Month: April 2015

Coxing High School Q&A Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

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Hey! I love your blog. I have a couple of quick questions.

1) I have been rowing bow (port) in our starboard stroked bow-loader four boat. When ever we start to row and get to the drive part of the stroke my left ankle keeps cramping up and I was wondering if you had any way to stop this from happening?

2) Like I said before, I row bow and because our coxswain doesn’t have a cox box, nobody but me can hear her when she is facing forward (the way she is supposed to be looking) so she often turns towards us and the coach keeps telling her to turn around, but then the problem is that nobody can hear her. The girl who coxed this boat last season was really good at projecting her voice but the new cox is not. Do you have any advice for her?

3) I was looking at your what to wear blog posts and I was wondering what you think rowers should wear in the rain?

4) I hate running, I always cramp up two steps in and can’t breathe by the thirty second mark. My coach is really into running and running stairs. I don’t want to be that person who doesn’t run with everybody else because I don’t like it, but do you have any advice about making running less painful?

5) What is a good snack to have right before practice if it starts at 3 or 4 and goes till 6, but lunch is at 11:30? I always get so hungry right in the middle of pieces!

Sorry this is so long! Thanks!

The only thing that I can think of that could be causing this is the position of your foot stretchers. If the angle is too steep or too shallow then that could be putting a weird amount of stress on your tendons, causing your ankle to cramp up. I’d mention it to your coach and see if he can look at the stretchers to see if that’s the problem. If it’s not then it’s probably a flexibility issue. You should be stretching before practice for at least 10 minutes so if you’re not I’d start doing that, even if it means doing it on your own. Ankle pushes are a stretch our guys do that might help – it’s basically a mini-squat where you stand on one leg and bend your knee about 30 degrees or so until you feel a stretch up through your Achilles before pushing back up. (If you don’t have very good balance you can find a wall to put your hand(s) on to help keep you stable.)

Your coxswain needs a cox box. Obviously it’s not your responsibility to make that happen but seriously, I really don’t understand how coaches can send coxswains out without one and think they’re going to have a worthwhile and effective practice, let alone a safe one. Telling everyone to just listen is all well and good until you factor in the noise from the oarlocks, the boat moving through the water, the slides, the launch, the wind, car traffic, etc. Being in a bowloader also presents the issue of the coxswain’s voice not going straight at the rowers (like it does in an eight) which makes it even harder for them to hear what they’re saying. Even a perfectly silent crew would have a hard time hearing their coxswain in that situation. It’s not safe being out without one, plain and simple. To answer your question, the only advice I have is to find a cox box. I know that’s not the most helpful answer but that’s really the only solution to the problem.

When you’re rowing in the rain you’ve basically gotta accept that you and your clothes are going to get wet no matter what (which really isn’t that much different than a normal day on the water…). As long as you’re not wearing cotton, which is pretty much the worst thing you can wear while rowing regardless of the weather, you can pretty much wear exactly what you’d wear on an otherwise “dry” day. If you’ve got a splash jacket that you can throw on to at least keep your core warm and mostly dry(ish) then that’s a good thing to do if you know it’s going to be raining during practice. Like I said though, unless it’s just sprinkling it’s not a matter of if you’ll get wet but when.

It sounds like you’re just out of shape. (I only say that because I know I’m out of shape and that’s how I feel too.) It’s just like steady state on the erg though, the better developed your cardio system gets the “easier” it is. You’ve just gotta push through it and keep going. Feeling winded is obviously a natural side effect of being out of shape (even people who are incredibly fit get winded at the start if they haven’t worked out for a week or two) but it could also be a result of asthma (speaking from experience, this is the worst…). Even if this isn’t something you’ve been diagnosed with before it’s worth checking in with your doctor just to be sure you haven’t developed it. I had several friends in high school who were all incredible athletes but all developed some form of asthma that wasn’t diagnosed by their doctors until they started training for crew.

I used to always leave a box of granola bars in my car that I could grab before practice so if you’re a fan of Clif bars then I’d definitely recommend buying a box or two and stashing them in your car, your locker, etc. so you can grab one before you leave school or on your way to practice. Bananas, PB + apples, a bagel, yogurt + fruit + granola, etc. are all tasty options too.

