Category: Coxing

Coxing Drills Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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Heeey so at the moment we’re doing a lot of work on the finish and the release but I am struggling to come up with calls that really work. I have a few basic ones but not many so I find myself repeating them over and over and over and over. Do you have any calls for technique at the finish and release that I could borrow or modify to suit my crew?? TY x

Good question. First thing (or first two things, rather) I’d do is talk with your coach about what he/she is specifically trying to achieve with the work you’re doing on the finish/release. Usually they’ll have at least one or two things in mind that they’d like to see the rowers improve on so find out what those are and as you’re listening to your coach explain them, write down 2-3 of the key things he says about each one (these should be short phrases, 5-7ish words max). From there, you can either use exactly what he said as a call or come up with a call on your own based off of his explanation.

For example, let’s pretend I had this conversation with my coach: “What I really want to focus on with these finish and release drills is making sure the guys are setting themselves up to have a good recovery and follow that up with a sharp, clean catch. If their posture is poor as they come through the finish it’s going to be hard for them to maintain the pressure with the outside hand that’s needed to tap the handle down and extract the blade from the water. That’s one of the reasons why we’re doing those pause drills at the release, to get them to think about staying up tall throughout the entire stroke and not slumping down into their hips as they lay back and draw through the finish. The other thing I want to focus on with the finish is making sure they’re continuing to move the handle consistently through the back end of the stroke and not giving up any of the speed from the front end.”

There’s a lot of info packed in that paragraph but that’s a good thing because it gives you plenty of inspiration to draw from. Something I did when I was in college whenever I’d try to get my biochem professor to explain something to me was I’d take my recorder and record our conversation so I could go back and listen to it later and pause it at the spots I thought were particularly important. This gave me a chance to actually process what was being said and compare his explanation to the notes I had from class vs. trying to recall everything he said a few hours later and forgetting half of what I asked him. I’d recommend doing this if you know you’ve got a specific question that (hopefully) has a long-ish answer, that way you can go back and review it later.

So, from that paragraph this is what I’d take away and what call(s) I’d create from it.

Take away: ” …making sure the guys are setting themselves up to have a good recovery and follow that up with a sharp, clean catch…”

Call(s): This is where I’d appeal to the coach’s good side while also communicating what we’re doing to the rowers. By repeating what he said to you shows you were listening and actually absorbing the information he was giving you. Even though this isn’t a specific finish/release call it achieves the same thing. “OK guys, as we go through this next minute let’s make sure we’re always thinking ahead to the next stroke and setting ourselves up for a smooth recovery. How good our catches are will be determined by how committed we are to having strong finishes and clean releases…”

Take away:  “…poor posture through the finish = hard to maintain pressure with the outside hand…”

Call(s): This is where you have to do some work and think about what the finish should look like when they’re rowing with ideal posture. What does that “ideal” posture look like when they’re in the finish position? You should be able to come up with … I’d say five or six things easily that you can then use and direct to either the entire crew or to individual rowers if you know they have a specific issue with something posture-related at the finish. (I know I’m not giving you anything specific here but … that’s the point. I want you to do the work and come up with this stuff on your own!)

Take away: “…pressure with the outside hand that’s needed to tap the handle down and extract the blade from the water…”

Calls: Remind them that just the outside hand should be used to extract the blade (younger rowers in particular tend to try and use both) and make a few calls about having a relaxed, flat outside wrist with the elbow up and out (find a happy medium between T-Rex arms and chicken wings…). Keeping the elbow up will help them maintain a flat wrist position which in turn will help them exert the right amount of pressure on the handle to get the blade out. Don’t be afraid to tell them to look out over their outside shoulder to see if their elbows are up or to have them glance down at their wrist, particularly during a finish pause, to see what if they’re flat or a little hunched. Obviously that’s not something you can see with anyone other than your stroke (and even then it can be tough sometimes) so telling them specifically what to look for and what to change (if necessary) is what you have to do in situations like this.

Take away: “…purpose of the pause drill = to get them to think about staying up tall throughout the entire stroke and not slumping down into their hips as they lay back and draw through the finish…”

Calls: I would say exactly this since sometimes it isn’t communicated well or isn’t clear to everyone why you’re doing certain drills. In cases like this I would also talk specifically to that one person in your boat who consistently has shitty posture (there’s always at least one) and say “Dan, we’re doing these pause drills for you. Through these next five strokes I want you to think about staying tall all the way through the drive and not losing any height as you finish the stroke.” This puts some personal responsibility on Dan and gives everyone else something to think about too. Another thing I like to do when I’m doing pause drills at the release is let them take 2-3 normal strokes and then on the third pause say “OK now everyone sit up…”. You will magically see everyone get an inch or two taller. Once I say “go” I’ll tell them to stay tall into the catch (said on the recovery), drive with the cores (said at the catch), and support it here (said as they come through to the finish). Basic reminders like this are a good way to get them to think about what they have to do at each point during the stroke in order to have a supported finish.

