Author: readyallrow

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 27, 2014

I am in a very difficult position right now with my new team. There are a couple girls on the team who are very (and I mean incredibly) conceited, cocky, and sassy. They think that they are always right so whenever they make a mistake they try to blame it on me, or the coach does not see (or want to believe that it is anyone other than my own fault), I get in trouble. Every time I get yelled at I lose a chance to make a competitive boat and have to be in the launch. I understand that sometimes it is my own fault and that the coxswain does have to take responsibility for the boat but when these girls are not listening to me and when they do their own thing and I get in trouble and they don’t it gets really frustrating. I even tell them they need to listen and become stern with them when my job requires me to but nothing is working.

Also, I know typically in situations like this one you would go talk to your coach about it and have them help you. However, I do not know what to do when even your coach hates the coxswains. Yes, he puts a lot of responsibility on us because that is our job, but he doesn’t always keep us in the loop and then gets mad when we do not know what is going on, he never answers our questions then gets mad if we mess up, and he is just plain rude without giving us any constructive criticism.

I know this sounds awful, because trust me, it is, I just need advice! Hopefully you can help me out even a little! Thank you!

Wow, I’m really sorry you’re dealing with all that. I think this is one of those situations where employing the “safety in numbers” tactic is going to be your best option. I get the impression that all of you are experiencing the same basic problems (lack of communication, respect, etc.) in addition to your own individual issues (in your case, favoritism) so talking to him as a group would probably be the best way to clear the air, so to speak, with minimal repercussions (i.e. keeping people out of boats for speaking up, etc.). With regards to the favoritism stuff that you’re dealing with, I’d bring that up and say that you’re having serious issues with the girls in your boat(s) not respecting your position on the team, undermining your authority, and making you the scapegoat for their individual mistakes. Make it clear that you understand you have to take responsibility for the boat but also make it clear that you know that getting thrown under the bus for their problems is not one of those responsibilities. I have a major problem with rowers who think they can make the coxswain their bitch and expect them to just sit back and take it but I take even more issue with coaches who reinforce that behavior by doing the exact same thing.

I’m not saying you should lose control or cross any lines in terms of how you approach this but I think you also need to get a little bold here and tell your coach that when he punishes you for X, Y, and Z instead of investigating the issue further and/or acknowledging your repeated claims of the rowers doing A, B, and C, he is reinforcing the idea that they don’t have to respect you (as a person or a coxswain) and can keep doing whatever they’re doing because you’ll always be there to take the blame for them. That’s bullshit. You know it, I know it, and everybody reading this knows it. And, as I say below, it’s not going to stop or change until you stick up for yourself and say “this is not acceptable”. Have some self-respect and don’t be afraid to, as Tyler Oakley/Nicki Minaj says, not accept the pickle juice.

I’ll give you the same advice that I gave to someone else via email last week. The situations are a little different but similar enough that I think what I said to that person would apply to you as well. Here’s a copy/paste of part of that email:

“I think what someone needs to say to your team as a whole (and feel free to say that I said this too, as a completely unbiased outside perspective…) is that if things really, truly are as bad as you say they are (and I do believe they are) that for the good of the team this year and in the future, everyone needs to forget about what boats they may or may not be passive aggressively placed into and just go talk to your coach. Why do you think SO. MANY. PEOPLE. get away with the shitty things they do day in and day out? Because they know that the people who could or want to do something about it are only NOT saying something because they fear retaliation. The minute you stop being afraid of how someone will react and put the good of the team ahead of your own individual desires is when you can start to enact real change. Does it suck? Yes. Is it fair? No, but unless you want to deal with this for two more years that’s what you’ve gotta do.”

I hope there’s something in there that you can use to make this situation a little better. Keep me updated too, I’m interested to hear how this all plays out. Also, if you haven’t yet, check out the interview linked above where I asked Pete Cipollone how to handle situations where the rowers took their frustrations out on you, amongst other things. I think your situation is far past what we discussed here but I also think that there might be some words of advice in there that you can use going forward.

Erg Playlists

Music to erg to, pt. 57

By readyallrow September 26, 2014

Now that the season is starting to pick up the questions are beginning to roll in – if you haven’t yet, check out the five or six I’ve already posted this week and keep an eye out later for the few I still need to post. Also coxswains, make sure you check out the post I did on race plans on Tuesday. It’s a twist on your typical race plan and is aimed more at the longer pieces you’re doing during practice.

And finally *drum roll* last night “Ready all, row…” passed 500,000 hits. That was the goal I was shooting for before the blog turned two so I’m really excited to hit it a week early. Obviously that wouldn’t have happened without you guys stopping by to read everything, sharing the stuff you like with friends, teammates, etc., and promoting the links across social media so thank you for helping me hit the 500k mark!

College Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 25, 2014

I went on an official visit about two weeks ago. I am very interested in this school but I am still looking at some other schools (that don’t have rowing). I want to keep up a relationship with this school but I’m not sure what to say in an email to them. Thanks!

Well first, I probably wouldn’t wait two weeks to email them after your official visit if you’re really interested in keeping a relationship with them. (I’m assuming you didn’t email them a day or two later but if you did … good!) That’s something that would stick out to me if I were the assistant coach doing all the recruiting stuff but I’m also anal about little details like that whereas most people aren’t. I still think it falls under “good manners” though to follow up on stuff like this a little sooner.

In your email I’d first say thanks for inviting you, you enjoyed being there/meeting the coaches/seeing the facilities/etc., one thing you enjoyed about attending practice, and one thing you enjoyed learning about the school itself. Reiterate that you’re very interested in this school and that it’s currently ranked #___ on your list of [however many schools you’ve applied to/are planning to apply to]. It’s OK if they’re not number one so be honest if they’re #2 or #3.

To wrap it up I’d mention when your first race is or when you know your next planned erg test is and let them know that you’ll update them with the results (the boat you were in, where you placed, what your erg time was, etc.) later that week. Thank them again for bringing you to campus and leave it at that. Keep the email brief and to the point while hitting most or all of those points. From there I would just keep them in the loop in terms of any major regatta or erg test results (one email per month would probably suffice).

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 25, 2014

All of the 4s on my team are bow loaders. We have 2 boats that we use mostly for lightweight lineups because they’re a bit smaller so I fit pretty well in the coxswain seat. But lately I’ve been in one of the other shells and I’ll probably be racing in it for most of this year. The bow is longer than in the other boats. The headrest is all the way up but there’s there’s still a lot of room between my feet and the end of my seat. To keep myself from sliding around I realized my entire body ends up getting really tense (which is probably not good). I’ve also noticed that for a few days after being in a 4+ both my hips hurt every time I take a step or try to lift my leg. Do you have any tips for fixing that problem?

Ugh, yes, this is a huge part of why I hate bow loaders so much. They are just not at all friendly to short people. One of the things I’ve found that helps – marginally, but at least it’s something – is to stick a soccer ball or a slightly deflated beach ball in the bow to put your feet against. It helps keep you propped up and your muscles don’t need to be in “death grip” mode to keep you from sliding around.

People will tell you to stuff life jackets down there but a) that’s stupid, don’t do that and b) they’ve clearly never done it otherwise they’d know that it does absolutely nothing since there’s a giant HOLE in the middle of them, they constantly shift around, and your feet can get tangled in them (probably dangerous if you flip). I seriously don’t know a single coxswain who’s found this to be a viable option.

Coxing High School Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 25, 2014

Hey! I’m the head cox on my team now (I’m a junior in HS) and I’m packing my very first fanny pack. Right now I have electrical tape, a 7/16 wrench and a Vespoli tool. Do you have any recommendations about what else should go inside? Also, I’m looking to buy a voice recorder. Obviously I want one on the cheaper side but it also obviously needs to be good. Any recommendations on that? Thanks so much!!

Definitely check out the post linked below for some ideas since you’ve pretty much got the basics already. I’d also throw in maybe a small role of athletic tape and some band-aids and then depending on how big your fanny pack is, maybe also keep a pencil and a small notebook in there (the small 3×5 inch ones), some Hot Hands for when it’s cooler out, and some chapstick (coxing with chapped lips = torture), preferably with SPF.

Related: Miscellaneous coxswain gear

For recorders, check out the ones in the post linked below. The problem with most of the cheaper ones (usually $40 and under) is that they don’t have USB ports, which means there’s no way to get the audio off your recorder and on to your computer. That’s pretty inconvenient since you wouldn’t be able to store anything. The ones I’ve included in that post are from Sony and Olympus – I’m partial to Olympus because that’s what my recorder is and it still works great after 10+ years so that’s typically what I recommend. Out of those options though, this Sony one and this Olympus one would be the two I recommend, though you really can’t go wrong with any of them.

Since most recorders don’t have a clip or way to attach it to your body some kind of carrying case would also be worth looking into. You could get a waterproof phone case and put it in there to carry around your neck or get a soft case like this one that’ll keep it protected if you sit it on the floor of the boat. I’ve done that in the past and haven’t had much issues with it getting thrown around or anything. I’d probably recommend the waterproof case though, just to be safe. One other recommendation I’d make is to buy some Duracell or Energizer rechargeable batteries to use with it, that way you’re not throwing batteries away all the time (depending on how much you use it). I’d keep a fully-charged spare set in a plastic bag or something in your fanny pack too just in case it dies while you’re on the water.

Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 24, 2014

Hey Kayleigh! Just wanted to say, I really enjoy your no sugar coating, no bullshit attitude. You don’t dance around topics and you’re blunt when it’s required even if it may offend someone. People try too hard to please everyone and it’s refreshing to hear someone who just tells it how it is.

Ha, thanks! I appreciate this. Sometimes I question whether or not something comes off as too harsh and I’ll rewrite it a couple times to be less so but the rewrites always sound fake and not like me at all so I tend to just go with my original thoughts. I too find it refreshing when people just say what they think and tell it like it is (without being assholes) so I’m glad you feel the same way. 🙂

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 24, 2014

I’m just so pissed because my seat in the boat was taken today and I understand why because her scores are better, and now my coach isn’t having me race. I’ve been contemplating switching from my mostly sculling club to a more sweep inclined club so I can cox for a long time and I think this was just the final straw. I hate feeling like I have no control, especially because there’s no way my scores can get better than hers; dropping 5 splits just isn’t doable ugh.

Yea, I get that. It’s frustrating when you know that no matter how much effort you put into something it’ll likely never be at the level it needs to be in order to compete with the stronger people on the team. I obviously don’t have any experience with that when it comes to actually rowing but I’ve experienced it in other ways so I understand the feeling you’re talking about. The “no control” part is the worst.

If coxing is something you’re thinking about doing and you’re the right size for it then definitely look at the sweep-based programs in your area and send an email out to the coaches (or stop by the boathouse!) expressing your interest. Let them know that you’ve primarily rowed/sculled up to this point but recently realized that in order to continue with the sport and remain competitive, switching to coxing is probably the most realistic way to go.

Even though you’re pissed you lost your seat and won’t get to race, try not to be too negative about this situation. This is a perfect example of “when one door closes another opens”.

Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.
Simon Sinek

Coxing How To Racing Rowing

Race plans for practice pieces

By readyallrow September 23, 2014

Last week I was going over some audio with one of our coxswain’s from one of the race pieces she’d done during practice the previous week. On Fridays the two varsity eights go head-to-head, sort of, in a 7k race that begins at the 2k starting line in the basin and finishes at the HOCR finish line. One of the things I asked her was if she had a race plan going into the piece or if she just kind of “went with it” and coxed them without one. She said she just went with it, which I kind of figured based on her audio. I suggested putting something together for this week’s piece so that it would have a more organized and focused feel to it, rather than the focus of the entire 7,000 meters being on catching/beating the other crew that went out first.

Having a plan for races is important, obviously, but so is having a plan for the pieces you do during practice. They don’t have to be meticulously planned out or even be that similar to the plan you use during actual races – just as long as you’ve got a couple specific things to focus on throughout the piece other than just beating the other crew. What’s down below is what I detailed to our coxswain as to how I’d do it if I was doing one of those pieces.

What I’ve laid out is obviously going to be different for you since it’s unlikely you’re doing 7k pieces on the Charles but the goal is to get you to look at the pieces you are doing and thinking about how you could break them up into smaller, more manageable chunks. The way I broke up this piece, as you can see, is based entirely on the bridges. Remember, landmarks are your friend.

Starting line → Mass Ave. (1000m)

One of the other things we talked about was how to start this piece since they’re rowing right into it with just a few strokes to build into their rate (vs. taking a “high” 20 and a “settle” 10 to come down to their base pace). If you’re doing something like that, I’d treat it similar to a head race and do something like 3-5 to build to the line, 20 at rate, and then 5 or so to lengthen out and settle in. For the next ~750m your primary focus should be on establishing a rhythm.

Mass Ave. → BU (1500m)

This section should focus on making general technical calls to the entire boat based on what you’re seeing/feeling and working to incorporate some of the technical drills/changes that you’ve been working on over the last week. You should also be making calls that reference the rhythm you established in the first section.

Powerhouse Stretch (2000m)

Coming out of final 1000m of the 2k course, where you’ve just been talking to your crew as a whole, I would start to break down the boat and talk to the individuals (or if you don’t want to go person by person you can break it down to pairs). Here I’d spend 15-20 seconds per person (adjust the time to be a little longer if you go by pairs) and point out what I’m seeing with their stroke (good and/or bad) and remind them of any technical changes that they’d been working to incorporate over the last week. If your coach spoke directly to them when you were on the water about something, try to repeat what they were saying to reinforce the message.

If you aren’t seeing anything that needs correcting, let them know that their stroke looks strong/solid/consistent, great job backing up [whoever is sitting in front of them], I like that aggressive finish, etc. Positive reinforcement like that works wonders on a rower, especially when you’re doing a long piece. Normally I wouldn’t recommend doing something like this (talking to the individual rowers) during a “race” piece but because this one is so long and you’ve got the time/space available, I think it’d be beneficial. Plus, for those of you that have trouble coming up with things to say, this would help solve that problem.