Drills Rowing

Reverse pick drill progression + what “bob drills” look like

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The reason I posted this was mainly to show you what the reverse pick drill looks like if you’re unfamiliar with it, what bob drills look like, and to give an example of what one of our warmup drills are.

Related: What are stationary drills? How can there be drills if the rowers aren’t rowing? What are some examples?

We did this by stern 6, bow 6 (who the video features), and finished up with all eight, which is typical of all of the drills we do. This was from Thursday morning of our spring break trip (check out that sunrise in the background and the gorgeous flat water…) and we had a different lineup than we’d had the rest of the week because two guys were rowing on opposite sides and two guys who row in the V4+ were subbed in to give two other guys a break.

Related: How to call a pick drill (and reverse pick drill)

One of those guys had to sit out because a cut on one of his fingers got infected, causing that finger to swell up to roughly double the size of his other fingers. Pro tip kids, keep your wounds clean. So, if you’re wondering why the rowing looks … sloppy … that’s a large reason why.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Okay so I just need someone else’s opinion other than my coaches and rowers. So I am a dude coxswain for a girls boat for all 4 years of high school, but now I feel like they don’t respect me anymore. They don’t listen when I say hands on or they complain and talk back. We did awful in our first race and now I don’t know what to do. The guys are begging me to cox them and they are winning races. Do I stick with the girls and finish off my high school career or go for the gold with the guys?

Being a guy that’s coxing girls is tough no matter how long you’ve been doing it. I’m curious why things have suddenly changed in your last season together though. I assume you’ve tried talking with them one-on-one or as a boat to figure out what’s going on … ? If not I’d get on that. You need to figure out what the actual problem is, the part you’re playing in all this, etc. and start fixing it like, ASAP. The problem you’ve got is that with a month and a half (give or take) until the end of the year it would look kinda shitty if you suddenly jumped ship and left them for the guys team. On the flip side though, it’s not worth it for you to keep coxing them if the relationship is beyond repair, so to speak, and you (potentially) have a better shot at having a good season by switching over. (Obviously it’s not fair to the rowers either if things aren’t working out – they deserve a chance at a good season too.)

One thing you have to be careful with (and something that might be alienating you from the women, which is why they’re not listening to you) is getting too caught up in the “grass is greener on the other side” mentality and making it super obvious through your attitude that even though your body is in their boat, you’re not really all there because you’d rather be with the guys. If they hear the guys “begging” you to cox them and you not saying “sorry, I’ve already got a boat” that’s gonna make them question your loyalty and in turn become less loyal towards you.

This is definitely a tough decision but I think the deciding factor is going to come down to you having a conversation with your boat and figuring out whether or not you can all work together to finish out the season. Hopefully everyone is just stressed and there isn’t a bigger issue bubbling away under the surface but you won’t know unless you ask. You also have to consider whether or not there’s a coxswain on the women’s side that can replace you. My guess is if there isn’t and you decide to switch your coach/rowers will be super pissed (which may or may not bother you) for leaving them hanging. If you’re in a position where there’s someone who can easily transition into your boat and after talking with your rowers things don’t look like they’re going to improve, talk it over with your coach and see what your options are. If there isn’t someone that could take your place and cox that boat at an equal or higher level than you currently are then you should really consider sticking with them and working out whatever issues you’re having. Unless you’re planning on coxing in college and really need the time/experience in a boat that runs like a well-oiled machine, I think it’s better to stay with the women. You have to think about what you want out of your last season but you also have to consider what’s best for the team and unfortunately those two things don’t always line up.

Keep in mind, my answer is based only on what I assume is a very small part of much larger story. If I knew all the details my opinion might be completely different. I just think that given the short amount of time that is left in the school year and the fact that you’ve already spent four years together, it just makes sense to work out whatever issues you have so you can make your boat go fast. That doesn’t mean you all have to like each other, just that you have to respect what each person is bringing to the table. If you feel like you’ve lost their respect, figure out why/how and start doing something different.