Take away: “…making sure they’re continuing to move the handle consistently through the back end of the stroke…”

Calls: For simple things like this I like to keep it basic and say “squeeze” (my most common finish call), “draw through“, “pull in high, snap at the finish…”, etc. Sometimes I’ll also say “keep the handle moving through the back end” on the drive and then say “snap” or “here” right at the finish as the arms draw through.

Take away: “…not giving up any of the speed from the front end…”

Calls: I was just talking about this with the walk-ons the other day. One of the most important things to remember at the finish is that in order to maintain your speed and give the end of the stroke a little extra “oomph”, there has to be a flawless transition from the momentum that’s been created by the leg drive to the draw through with the arms. The arm draw is responsible for taking advantage of the momentum created at the front end and carrying it through to the back end, so in order to do that there has to be consistent pressure exerted on the face of the blade as you come through the finish. I like to appeal to the musculature here and make calls like “squeeze the lats”, “elbows and triceps up”, “press back with the shoulders”, etc. Other times I’ll just say what I said at the beginning – we can’t give up any of the speed we got with the legs so keep the transition between the legs and body smooth and sharp. Another thing I’ve said is “don’t cheat the speed”, meaning don’t get lazy at the finish and expect the boat to do all the work for you.

The other thing I would do is talk to the rowers and find out what they want/need to hear. Some have individual things they’re working on, others are looking for more general reminders … find out what all those things are and make note of them. A lot of times they’ll say “if you could say something like X if you see me/us doing Y…” which is usually a good starting point for you to go off of and build your calls from there.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I’m a first-year varsity rower in high school and am going into the fall racing season. I am the smallest rower on my team (5’3″ and 122lbs) and I know I want to become a coxswain later in my rowing career, such as in college or later in high school. Would it be better to make the transition to a coxswain as soon as possible or wait for a year or two?

Personally I think that if coxing is something you want to do in college then it’d be beneficial to have as much experience as possible going into it before you graduate, mainly because you don’t want to have to learn all the ins an outs of it while trying to get adjusted to what is essentially an entirely new lifestyle. There are obviously plenty of successful walk-on coxswains but if you’ve got the opportunity to start doing it now, why not do it? If you’re currently a sophomore then you could finish out the fall season and switch to coxing in the spring or just row for the full year and switch as a junior. It’s up to you. I would talk with your coach though and let them know that becoming a coxswain is what you eventually plan on doing but at this point you’re just trying to determine when would be the best time to make the transition.

Coxing Racing Video of the Week

Video of the Week: “The Turn”

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I’ll probably do an actual post on this a little later in the season but just putting it out there now that it might be worthwhile to talk with your coaches now or soon-ish about the regattas you’ll be attending this fall and which, if any, courses have hairpin turns like this, that way you can hopefully practice doing them before you’ve actually gotta do it during a race.

Defining the role of the coxswain: The type of coxswain you DON’T want to be

College Coxing High School

Defining the role of the coxswain: The type of coxswain you DON’T want to be

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We always hear about the types of coxswains you should aspire to be like but rarely, if ever, does anyone ever tell you about the coxswains you don’t want to be like. Part of the problem with no one pointing them out ahead of time is that by the time someone thinks to say something about it, you’ve already got two or three of those coxswains on your team.

I know people are always like “oh we can’t say anything negative otherwise no one will want to join crew” and I get that but at the same time, why wouldn’t you want to just get everything out in the open and say “here’s what we’re looking for, here’s what we’re not looking for, if the former applies to you then you might be a good fit and if the latter applies you might not be a good fit”? It would probably save the team a lot of headaches down the line if that’s the way things were done, at least in my opinion. At the very least it’d save a lot of you the time spent writing me emails asking how to deal with your coxswains who fall into one or more of the categories below.

The incompetent one

This one literally has no idea what they’re doing. One of two things tends to prevent them from asking for help (either their ego or their shyness) and as a result, things are done incorrectly, inefficiently, or not at all.

If you’re that person: Suck it up and ask for help. Do your own research and educate yourself on the things you’re unsure of and/or don’t know how to do. Don’t assume that you’re the only one that can see that you have no idea what’s going on because, trust me, it’s way more obvious than you think.

The wallflower

This one is shy, quiet, and unauthoritative. The only time they say anything is when they absolutely have to and even then it’s hard to take them seriously because they don’t take themselves seriously. It’s unknown why they joined the team but the reason they got stuck coxing probably has everything to do with their physical stature and nothing to do with their actual personality or potential.

