Day: March 11, 2014

Coxing How To Q&A

Question of the Day

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Hey. So I took a boat on the water for the second time ever yesterday, and we hit a nasty cross-course wind that kept blowing me off my point. Every time I’d try to fix it, I’d end up on the other extreme of that point. Any advice for dealing with these kinds of winds?

Crosswinds are a huge pain. When you’re getting hit on the side like that while trying to establish your point, the key is to know exactly what you need to do and who you need to do it so that you can move quickly. The quicker you get your point and start rowing, the less time the wind has to throw you off.

When getting your point in a crosswind you do want to over-correct just a little bit so that when you start rowing the crosswind blows you straight. Once you’re actually rowing, assuming you’re rowing by 6s at the least and with an adequate amount of pressure, it should be fairly easy to maintain your point. When starting out, assuming I’m in a port-stroked boat and am trying to turn towards starboard (the side I’m getting hit on with the wind), I like to have 2-seat row and 7-seat back. It takes some of the pressure off of 2-seat so he doesn’t have to turn the boat himself and adds a bit of power via 7-seat to expedite the process. Having all eight rowers row and back at the same time is too much of a hassle and is going to contribute more pressure than you actually need. More is not better or faster in this situation.

Related: One of my coaches was a coxswain and I got switched out the last third of practice to be in the launch with her. OMG BEST TIME EVER. Every time I had a question she’d answer it so well! More coxes should become coaches! One thing she was talking about was watching the wind patterns – like the dark patches in the water to let the crew know. I understand the concept, but I’m not really understanding why. Like, I tell them that a wind/wake is coming to prepare them?

To get perfectly straight would normally take about two strokes but since we’re getting hit on starboard, we want to over correct a bit so I’d probably take three. In certain circumstances I might take a fourth stroke, although I’ll usually tell them to make the last one an arms only or arms and bodies stroke since I don’t want to over–correct too much. Since I’m trying to over-correct a little bit though I want to shoot for one stroke past straight, meaning if I’m two strokes to starboard I want to correct so I’m one stroke to port. (Hopefully that’s not too confusing.) This will give me enough leeway so that when we start rowing I can either adjust with the rudder or just let the wind push me into being straight.

From here it’s all about using the rudder to stay straight. You can use the rowers to help you adjust if you need to by telling one side or the other to “gimme one hard stroke on this one” but you should do that sparingly since that can really mess up any drills or pieces you’re doing.

Coxswain skills: Dusting off the cobwebs

Coxing Teammates & Coaches

Coxswain skills: Dusting off the cobwebs

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We’ve been on the water for about a week now and although the majority of the days have been great, yesterday was … not so much. Personal responsibility by the coxswains was, to say the least, lacking. While we were in the launch the other coach and I were consistently making comments to each other about things the coxswains should have been doing but weren’t. Some of the stuff seems like really obvious “coxing 101 basics” that we shouldn’t have to say either, which was the really frustrating part.

We told the coxswains what they needed to be doing (it honestly felt like we were spoon-feeding them) but we eventually just stopped because it was one of those situations where it’s like if you’re not gonna bring the boats even or you’re not gonna communicate with each other then fine, you can start the piece a length and a half back and on the complete wrong side of the river. There should never be a practice where the coaches spend more time talking to the coxswains about finding their point, keeping the crews together while maintaining space between them, trying to get lined up, etc. It’s such a colossal waste of time, amongst many other things.

It got me thinking though while we were out there of the things I try to do when I get back on the water after an extended period of time. Most of this I “perfected” in my own way over time but I pretty much learned all of it my sophomore year of high school though since that was the first year of going on the water after winter training as an experienced coxswain.

One of the messages that the coaches tried to get across to us is that we need to be able to separate our coxing responsibilities from our individual responsibilities, which took awhile for me to understand. Coxing responsibilities refer to things that are part of your job as a coxswain, things you need to do to ensure practice runs accordingly. Personal responsibilities are different in this sense compared to how I used it at beginning because here it refers coxing-related skills that you need to work on. I’ve marked each of these as one or the other so you know the difference.

Steer more, talk less (PR)

When you first get back on the water, you shouldn’t be trying to call pieces and drills and warmups like you were in mid-May. If you go out there during the first week with the goal of fixing everyone’s technique problems during that practice or explaining complex things to novices who are out there for only the second time, you’re not accomplishing anything and you’re more than likely getting on your coach’s nerves (personal experience, yes, you are).

Most coxswains, myself included, have an aversion to being quiet while on the water but during the first week back out your focus needs to be more on steering a good course than on making calls. This time is when most coaches are going to start evaluating your skills to see where you fall in terms of lineups and the biggest way to separate yourself from the other coxswains is to steer well right off the bat.

Slow down and listen to instructions (CR)

On land, do this while being mindful of the fact that we only have a limited amount of time on the water. Slow down doesn’t mean move at a snail’s pace. Don’t run around trying to be the fastest one to get your boat out either because honestly, no one cares, and that’s when mistakes happen. You’re still gonna have to stop and wait for the other crews to catch up so you might as well take your time, talk to the coach to figure out what the warmup is if you don’t already know, and figure out exactly what he wants you to do (where you’re to go, where to stop, what to do while you’re waiting for the other crews), etc.

Keep the boats together (CR/PR)

For the love of coxing, this is not that hard. Really, it’s not. It is your responsibility to keep your boat next to the other crews at all times or at the very least, no more than a length ahead or behind when you’re doing drills and warmups (obviously pieces are different). If you do get behind, you need to get on the rowers and say “we’re falling a little behind the other boats, let’s add some pressure/add in 3 and 4 to go stern 6/go all eight until we get caught up” or “we’re getting a little too far ahead, let’s take it down to half-pressure/let’s drop out 3 and 4 to go to stern 4/add in a pause at bodies over for five”. The coaches should not have to tell you to do this, it should be an automatic reaction/judgement call by you.

Communicate with the other coxswains (CR)

It’s easy at the beginning of the season to get sucked into your boat’s bubble and forget that you’re not the only ones on the water. If you’re out with other crews you need to talk to the other coxswains and figure out which lanes you’re going to row in (and then actually row in them), whether that be lanes 3, 4, and 5 or inside, middle, and outside.

If someone’s encroaching on your lane then say something. Don’t just passive aggressively sit there and then smirk at them when the coaches say to keep some distance between the crews. Also don’t decide that you’re going to ignore the lane you said you were going to row in or the lane the coaches told you to take.

Communicating with each other also applies to starting drills at the same time and making sure the boats are lined up evenly so the coaches can start everyone together. If you can see that you’re two seats behind someone at the start of a drill, put your hand up, have your stern pair row, and get even. Don’t wait for the coaches to tell you this stuff.

Ultimately all this goes back to you doing the absolute basics of your job. Keep that in mind as you get back on the water to start the season.

Image via // @ulbc