Seat racing coxswains

Coxing Racing

Seat racing coxswains

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I’m not a fan of seat racing coxswains. There are just way too many variables and you can’t quantify it the same way you can with rowers but despite all that, there are still coaches out there that do it. It’s one of those things that you’ve always gotta be prepared for just in case it happens to you but if you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing, you’ll never be caught off guard if your coach decides that a coxswain seat race is needed.

Related: Can I just flat out ask my coach for a coxswain seat race? How do I go about asking such a question?

I was going through some of my saved posts on Reddit the other day and came across this year-old reply that I’d written to a coxswain who was asking for advice on how to deal with being seat-raced. They said that they felt like an underdog compared to the person they were up against (who was a year older than them) but that they felt capable of beating them and wanted to know how to get the coach to look past their age so they could have a shot at the eight.

Related: Words

For those of you that are going up against someone more experienced than you (hell, even if you’re going up against an someone who is equally experienced), I implore you to read this first paragraph down below and really take it to heart because a) you need to hear it and b) if I’ve learned anything through this blog it’s that it’s unlikely anyone else is going to say it to you and be as straightforward about it. We’re two weeks into racing season and SRAAs, Youth Nationals, conference championships, IRAs, and NCAAs is going to be here before you know it. You want that top boat? Stop talking about how bad you want it and start doing the shit you need to do to entice your coaches to give you a shot.

“Fuck age, seniority, being an “underdog”, etc. Do not use that an excuse. Those things only become factors if you pay too much attention to them and let them become factors. Cox your race and let the other coxswain(s) cox theirs. If you think you’re capable of beating them, do it.

The coxswain who is smart, confident, strategic, resourceful, commanding, authoritative, aggressive, and respectful of the competition will earn the seat in the 8+. Steer a smart course and know what you need to say to get the most out of your rowers. This requires you to interact with them in order to find out what makes them tick. Pick their brains off the water so you can get in their heads on the water.

Oh, and don’t assume that this seat race is the only thing your coaches are looking at. They’ve been watching you since Day 1, the first day you showed up to practice when you were a novice, to see how well you interact with your teammates, what your presence on and off the water is like, if you command the respect of your teammates through your actions, how well you understand the technical side of rowing, how effectively you communicate what you want/need to happen, etc. The seat race is only a piece of the final puzzle.

Saying you want it isn’t enough. I have to be able to look at you and feel how bad you want you want that top 8+. Give your rowers a reason to want to pull hard for you. Don’t half ass anything. Make your intentions known from the first day of practice that you want that top eight and you’re going to work as hard as you can to get it. Do this without being a cocky, over-confident douche. Seat racing isn’t just something you can get in a boat and do. You’ve gotta prep for it just like you do any other race. Put the effort into perfecting your steering, working on your calls, getting feedback from your rowers and coaches after practice, etc. and then go out and execute when it’s time for your race. Get off the water knowing and believing that you couldn’t have done any more or any better than you just did.

Do all of that and your coaches might give you a shot.”

Rule #1: never refer to yourself as the underdog. Let other people say that about you but know that the minute you say it about yourself you’ve already lost. It absolutely drives me nuts when I hear people talk down about themselves like that because if you aren’t even confident in yourself how is that supposed to inspire me to be confident in you?

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Drills Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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What are stationary drills? How can there be drills if the rowers aren’t rowing? What are some examples?

Stationary drills are just drills that are done when the boat isn’t moving. They’re good to do if/when you’re waiting for your coach at the beginning of practice or just have time to spare in general.

Catch placement drills (also known as roll ups) are one of the most well-known and basic stationary drills. (I talked about them a bit more in-depth in the fourth paragraph of this post.) The rowers start at the finish with their blades buried then tap down, come up the slide to the catch, and drop their blades in without actually taking a stroke. The purpose is to match up the timing on the slides, when the blades enter the water, and the motion of taking the catch. Here’s an example of what it looks like.

Another common one is bob drills. These can get pretty frustrating the more people you have doing it but they’re good for getting people to think about having level hands at the catch and maintaining pressure with the oar against the collar (the thing that keeps the oar shaft from sliding through the oarlock), in addition to the obvious focus on timing.

