Author: readyallrow

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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I swear to god, with all the shit coxswains have to put up with, ya’ll deserve a whole month of appreciation, not just 1 week. I see the way my coach treats coxswains and basically says he hates coxies in front of them. It sucks because that attitude is too prevalent in the community.

Yea, I agree that that attitude is too prevalent. It’s frustrating but in theory it’s also an attitude/culture that can be changed … it really only takes the leaders on the team saying something and shutting down that behavior as soon as they see or hear about it happening (and obviously not partaking in it themselves). Granted, that can be hard to do when your coach is also involved in it but nobody ever said calling people on their shit was an easy thing to do.

That was something else that the coxswain from today’s post (linked below)said in her emails, that it became clear that the rowers saw the way the coach treated her (in addition to making the weight comments) and got the idea in their heads that it’s OK for them to treat her like that too. It’s not and it shouldn’t take the athletes to point out that everything starts from the top down. The team itself was a relatively new one and the majority of the rowers were total novices, which makes it even more frustrating that the coach would be the one spurring all this on because novices are like babies – they’re sponges. They soak up everything to get a sense for how shit works and if they see you doing something, they’re going to assume they can do it too.

Related: Do you really need that?

I’m all for calling coxswains out when they need to be called out (I think I’ve been pretty vocal about too) but it’s also basic common sense to know when you’re crossing that line and your “feedback/criticism” is crossing over into personal attacks, either blatant ones (telling them you hate them or blaming them for everything that’s going wrong) or subtle ones (making snide remarks about their weight).

“Do you really need that?”

Coxing Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

“Do you really need that?”

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Over the last few days I’ve been emailing with a coxswain who initially wanted some advice on what to do over the summer to make sure they’re in shape for the upcoming fall season. As most of you who have asked me the same or similar questions over the last few weeks know, my response was and has been to just make sure you’re within a healthy range (which gives you plenty of leeway) of your respective racing weight by being smart about your diet and doing something  like running, cycling, etc. a couple times a week. Really simple stuff, nothing too crazy.

Related: I know it’s silly but staying a lightweight is consuming me. Literally every moment of the day I’m thinking of ways to be smaller and I hate myself for even worrying about this so much, like 123 is a FINE weight but at the same time … I hate being like this. It’s really worrying and I’m not eating as much anymore and I just need advice. 

Now, as most of you know, I have zero patience when it comes to coaches and rowers who openly disrespect coxswains and make unnecessary (and often times, pretty hurtful) comments about their weight when their weight isn’t an issue. I totally get being pissed when your coxswain is far, far over the minimum but seriously, speaking in general here, you guys have got to stop doing this. Below are some excerpts of the emails this coxswain sent me after our initial ones where we talked about getting in shape for the fall (shared with their permission).

“…Our coach is generally just impatient with us while we’re on the water and they complain about it more than I do. And to top it off, whenever we went to a meal during races, our coach would scrutinize what I ate and tell me things like. “Hey you need to fit in the seat…” Or “Do you really need that” but then tell me that she would prefer I didn’t starve myself.  She mentioned me losing weight before going into summer and said that “then we can actually go fast”.”

They told me that they’re a vegetarian so a lot of what they eat when they’re traveling is fruit or something else light.

“… I honestly have never had an eating disorder, like EVER. But after being treated like that I have been so vulnerable and not confident and it is so horrible because it made me not confident in other things too, so much that when I came home I asked my mum if I could talk to a therapist about it, like I’ve been struggling to bring myself back to the person I know I am, which yeah, is completely shitty.”

Making comments like that is not cool, it’s not funny, and it’s not appropriate. There’s a difference between playfully ragging on a friend (which you can really only get away with if you have a solid relationship with the person and even then, there are limits…) and being a jerk. I don’t want to get too into this because I’ve talked about all of it numerous times on here before but consider this another reminder/plea to just think before you say anything like what’s posted above to your coxswain(s). You don’t know how it’s going to affect them and if an eating disorder is something they’re already struggling with (which you most likely wouldn’t know about), hearing someone say “you need to find in the seat” or “do you really need that” can be pretty damaging. For more on that you can check out the posts in the link below.

Related: National eating disorder awareness week

I would also stop for a sec and consider this: I get a lot of emails from coxswains and when I find them serious enough to post on here I keep the details as vague as possible so as to not give away who they are or who they cox for. There are obvious reasons for doing that but I also do it because I want everyone who reads this to assume that it was your athlete and your coxswain that emailed me because, for all you know, it was. So … if you’re reading this and are thinking “wow…that sounds like something I said to my coxswain this year…”, this post is probably about you.

