Year: 2016

Holiday Gift Guide 2016

Coxing Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Holiday Gift Guide 2016

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Still looking for just the right gift for the rowers and coxswains you know? Here’s a few last minute ideas.

I thought this print of the patent for the original rowing machine was really cool and could be a neat addition to any athlete’s room or coach’s office. (You can also find similar prints over on Etsy.) This set of Field Notes is from their Expedition line and features water and tearproof paper, making it great for coxswains. A regular set of Field Notes could also serve as a great gift for rowers looking for a simple way to keep a training journal. Remember, it’s not a goal if it’s not written down.

I got a Starbucks gift card last year from the crew I coxed at HOCR and after loading it on to the app on my phone it’s since become a must-have travel item for me. Not having to dig my wallet out of my bag when we’re traveling is super convenient and being able to save a little bit of my per diem money is a nice perk. This new book on Harry Parker (by MIT grad Toby Ayer) chronicles the 2008-2009 season and looks pretty cool. I originally heard about it a few years ago when row2k posted an excerpt of it and have been looking forward to checking it out ever since.

Now that our Apple overlords have decided the headphone jack is irrelevant, wireless headphones are going to be an even bigger must-have for rowers than they were before. Amazon has plenty of decently priced pairs too, which is good since these will probably live in your locker or the bottom of your bag and regularly be drenched in sweat. Lastly, this drybag would be great for coxswains who are looking for something small, durable, and most importantly, waterproof to put their stuff in and carry into the boat with them.

For more gift ideas, check out the “rowing gifts” tag.

Image via // @folkmagazine
Coxswains, get on the erg

Coxing Ergs Technique

Coxswains, get on the erg

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I’m not talking in a “get a workout in” kind of way, I mean “get on the erg” in a “develop a better understanding of what the stroke feels like” kind of way. My coach had us do this and his reasoning (that I’ve since heard nearly every coach I’ve worked with repeat) was that when we’re communicating something about technique to the crew, we’re primarily doing it based off of what the bladework looks like. Visual cues aren’t what rowers primarily go off of though, they’re operating more off how their body feels.

By getting on the erg or in the tanks and going through the stroke yourself, you can get a better idea of how the body feels throughout the stroke – what muscles are engaged, which ones are stretched, what shouldn’t you be feeling, etc. Having a better visceral understanding of the stroke can help you make more efficient calls and in turn initiate changes faster because instead of telling the crew not to grab at the catch you’ll be able to say “feel the lats engage as we take the catch” or “as the drive starts let’s make sure we’re feeling that engagement with the lats rather than with the shoulders”.

Can you make those type of calls without taking a stroke yourself? Sure … and for a long time you will because you’ll be going off what you hear your coach saying … but at some point when you feel like upping your game and increasing your credibility, you’re gonna look for ways to do that and this should absolutely be one of them. When you hear rowers say they want you to get on the ergs and feel what they feel, that doesn’t mean you’ve gotta go crank out a 10k or do anything “workout” related either. Them seeing you on the ergs learning something and then actively applying that the next time you’re coxing them (regardless of whether that’s during the indoor season or the next time you’re on the water) will earn you just as much street (…water?) cred as if you did a 2k alongside them.

Image via //@rowingnews

Q&A

Question of the Day

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Hey, do you know where I could buy high school and collegiate unis?

Some people sell their old gear on the buy/trade group on Facebook but that’s more aimed at high school stuff, not college. I haven’t been on it in forever but I think it’s just called “buy/trade rowing gear”.

It’s a pretty accepted thing that you shouldn’t own gear you haven’t earned though. Trading stuff after races is part of the sport so that’s fine but actively going out and trying to buy every Ivy League or national team or whatever uni just to say you own it tends to get frowned upon by most people who are serious about the sport.

College Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Hello! I’m a collegiate rower currently at a D3 school. Recently I’ve noticed that my team’s top coxswain has seemed to have lost a lot of weight in the past few months. By this, I mean she seems to have lost 10 to 15lbs, which is a lot considering she’s 5’4″ and wasn’t over the 110lb minimum by more than 7 or 8lbs last season. I don’t believe she eats very often but when I do see her eat she doesn’t seem to have an eating disorder. I’m not sure whether or not I should be concerned about her weight loss and if I should bring it up with someone?

I’ve gone back and forth on this numerous times but I’m sticking with my initial response, which is “no”. From your vantage point I can see why it might be concerning to see her losing weight when it seems like she doesn’t need to but without knowing her motives all you’re doing is speculating, which isn’t fair even though it’s coming from a good place.

Assuming “a few months” is something like three or four, losing 10lbs in that timeframe isn’t unhealthy by conventional standards. Losing 10lbs in two months isn’t usually considered unhealthy. 5’4″ and 105ish (give or take) describes a lot, if not the majority, of the female coxswains (who are coxing women) that I personally know. One of my friends in college was around that height (I think she’s 5’3″) and weighed 118lbs our freshman year. She made some pretty basic changes to her diet that summer and came back the fall of our sophomore year weighing 106 having put the most minimal amount of effort into losing weight before leveling off around 109ish over the next few months. I know all that is anecdotal and not applicable to everyone but my point is that I wouldn’t immediately jump to her losing weight as being a negative thing.

Unless you have actual cause for concern beyond it just “seeming” like she’s lost weight, I don’t think it’d be appropriate to say anything (to her or anyone else). I’m not trying to be dismissive of what you’re saying but having been on the receiving end of numerous comments and conversations (both to my face and behind my back) about my weight, my exercise habits, what I eat, when I eat, how much I eat, etc., it just feels like an invasion of privacy whenever it gets brought up, especially since I’ve never given anyone a reason to think I’m doing something unhealthy. It also gets exhausting having to constantly defend yourself against people who think you should weigh more, eat more, or whatever else despite you being at a healthy weight. Bottom line, it’s none of your business.

This is a really slippery slope, as most weight-related situations are, and there’s no clear cut way for how to approach it. If it gets to a point where the situation is clearly unhealthy by all common sense standards (not just your own personal ones but actual medical standards) then yea, bring it up with your coach and let them approach it with her. I think you’re a good friend for asking this question in the first place but ultimately I think your concern might just be coming from the fact that seeing her 10lbs lighter is new vs. it being an actual issue.

Anyone else – thoughts?

Coxing Video of the Week

Video of the Week: “A good crew can win without a cox but a good crew with a good cox can be the best crew.”

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This is from series that British Rowing did leading up to Rio and focuses on the two coxswains, Phelan Hill and Zoe de Toledo. They talk about the coxswain’s role on the team and in the boat, developing boat feel so they can coach the crew when their coach isn’t around, the things they’re observing about the rowers on any given day, their temperaments, dealing with the “what do you do” and “you’re just here for a free ride” banter, etc.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I really want to practice making small steering adjustments but my team has the great misfortune of rowing on a river that is in the midst of extreme drought. When I say extreme, I mean we can’t have two boats next to each other because anything but a very specific course in the very middle of the river can break off a fin. Because of the drought, there’s debris everywhere, and coupled with the bridges, I’m basically on the rudder at all times. How can I practice minimal steering in this situation?

I get what you’re saying about wanting to practice but it sounds like you’re at the mercy of the river until conditions improve. I don’t really have any advice unfortunately – you gotta do what you gotta do and in this situation keeping the equipment safe is more important than you practicing your steering, which is a pretty low priority by comparison.

The best I can suggest is to take note of how much you’re steering now and then (off the water) visualizing the course you’d take under normal circumstances and what adjustments you’d need to make between how much you’re currently steering vs. how much you should be steering. That’s a good way to practice without being able to actually practice because by the time you get back on the water (or the river returns to normal) you’ve already got an idea of how much or little you need to steer. Other than that though, just do whatever you’ve gotta do to keep the fin in tact.