If you’re that person: Not everyone is outgoing and in-your-face and that’s fine … but if you’re gonna be a coxswain you’re going to have to adjust a little when you’re at the boathouse. Being authoritative and sometimes loud (OK, most of the time…) are requirements of the job. If those aren’t things you’re used to being that’s fine when you first start out but you need to step outside of your comfort zone and be a little more bold.

The basket case

These ones are the ones that freak out about everything, constantly say “I don’t know what to do, what do I do, I can’t do this, OMG I can’t do this…” and in general just get on everyone’s nerves due to their sheer inability to just get. a. grip.

If you’re that person: Assess the situation and why you’re freaking out. If it’s because you aren’t sure what to do, ask yourself how freaking out is going to make things any easier for you and the eight other people you’re on the water with. If you know that you’re a relatively high-strung person in general, figure out the best way for you to become calm and maintain a more level head when you’re at practice.

The indecisive one

This one is non-committal about pretty much everything, regardless of whether it’s what warm-up to do with the crew, who they want to row, how many strokes they need to take, or how much distance they have left to cover. Usually this coxswain is a combination of the incompetent one and the basket case – they don’t know what they’re doing so they panic and then can’t process or decide what the next course of action should be.

If you’re that person: The first thing you need to do is figure out is what you should be doing and how it should be done. Ask someone if you don’t know. If you start to feel overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next, take a deep breath and make a decision. Don’t debate with yourself. Either it’s going to be the right one, an acceptable one that works for the time being but could be done better next time, or the wrong one. Just pick one though and at least pretend that that’s what you were planning on doing all along.

The dictator

These are the ones that let the power go to their head, take themselves way too seriously, have an “I’m better than you” attitude, and/or think that their sole purpose is to run practice like boot camp. What they were either not told or selectively chose not to hear was that being given a certain amount of responsibility and power doesn’t mean that you’re exempt from being coached or given feedback.

If you’re that person: Contemplate the definitions of “boss” and “leader” for awhile and consider how your style of “leadership” is coming across to your teammates.

To be clear, none of these have anything to do with any amount of coaching they may or may not received. I know I talk a lot about where coaching falls short when it comes to coxswains but a lack of instruction can only be blamed for so much – at some point it’s going to come back to the person behind the mic and that is what this post is getting at.

Additionally, this post is mainly geared towards coxswains who are new to the sport or have only been doing it for a year or so, mainly as a way to say “don’t be that person and if you are that person, recognize it and do something different otherwise you’re wasting your time, your coach’s time, and your teammates time”.

Image via // @mlcsrs_17
How to recruit coxswains

College Coxing How To Recruiting

How to recruit coxswains

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It’s that time of year again when teams are looking to recruit new walk-on rowers and coxswains. Advertising rowing itself tends to be fairly easy but coxing? Well, not so much. The simplest way to explain how to approach advertising coxswains is that you kinda have to have a “live by the sword, die by the sword” mentality going into it – the type of flier you create and the way you describe the team and the roles you’re looking to fill is going to dictate the type of people that show up to the meeting and that can either be a great thing or a really bad thing.

Trust me, I love a humorous advertisement as much as the next person but with coxing I feel like there’s a fine line that you have to avoid crossing if you don’t want to attract the wrong type of people (you know who I mean). For example, don’t say this:

“Are you small? Do you like telling people what to do? Are you obstinate, arrogant, and ruthless? Join us and we’ll treat you like a god.”

We all joke about coxswains having Napoleon complexes but have you ever actually met a coxswain that acts like that? If you have then you know it’s not a good thing so why would you create fliers asking for that kind of person to join your team, even if you’re just trying to be witty and humorous?

Here’s a couple tips for attracting coxswains to your program (and keeping them there):

Don’t try to reel people in just because you win a lot of races or anticipate winning a lot this year.

Winning isn’t everything. I mean yea, it’s cool, yaaay medals, but hopefully you’ve got a lot more to draw people in than just “we won more races this year than last year”. If that was the only thing you could offer me as to why I should join or continue I’d probably say “pass” and join something else.

Treat them like an athlete rather than part of the furniture

A Redditor said this and I cannot stress it enough. You’re likely pointing out all the things the rowers will get out of this (i.e. getting in shape, receiving stellar coaching from Coach McAwesome, etc.) but what can the coxswains expect to get?

Advertise something that gets to the core of what coxing is (such as leadership training, for example) and note that they too will receive excellent one-on-one coaching from whoever on your team is most well-versed in all things coxing (if you don’t have someone, a) hello get or train someone and b) come on, we’ve talked about this). Things like opportunities to learn about coaching via weekly rides in the launch with your coach or something like that could also be enticing.