Weeks → Anderson (500m)

This chunk right here is actually made up of two smaller sections; pre-Weeks and post-Weeks. Pre-Weeks is the first 100m of this section and is just for the coxswain because they’ve got to make sure they’re putting themselves in a good position to come through the bridge. And yes, I think out of the 7,000 or however many meters you’re rowing, the crew can spare a measly 100m to let you do your own thing. One of the things I was telling another of our coxswains was that you shouldn’t/can’t be afraid to take a few strokes off when necessary if you need to direct your attention to something else. If you’ve demonstrated that you’re in this just as much as the rowers are and have been coxing them accordingly up to this point, they’re not gonna care.

The second part of this, the post-Weeks section, is where I would call for the crew to take five strokes to sit up, recommit out of the turn, and mentally prepare themselves to start racing the other boat. (You’ll notice that up to this point I haven’t said anything about the other crew that’s out there with you – nothing at all about racing, telling your boat where they are, etc. Trust me, I did this for a reason.) During the second half of this part, as you’re coming into the bridge, is where I’d be telling my crew where they are on the other boat, how far ahead/back they are, and what your goals are for the rest of the piece in terms of where you want to be in relation to the other boat as you cross the line.

Anderson → Finish line (2000m)

This last 2000m is all about racing and where your tone should noticeably change from “practice” to “race” mode. This is also where you can start actively taking power bursts in the forms of 10s and/or 20s. Before this I’d recommend sticking to 3s and 5s since the primary focus from the start to Weeks is largely technical. Remember though, just because you can take them here doesn’t mean you need or have to. It’s a judgement call on your end so be smart and don’t dilute their effectiveness by overusing them.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t say anything about racing until you get to the final 1/3ish of the race. Here’s what I think … I don’t think you should be trying to race from the very beginning (unless your coach explicitly says “treat this like a real race”) because you’re either going to be playing catch-up or keep-away the entire time and not actually using the time to focus on the adjustments you should be implementing from practice. I also think that if the rowers go into it thinking they have to race for 7,000m then they’re just gonna hulk on the oar the entire time and not think as much about their technique. The first 2/3ish should have a largely internal focus, meaning you and the rowers are concerned only with what’s happening inside your boat. The final part of the piece is where you should be maintaining the good rowing from earlier and incorporating the changes from earlier as you shift into pure race mode.

It’s important to know that during the earlier part of the piece, your tone shouldn’t be casual like it is during a regular practice when you’re calling warmups and drills. You want it to be firm enough that the rowers know this is a hard piece but not so aggressive that you forget the purpose of the beginning of your race plan. On a scale of 1 to 10 you should be at about a 6.5-7.

The final important thing to keep in mind are the goals you give your crew for the end of the piece – make sure they’re realistic! Don’t say “I want to catch them by the end” if they’re five lengths away and you’ve only got 1500m left. It’s likely not going to happen, your crew will probably see the whole piece as a failure because you didn’t catch them, and then they’ll get pissed at you. Just avoid all of that by being honest about where you are and where you wanna be. If you can reasonably catch the other crew in front of you and cross the line even with or ahead of them (or continue to hold them off/walk away if you went out first at the start) then tell the crew that’s what you’re shooting for.

If they’re far enough ahead that you don’t think you can catch them but you know you can definitely close the gap, tell them the goal is to close the gap from five lengths of open water to two lengths. Don’t go by seats because that’s too small for them to picture and you to visualize when the gap is that wide. It’s not a realistic unit of measurement unless you’re actually within a length of them and will be overlapping with them at the finish. You can also go by time (which you should be able to see because you started the timer on your cox box at the start … right?) and say “we’re X minutes into it, let’s try to break Y” or “they started 15 seconds ahead of us, let’s get that gap down to six…”.

Hopefully all that makes sense and you can easily apply it to the pieces you’re doing while preparing for head race season.

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow September 22, 2014

Please can you do some more low rate practice recording analysis??

I have some that I’m planning on posting in November but here’s the thing … I can only post what’s available and what I can find on YouTube and Soundcloud. I’m not going to post every single recording I come across because a lot of them are basic and quite frankly, terrible. There are also way more race tapes online than there are practice ones – for example, my folder of high school/college sprint races is literally four times as big as my folder of high school/college practices – so that’s the majority of what gets posted. If you want to see more practice recordings, record yourself, upload it (or email it to me and I’ll upload it), and send me a link. I rely pretty heavily on you guys for these recordings posts so you’ve gotta make sure you’re contributing just as much as you’re taking away. If you like those posts and get something out of them, say “thanks” by uploading your own audio for other people to listen to and making sure that you’re titling, describing, and tagging them appropriately so they’re easy to find.