drive so that my finish is supported”. Connection at the catch, a consistent drive, and  supported finished are the main components you want to shoot for here. If you find you’re still having trouble with this on the water, try spending some time on the erg rowing feet out, preferably beside a mirror so you can watch yourself. I’d also recommend doing some planks to help you strengthen your core. Core strength is a huge component in having a supported finish and is especially important to have when rowing feet out.