Basically you want to make sure the people interested in coxing feel like they’re going to given the same amount of attention as the rowers, in addition to being valued just as much as the rowers.

Say what a coxswain is without being cliche or dumb

Things like “loud”, “short”, “like telling people what to do”, “chief motivator” (yea, I actually saw that once…), etc. are pretty “blech”. Most of you are in college so your vocabulary should be a bit more expansive than that. Consider getting a coxswain’s input on what they feel the most important qualities are for someone who wants to try it out and go from there. You can definitely say that a coxswain is someone who is a leader or wants to develop better leadership skills but be prepared to detail what kind of leader they are and the expectations your team has for anyone considering undertaking that role.

Follow through with what you advertise

This is probably the most important thing you can do if you want to retain the people you get to come out this fall. At your first interest meeting, make sure you spend an equal amount of time talking to the prospective coxswains as you do the prospective rowers. If you’re going to advertise that coxswains are equally important members of the crew, make sure you stand by that right from the start.

Here’s an example of a flier I made last week when I was talking with someone who asked for feedback on one they were making to try and attract new coxswains. I’m not saying its perfect or what every poster has to look like but it’s an example of something you could do if you’re struggling to get people to consider trying coxing.

Remember, the key to a good flyer is to have just enough white space to keep it from looking too crowded but not so much that the page is practically empty. Keep everything concise and to the point (just like a coxswain would!) but make sure you get across the important details too. You also want to have something that’s visually appealing so that it’ll catch their eye and make them want to read the rest of what’s on the page, hence the text on the photo.

When it comes to posting them around campus or handing them out, consider putting them up in strategic places rather than randomly up on a board in the student center where they’ll just blend in with all the other club sport, “roommates wanted”, off-campus bookstore, and 2-for-1 beer crawl posters. For example, think of the majors that require the students to possess strong leadership qualities or that aim to enhance them (business, political science, etc.) and post some near that department’s office.

If you know of any leadership organizations on campus, email their president and see if you could make a quick presentation at the beginning of their next meeting. Let them know the type of student you’re looking for and why you think their members might also be interested in coxing. Make it mutually beneficial and invite them to give one at your first team meeting too. At the beginning of the year I remember always having team and club presidents pitch their activities at the start of class and the ones that I was always the most interested in were the ones that actually put effort into learning/knowing who their audience was.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I have been coxing for 4 years in High School and originally loved it however the past years I have slowly started to dread the practices to the extent that I would fake sick just so I wouldn’t have to go. I find that as I am becoming a higher level coxswain (Junior National Team and now a University Recruit) that rowing is no longer a hobby for my fellow crew mates, that it is their life. I don’t think I would ever be able to have that level of commitment as rowing has started to lose all of the joy that it once brought me and has become more of a nuisance than anything else. I am now starting University Training Camp and don’t know whether I should quit or not. I have never quit at something before in my life however I just truly get no joy out of it anymore and it just makes me very tired and depressed. I also just cannot really relate with my teammates and their lifestyles as all of them are Arts students with light course loads while I am in a very competitive Commerce program and in addition many of them thrive on “rowing drama” and are rather catty and competitive. Don’t get me wrong, the thrill of coxing a race is still one of the greatest things ever for me however I don’t know if I can handle all the rest. What do you suggest? I wish to tell the coaches as early as possible if I am not continuing as I do not want to inconvenience them…

Short answer? Just quit. You clearly aren’t enjoying it anymore and what’s the point in doing something if it doesn’t make you happy?

Long answer? I felt the same way you do and was in the same position as you as well. I did it for four years in high school, was recruited, and then fell out of love with it pretty hard and fast. I had a couple friends on the team but the majority were way more into partying than I was so we didn’t really have a ton in common. I’ve talked about this on here before but for me it got to the point where my alarm would go off in the morning and I would instantly be so pissed off that I had to wake up and go to practice. Not really the best way to start off what frequently turned into 18-20 hour days. I was always tired, always behind, always miserable, and perpetually in a state of being “over it”. When I decided to quit it was a really hard decision because I’d never quit anything either. I actually considered staying with it just so I could say I never quit anything. That’s a really stupid reason for doing stuff though so I told my coach that I was quitting and that was that.