Related: Reverse pick drill progression + what “bob drills” look like

You can either do these at the catch or finish too. All you do is sit at full compression at the catch or in your normal finish position, starting with the blades squared and buried, and tap them in and out of the water. The bobs have to be confident and deliberate otherwise the boat will just crash over to one side. If you follow the movements of the people in front of you instead of anticipating them then that will also mess things up.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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If I am 5’5 and 115lbs but bound to keep growing because I am a freshman in high school, is it worth it to keep coxing girls? I have coxed for a couple months and I absolutely loved it. I was thinking I could keep coxing girls for a couple years and then maybe switch to boys if I get too tall/heavy. Would it be better to row? I really really love coxing, especially for races, but I would like to do something that I can continue through high school and I don’t know if coxing is it.

Every coach is different and they want different things when it comes to their coxswains (here’s an example from a question I posted last night…) so your best option is to talk with your coach and see what they think. You could probably cox men or women at this point but if you have a good rapport with your coach and like coxing your current team then I’d stick with them. If you decide as you get closer to making college plans that you want to keep coxing after high school then look into coxing on a men’s team.

Coxing Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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My team has been working on our starts and sprints for our races coming up. One thing that I have noticed is that we have a really difficult time hitting our rates for our high strokes. We usually hit between 34-35 but we are supposed to be in the upper 30s, maybe even 40. Any suggestions for how to hit these rates? Thanks!

Here’s a couple…

Focus on getting the rate on the drive and through the water instead of with your slide speed on the recovery

Coming out of the finish match the speed of the hands coming away to the speed of the boat immediately – eliminate any pauses

Make sure you’re not slamming into the catch – you want there to be a smooth transfer of energy when the slide reverses

As the rates go up keep the focus on maintaining good form (if you let the bodies get sloppy or fall apart then you’ll never hit your target rates)

I’d talk about this with your coach(es) too and see if you can incorporate some stroke rate ladders or something into a couple of your practices. Definitely make sure you’re communicating with them (on and off the water) when you’re not hitting your rates. If you let them know then they can watch the boat and figure out what’s going on but if you don’t say anything then they can’t help you.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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I was a coxswain for the fall season for high school novice crew because I was coming off surgery but I ended up falling in love with coxing. My rowers (one in particular) told me off a couple times for not doing anything and I talked to her about it and she stopped after I started doing the erg workouts with the team. I did the workouts with the rest of the team before we got on the water this spring but then my coach told me that I was too tall to be a coxswain any more. I am 5’3-5’4isn but I am still growing. I kind of want to go back to coxing but I don’t know how to tell my coach that and I don’t want to take the possibility of coxing a boat away from anybody else.

There are few things I understand less than the decision-making process of most coaches when it comes to choosing their coxswains. Nearly every female coxswain I’ve known (regardless of whether they’re coxing men or women) is between 5’3″ and 5’5″.. There’s the odd outlier that’s shorter or taller than that but the average is definitely around there. I don’t know why your coach thinks that’s too tall. If you really want to get into it, height doesn’t matter at all for coxing. Does it make it easier to cox when you’re short? Duh – have you seen the seats we sit in? Does it make more sense for someone who needs to hover around 110lbs/125lbs to be on the shorter side? Yes. In the grand scheme of things though, as long as you’re close to racing weight and are a good coxswain, your height should literally be the farthest thing from your coach’s mind. (Just look at male coxswains – our male coxswain is 5’6″, I know two other guys who are 5’8″, the V8+ coxswain at Northeastern is 5’10”, the national team coxswain is 5’9″…)

If you want to keep coxing then meet with your coach and make your case. Highlight the stuff you think you’ve done well and have improved at since you started and why you think you would be a good addition to a boat this season. Keep it simple. If your coach is open to giving you another shot, have at it. If he’s still stuck on the idea that you’re too tall then see if you can compromise and be a “spare” coxswain on days when someone can’t make it to practice, is sick, etc. A lightweight rower I know who started out as a coxswain for three years in high school did that last year when he was recovering from a shoulder injury and it helped his team a lot since they were short on actual coxswains.