Most of this week’s playlist comes from when I popped into CRI right before I moved. There were a couple of the high-performance guys erging and while I was waiting for someone I was sitting there Shazaam-ing all the songs for the better part of 45 minutes.
https://play.spotify.com/user/1241641027/playlist/6OuxnkieqftZof0Xb4VtTgAuthor: readyallrow
College Q&A Teammates & Coaches
Question of the Day
We finished fall season maybe 3 weeks ago and we’ve had 2 weeks off since then. We are starting winter training next week and I just can’t motivate myself. I finished the on-water season with my coach saying I didn’t meet his expectations (I’ve only rowed since this spring and I was in a quad all fall. My teammates rowed for 2-4 years so they are GOOD compared to me.) Anyway, he made me feel like shit and I don’t even want to try anymore because I feel like this is useless and I’m wasting my/his time. I don’t know what to do and as much as I love being on the water, I don’t want to do a sport that make me feel so bad about myself. (His comment made me cry more than I should have). Maybe I’m too weak, IDK, but just the thought of being back at our gym make me want to hide under a blanket forever (haha). I know I don’t really have a question here but just your opinion would be nice. (I only row for a small club at my college.) If you have no idea what to answer, don’t worry haha! Thanks!
I can understand a coach having a conversation with a rower or coxswain at the end of the (spring) season and saying he/she felt they could have done better but to flat out say you didn’t meet their expectations is a little harsh, especially since the fall season doesn’t mean anything. It’s completely unimportant. Also considering you’ve only been rowing for a season at small club, this just seems like a bit of an overreaction by your coach. If you were at a bigger school with a bigger program, I could probably make a better case for saying something like that but at a small club? I don’t really understand it. Regardless, if you’re not enjoying yourself and don’t feel like participating in the sport is a worthwhile use of your time then that’s certainly cause to question whether or not you want to keep doing it.
I don’t think you should quit just because your coach made one potentially unnecessary comment though. It’s possible he had different intentions and just failed to communicate them properly. It is his job to push you to be your best and at times you’ve got to have a thick skin and be able to take the harsher criticisms because ultimately, that’s what is going to make you a better athlete. I’d talk to him before you start winter training and see if you can get a better feel for what he was saying before – what were his expectations, why didn’t you meet them, what could you have done better/differently, what does he want to see you improve on for the spring, and knowing that you’ve only been rowing for one season, did he feel like his expectations for the fall were realistic. After talking to him and hearing what he has to say about the fall and upcoming spring season, then you can make a decision as to whether or not you want to continue training..
Question of the Day
Hey! So my novice team has about 5 boats with coxswains and 2 cox boxes. The novice girls have 5 boats and 5 cox boxes and the varsity all have enough also. It is really annoying when we go on the water and three coxswains don’t have cox boxes or are stuck with a cox box mini (we have one) or cox box (also only one). The coxswains on the team all really want functioning cox boxes, so how do you think we should go about asking our coach about it (or rather if we even should ask)?
You should definitely ask for several reasons but the biggest reason is for safety. For some reason this always gets overlooked and I cannot for the life of me understand why since everyone always says it’s their number one priority. If you don’t have a cox box, everything you say (or yell, rather) is only going as far as 7-seat, maybe. If you’re in a bow loader, your bow man is probably the only person who hears you (as long as there’s a headwind). That’s annoying when you’re trying to make calls, especially to novices, but it’s a HUGE problem if you get into a dangerous situation and need to have everyone’s attention. If you’re in bad weather and it’s raining and really windy, there’s no way anyone can hear what you’re saying which makes it difficult if you’re trying to get your point, rowing in a strong current, trying to dock, etc.
I would bring this up to your coach(es), in addition to any other issues you’ve encountered by not having one. My one caution though would be to not say you want one just because everyone else has one. If your coach really needs to be convinced, ask them how well a boat would function if you only had 5 oars instead of eight or if only half of the seats were slid back and forth. That’s similar to the disadvantage your boat is at when the coxswain doesn’t have their one crucial piece of equipment.
Cox boxes are expensive though so I guess if you want to look for a reason to justify why not every coxswain has their own, this is that reason. Between the cox box, mic, charger, and case it totals something like $680. Multiply that by three and that’s over $2000 (which is ridiculous given how limited the cox boxes are…). Coaches, parent/executive boards, etc. see that and say “no way” because they’d rather spend the money on riggers, oars, boats, travel, etc.
When you talk to your coaches, go in knowing how much the three cox boxes would cost your team and a plan for how you plan on raising the money to purchase them and/or a plan to search for and acquire used cox boxes from other teams. Linked below is a post on fundraising that you can use for inspiration if you need some ideas.
Related: How to raising money for your club team
If you’re interested in buying them used, I’d suggest posting an ad on row2k in their classifieds section under “Accessories Wanted”. You could also post it under “Oars and Equipment Wanted” for additional exposure. Make sure you list the contact info of whoever is in charge of the search (even if you’re doing the work, I’d put a parent or coach as the contact person) and the price you’re willing to pay (make sure it’s fair and reasonable!).
Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches
Question of the Day
What do you think about coxswain – coxswain romantic relationships?
The same as any other crew relationship – probably not the smartest idea (especially if you’re on the same team) but if you’re mature about it, obviously I’m sure you can make it work.
Related: Relationships tag
The same drama that comes up with other relationships can arise if things end poorly and in the end, it’s a distraction that no one wants to deal with. It’s even tougher with coxswains because we’ve gotta be able to work together and communicate on/off the water – if something inhibits that then it effects everyone else on the team. Plus, if you’re on the same team and competing for the same boats, that can also cause unnecessary tension. It’s your call obviously but whatever you decide to do, maturity has to win out over everything else.
Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches
Question of the Day
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.
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.
Question of the Day
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.
Question of the Day
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.
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.
Training & Nutrition Video of the Week
Video of the Week: Sprinters vs. Marathoners
Music to erg to, pt. 15
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