As far as crossing that line between hobby and it becoming your life, you’re going to find those people on every team you’re on, regardless of whether it’s a sports team, the people you work with, etc. However, I don’t think that means that you should have to conform or pretend to be super into something you’re not just to please other people. Personally, I need that separation. I love crew but it in no way is my life and I’ve definitely met other coaches who don’t like the fact that I refuse to be all about rowing 24/7. There’s also a pretentiousness about it that just makes me roll my eyes (although that could have been/probably was more about the people than the sentiment). The point is that it’s OK to view crew as a hobby as long as you still show up ready to give 100%. If you think nothing of crew before or after practice, who am I to care? I’ve met plenty of people like that and in my experience they tend to be more dedicated in the long run than the people who are all OMG CREW = LIFE. There needs to be a balance otherwise you’re just asking to burn yourself out (case in point: that’s why I quit, I had no balance because crew took up so much time and mental energy). It can be hard to be that person who is perceived to be less dedicated than everyone else, especially when they’re catty and competitive like you said, but if people are going to make you feel like shit because you’re trying to manage a heavy course load and whatever else you’ve got going on, at some point you’ve gotta ask yourself if those are the kind of people you even want to call your teammates.

I’d set a meeting as soon as you’re able with the coaches and then tell them that you don’t want to do it anymore. Don’t beat around the bush, just get straight to the point. Don’t let them guilt trip you into staying or anything like that either. That’s such an asshole move and I hate when people do that. You also don’t have to say everything to them that you said in your question regarding the reasons behind your decision. If you just want to say that you’d rather focus on school because you’re course load is starting to really pick up then say that. You’re not obligated to tell them every detail. If you want to that’s your choice but you shouldn’t feel like you have to.

Like I said at the beginning, there’s no point in continuing to do something that doesn’t make you happy. If it’s to the point where you’re faking being sick to get out of practice or you view it as a nuisance rather than a fun activity then quitting is probably the best option.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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Do you have any tips about getting back into the swing of coxing after taking the whole summer vacation off? I’ve had 8 weeks off and although I get back onto the water in a week I was wondering if there was anything I should do in advance?

Beforehand I don’t think there’s anything you really need to do. What is there to prep for? I’d just enjoy your last couple of days off, maybe go for a run or long bike ride, and that’s it. Once you get back on the water though, don’t try to jump right back into coxing like you were at the end of last season. Being quiet is so underrated but it’s pretty much exactly what you should be doing right now. Just like the rowers are trying to get back into the swing of things, so should you, which means instead of talking and trying to correct their technique, make (unnecessary) calls, etc. you should instead be focusing the majority of your energy on steering a good course.

Use this time to focus on your basics which are steering (priorities #1-10), observing and silently analyzing the blade work (i.e. do you notice anything “off”, if so what is it, how does it deviate from what it should look like, what’s causing it, what adjustments should the rower make, and what should you say to him to elicit a change?) and feeling the boat (what feels good, what feels bad, do you feel a change after the coach talks to a rower about something, what did the coach say that resulted in that change, etc.).

Coxswain recordings, pt. 23

Coxing High School Racing Recordings

Coxswain recordings, pt. 23

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Clips from practice on the Potomac, Head of Occoquan, and Head of the Charles

I like what he says at 2:22 – “Our bow deck is on 71’s stern deck, let’s go. 70’s gone, time to make the next move. You don’t pass one boat then stop, you keep pressing…”. That’s a great call to make after you pass a crew, particularly if you’re close to the next crew in front of you. Another call that I really like (from Pete Cipollone’s recording) that would work well in this context too is “do not sit, do not quit”.

2:48, “bowball on the Charles, nothin’ better, let’s go baby, enjoy it…” This is a motivational call. This will get your crew fired up and ready to shift into that next gear. Not every motivational call is “yea guys you can do it woooo”, sometimes it’s as simple as pointing out that you’re passing crews at Head of the Charles because that is cool and that should motivate you.

The reason I wanted to share this recording isn’t necessarily because of the coxing though, it’s because of how the video itself is structured. If you’re reaching out to college coaches you should be including your audio in your intro email and this is a good way to format it. I’d include some short clips from practice of you calling part of your warmup, a drill, some steady state, etc., as well as a clip from a race, whether it’s a full spring race or a clip from a head race. Ultimately though it doesn’t need to be more than 10-12 minutes total of audio.

PNRA 2013 Head of the Charles Senior Women’s Masters 8+

This is a pretty good example of how to cox masters crews. If I didn’t know this was a senior masters women’s 8+ I probably would have assumed it was a youth or club eight.

I like this “power train” thing they do at 3:45 where the coxswain calls a ten for each pair. How she draws out her numbers and says “thaaaat’s four … thaaaat’s five …”, etc. is kind of annoying and not really the best use of her tone (I feel like it translates to sloppy/soft catches) but I’ve found masters crews tend to be less inclined to care about stuff like that. Ten strokes for each pair seems too long though so I’d probably cut it back to 3-5 per pair max.