Image via // @schurwanzpics

Rowing Technique Video of the Week

Video of the Week: USA Men’s 8+ in slow motion

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If you’re looking for a video that puts technique on display then this is definitely one you want to watch. This is from a couple years ago when the USA men’s eight was training in Lucerne before one of the world championships. Check out the blade entry vs. slide movement at the catch – see how the blades are buried before the seats change direction? #GOALS.

Coxing High School Q&A

Question of the Day

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Hi! I just started coxing a novice summer competitive program after rowing for one year at a different club. There are four coxswains, and it was originally three with the girls coach and one with the boys coach, because there are three girl coxswains and one boy coxswain. The team usually has boys cox boys and girls cox girls, but the boys coach has recently been having me cox the boys too and he keeps implying that he would want me to cox boys in the fall. Problem is, I weigh in between 99 and 103lbs depending on the day, so I’m a bit too far under the boys’ weight minimum. I’m comfortable at my weight, but should I consider putting on a bit of weight to cox in general or is that weight usually fine for coaches? Thanks so much!

Coaches very rarely ever care if you’re under the minimum because it’s one less thing they (and you) have to worry about. Obviously putting on muscle is never a bad thing but unless it’s something that gets brought up by the coaches, I wouldn’t worry about it (especially since you’re a novice coxswain too). If you feel like you need to gain some weight then you can explore that avenue if necessary but I wouldn’t do it just because of where you are compared to the 120lb minimum.

Coxing Masters Q&A

Question of the Day

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Our (predominantly) Masters club rows out of a college boathouse and we have been fortunate enough over the years to have some of their coxes cox for us over the summer. Now it seems we need to “grow our own” as the college rowers are less available and the subject of a coxswain clinic has come up. Do you have any suggestions about how to structure this clinic?

I think the simplest way to do it would be to advertise it to any/all local coxswains, partner up with the college coxswains you’ve been working with to have them teach part/all of it, and make it known that the masters club also just happens to be looking for coxswains.

Structure-wise, I’d probably make it a three-hour thing on the weekend (like 9-12pm) or since it’s the summer, something in the afternoon/evening (say, 2-5pm or 4-7pm). Regardless of whether the people you bring in are total novices, experienced coxswains, masters rowers-turned-coxswains, etc. I think it’s worthwhile to start off with something like this, that way everyone knows right off the bat where motivation falls on the hierarchy of things people expect coxswains to do (hint: it’s not even remotely close to being your most important responsibility), and/or this, again just so they can get a sense of what their priorities should be. It can also serve as a good reminder for the experienced coxswains that execution and steering trump everything else.

From there I’d just keep things simple and talk about the basics of steering, boat handling (aka how to get it out of the boathouse and into the water (PS that’s a good post to share with the novice coxswains you know)), and what the stroke actually looks like. I don’t think you need to get super in-depth with any of the technical stuff because that can get boring (fast) and it’s just not necessary (yet) for what you’re trying to do. I would also spend a bit of time at the end talking about the masters program, what you’re looking for, who would be eligible to work with you (i.e. anyone, only people two years of coxing experience, etc.) and then get a list of emails/phones numbers from everyone so you can stay in contact with the people who are interested in coxing for you.

Definitely get the college coxswains involved though. You’re more likely to attract junior coxswains that way and it can be reassuring to masters rowers-turned-coxswains to hear from people who actually know what they’re talking about (vs. just having another adult who’s maybe “coxed” three times explain what coxing is all about).

How To Video of the Week

Video of the Week: Adjusting the seat tracks

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We had to do some track adjusting towards the end of the season with the IRA four and since it became a slightly more involved process than I thought it’d be I figured it’d be worthwhile to share this video to show how it’s done. Keep in mind that you should talk with your coach first if you think there’s an issue with your tracks (i.e. they’re not aligned, they’re too far forward/back, etc.) before you mess with anything, just to avoid damaging them or making any unnecessary changes.

Erg Playlists

Music to erg to, pt. 96

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Did you see the new recordings post that went up yesterday? There are three really awesome ones in there, including one from our repechage at IRAs. I also posted a couple new questions on Tuesday, one of which asks a really good question about eliminating rush on the recovery and finding a sustainable rhythm while still maintaining the appropriate pressure.

Also, because it’s summer, just a reminder that now’s the ideal time to take a week or so off from training and just relax, re-evaluate where you’re at with rowing (if necessary), etc. I’ve been getting some panic-y emails lately from both rowers and coxswains so I just wanted to remind everyone that your mental health is just as important whatever other training you’re doing right now so don’t neglect it. Where the mind goes the body follows.