At 10:27 when she’s telling Style Driven to yield it sounds like they’re not yielding so her telling her bowman to tell them to move is a good call on her part. Make sure you talk to your bow beforehand so they know you might ask them to do that and let them know that all they have to do is yell over at them “[Team name], yield!!”. Saying “yield or you’ll get a penalty” like this coxswain did can also be pretty effective since it’s like a 30 or 60 second penalty for not yielding to the faster crew. That’s a lot of words to get out though in the middle of the race and a lot of coxswains don’t do it effectively (they kind of just shout into the wind and fumble over their words) so it is something you should practice so you can establish beforehand what you want to say if the situation warrants it.

At 11:39 when she tells them she’s going to make a tight turn she does the smart thing by telling her starboards to be prepared to lift their handles up to counterbalance the boat (since it will naturally tip the side she’s steering to, which is port). I definitely recommend doing this so that the boat stays stable throughout the turns.

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

Keeping a notebook

College Coxing High School

Keeping a notebook

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There are three camps when it comes to notebooks. The first is full of the “psh yea not doing this too much work don’t care don’t need it” coxswains (usually guys), the second is full of “omg everything must look perfect” coxswains (usually girls), and the third is full of the normal people who don’t over-analyze the contents of a tiny book that’s most likely going to get wet, wrinkled, and torn five months from now.

Initially I started out in Camp Who Cares because I didn’t know any better and when my coach gave me my first notebook he failed to mention why he was giving it to me and what I was supposed to do with it. Once I learned its purpose I spent a brief period of time in Camp Perfection before moving on to Camp Normal.

If I’m writing stuff down, particularly stuff that I’m going to keep for awhile, I want it to be legible, organized, and visually appealing but when it comes to notebooks, especially when I’m coaching and scribbling stuff down from the launch, it’s just not possible to do all that. You’re gonna write your warmup down wrong, you’re gonna have last-minute lineup changes, you’re gonna remember some detail about practice that day after the fact … it’s not going to look perfect and that’s OK.

Related: Do you recommend carrying a small pocket notebook or having a regular size notebook for notes? I currently have a pocket notebook during erg pieces to jot down splits and times. How do you organize all your thoughts and coxswain information?

For the coxswains who are firmly planted in Camp Who Cares … why? Sure, it’s not required of you to keep a notebook and there are definitely coxswains out there that have been successful and not kept them but for something that is so simple and would take you maybe 15 minutes to maintain each day, why not just do it? If you’re serious about crew and are pursuing coxing in college, on the JNT, etc. then you really should be doing this anyways. In those situations (among a few others), we’re not saying you have to but you really should be and if you’re not, you’re getting judged for it.

Below are some of the common questions I get about notebooks, in addition to a couple I got last week. If you want to know anything else, feel free to leave a comment.

What notebooks work best? What do you use?

Anything small enough to fit in your pocket is going to be your best bet. The Rite in the Rain and Field Notes Expedition notebooks are great because the paper is waterproof so if you’re on the launch or something and are trying to take notes, you don’t have to worry about the paper getting all gross. A normal 3×5 notebook gets the job done too, just keep in mind that if it gets wet it’s pretty much done for. If you want something a little nicer, Moleskines are always a great option.

I use a combination of all three, for no particular reason other than I have them. I really love the waterproof paper and have acquired enough of those notebooks over the years that I’ve started using them as my everyday notebook whenever I’m on the launch. I keep a spare 3×5 (non-waterproof) one in my backpack though in case I don’t have my regular one on me. I have a nicer Moleskine that I use though whenever I go to conferences, to keep track of notes on the coxswains for when we go over evals, or to write down stuff that I wanted to remember long-term (i.e. things that might transcend the team I’m currently with). This is mainly for appearances though so I don’t show up in a “professional”-ish setting with a shitty notebook that’s ripped and scribbled all over.

When and what should I be writing in it?

I got in the habit in high school of getting my notebook out as soon as I got to practice so I could write down the lineup, drills, pieces, etc. that we’d be doing, along with anything else my coach wanted to work on or wanted me to pay attention to. This, as you might guess, requires actually talking to your coaches. We’d usually have a quick 5-10 minute meeting before practice started or while the rowers were on their warm up run so we could discuss all of this.

I rarely, if ever, take my notebook out on the water when I’m in the boat but if we’re sitting for a bit, taking an extended water break, or the coach is addressing something with someone then I’ll quickly pull it out if I want or need to make a note of something that I know I won’t remember once we’re off the water. Sometimes if we’re waiting for another crew or our coach is tending to something in another boat (like something with the rigging that will take a few minutes) then I’ll take that opportunity to talk about our race plan for the upcoming weekend and jot down some super fast notes on whatever the crew says. Like I said though, it’s rare that I do this and other happens if we’re sitting for 5+ minutes without anything else to do.

Immediately after practice I’ll quickly get down anything I want to remember for tomorrow (usually something we worked on that day to make sure the changes stuck) or something I need to make sure gets done before we go out (i.e. adjust the spacers on 4-seat’s rigger). Before I could drive I’d usually try to get this done while I was waiting for someone to come pick me up. Now I usually write it down while the rowers bring the oars up and the coach is giving his post-practice recap, that way I can also get down anything he says about practice that I think would/could be useful in the future.

Once I get home I’ll try to go back through the skeleton I wrote down before practice and fill in any pertinent details. I try to keep this pretty brief and to the point (very rarely are there full sentences being used). Those details might include:

More info on individual issues

If I scribbled down “Sam – finishes” then I’d elaborate on that by saying what was wrong (“wasn’t getting the blade out”), when it was happening (“consistently throughout practice”), and the possible causes (“posture – said low back was sore, probably not sitting up – or rigging <– likely because XYZ used this boat yesterday”).

Questions I have

This includes but isn’t limited to something we did, something I saw, or something the coach said that I either didn’t understand or want clarification or elaboration on.

Drills

Did they seem effective, did the rowers understand it, did I understand it, etc. and why or why not.

Pieces

How did they feel, what did I notice (third of four best overall – why?), any issues regarding stroke rate, technique, etc. – basically anything that stood out to me gets written down.

Miscellaneous things the coach said

I’ll usually get down a couple quick quotes from when he’s talking about technique or racing and then try to figure out a way to work them into a call. For example, one of the coaches I worked with last summer always said to the bow pair “everything’s faster in the bow”. What he was saying was that in the bow, if you think you’re on time you’re probably a hair late, which means you’ve gotta really anticipate what’s happening and almost set yourself up to be early so that you’re actually on time with everyone else. The way you’d use that in the boat is to make calls right to the bow pair about anticipation, staying quick and light on the seat, etc. if you see them falling off the timing a bit.

How do I use it at races?

Usually a day or two before when we’d find out all the details of the regatta I’d write down:

Time/location of the coxswains meeting

Time/lane # of my races

Who else was in my race

What time we needed to meet at the boat (i.e. 45 minutes before race time) and what time we needed to launch (i.e. 25 minutes before race time)

If anyone was going to be hot-seating

The boat and oars we’d be using if I was coxing multiple races with different crews

I’d also write down my warmup and race plan. Some people get way too into this and make full 8.5 x 11 pages that break down the race into 250m increments where you’re supposed to write down what you want the athletes thinking, all the calls you plan on using, etc. and personally I think that’s a huge waste of time. Races are way too fluid to be able to stick to something as rigid as that. If that works for you though, go for it. (I don’t mean that sarcastically either – different things work for different people. Find what you like and run with it.)

What I do is write down my full starting sequence, where our moves are, our sprinting sequence, what our starting, base, and sprinting SPM should be, and that’s about it. If someone asks me to say something in particular, call a specific burst, etc. then I’ll also make a note of that as well. All in all, it’s no more than one full page (front/back) in my small 3×5 notebook.

After the race I’ll do the same thing I do post-practice … jot down anything the coaches said (either pre-race that resonated with the crew or post-race that I want to remember), make notes anything that stood out with the warmup, the race, etc. (positive and/or negative), get quick feedback from the rowers on what they thought, and that’s it. I’ll also go through my cox box to double check the rates and see how close we were to where we wanted to be. Later on, usually on the bus on the way home, I’ll listen to my recording of the race (sometimes alone, sometimes with a few people from the boat) and take notes on it.

How should you keep a notebook when you can’t immediately write down everything you’re seeing?

If you’re on the launch you should always have your notebook with you and be writing stuff down. The amount of stuff that you write down in those cases shouldn’t be looked at as the “gold standard” though – you shouldn’t be trying to write down that much stuff every day. When I was on the launch last summer when we were doing two-a-days I could easily write down three or four pages, front and back, of stuff whereas when I’m actually coxing I’ll get maybe one side of one page filled with notes. If you’re in the boat though, you shouldn’t need to write down everything you’re seeing. You really only need to make note of the stuff that stands out (either in a good way or a bad away) and there’s a pretty good chance that you’re not going to forget it because if it’s that important, you’re probably already making calls for it.

If you can’t quickly get something down during a break then talk to yourself via your recorder and write it down later when you listen to it. I’ve done that before and yes, it looks and feels as weird as you probably think it does but who cares. I can either deal with my stroke laughing that I’m talking to myself for 10 seconds or I can forget whatever it is that I want to remember. I don’t always have my recorder on for the entire duration of practice but the times that I do, I always end up hearing a conversation I’m having with the rowers or the coach or that the coach is having with us that reminds me of something I wanted to make note of.

Don’t over-think this. Keeping a notebook isn’t some big project that you’re going to be graded on at the end of the season. It’s really only there to supplement what you’re doing and help you keep track of what’s working, what isn’t, etc.

How can I use it for myself? A lot of what I keep track of is stuff related to the boat…

I asked my coaches the same question because for about a year or so it felt like all I was using it for was to document the boat and not so much anything that I was doing. The thing they stressed to us was that it’s not a journal to write down every minute detail of practice. I’ve seen ones posted online where the writing is so small or so annotated that you can barely read it or there’s so much content crammed onto one page that it’s impossible to find anything of substance. This isn’t going to help you. Just like you do with all the other notes, keep everything concise and to the point. Short phrases are your friend here.

I don’t do this as much anymore but before what I’d to do keep myself accountable while coxing was write down a specific goal or two of something to work on over the next [whatever period of time]. Steering and technique-related stuff were the most common ones that I can remember, mainly because you can always be working on steering and learning to spot and correct technique issues is a huge part of coxing. After whatever period of time had passed I’d talk with my coach (and the rowers, on occasion) about my performance in those two areas and decide whether I should keep those goals for the following [however long] or if I’d met them satisfactorily enough that I could move on to something else. Sometimes I’d keep them even if I’d received positive feedback from other people though. It’s all about self-awareness … if I felt I could do better then I’d hang on to them for another practice or two until I felt like I’d achieved what I wanted.

Another thing I’d write down, mainly after races, was the positives and negatives of my coxing. Was I effective in communicating with the crew, was there a call the crew really responded to that I should keep using, was there a spot where I could/should have been more calm, did I control my nerves on the way to the starting line (something I was always working on), etc.

The other thing I’d write down was if something went wrong, how I handled it, and how I should handle it in the future if it happens again. These were rare (and never serious) but they usually revolved around how to manage traffic or weather-related situations. An more serious example of this is a weather-related situation a coxswain emailed me about this past spring. A storm came up on them pretty quickly when they were in fairly open-ish water and they ended up taking on a lot of water from the rain and waves which resulted in their eight sinking. He didn’t know how to handle it and said he wasn’t nearly as calm as he should have been. It wasn’t anything he could have controlled and it certainly wasn’t anyone’s fault but if he’d known what to do the whole situation might now have been as stressful for him and his teammates. Afterwards he talked with his coach, got some advice on how to handle that situation in the future (like, not letting people try to swim to the launch) and from there he went and wrote all of that down in his notebook. If X happens, he should respond by doing Y. If A happens, make sure B and C are taken care of before trying to do D. Stuff like that.

In addition to all of that, keep lists of your best calls or ones you heard and want to incorporate. If you listen to your own recordings or those of other coxswains you should have plenty on hand that you can use if yours start sounding a little stale.

Hopefully that answers some of the more common questions about notebooks. Like I said, don’t over-think them. They’re just there to help you out, not add more stress. If you’ve got any other questions feel free to email me or leave them down in the comments.

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Coxing High School Q&A

Question of the Day

By

I’m about to enter my second season of coxing with my high school. In the spring, late in the season, my coach put me in a new lineup of novice girls just like me and, just out of coincidence, we worked really well. We kept that boat until the end of the season and at the last regatta we even placed second, which was huge for our club, which is still really young, and our confidence. After finding out yesterday that all four girls are returning for fall crew, I’ve become obsessed with winning. I know the girls can do it, but is there anything I can do to help us? I think we need to get together and train outside of practice, but I don’t know how to go about doing that, especially for the long-distance races that we’ll face for the first time. I don’t want to seem whiny or annoying if I try to set something up with all of us, but I have to feel like I’m bringing something to this boat.

Just a tip/word of caution: don’t be that coxswain that gets so obsessed with crew or the idea of winning that you take things too far. (You all know the kind of person I’m talking about, don’t pretend like you don’t…) Having an over eager attitude can quickly turn into a major turn-off for your teammates (and your coach – trust me), especially if you start venturing into trying to make everything about crew. Let your coach worry about workouts, training, and all that other stuff – it is their job, after all.

The best thing you can do is show up each day and consistently work on your execution (of calls, drills, pieces, etc.) when you’re out on the water, allow yourself to be coached, and continue building up a good rapport with your teammates. When you’re on land, be a leader. What “be a leader” means is a little different for everyone so you have to figure out for yourself how to best interpret that and implement those behaviors. I never understood why coxswains think they have to do anything more than that in order to be contributing something to the boat/team. Helping your coach, keeping everyone focused, getting your crew on the water as quickly as possible with minimal time wasted … all that stuff plays a huge part in winning races, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Don’t underestimate or forget about the little things and try to jump straight into being all GO! GO! GO!.