Category: Coxing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 3, 2013

As a novice coxswain I still really struggle with the technical aspect of practices. This summer I joined a boat club and spent two weeks out on the water learning to row, hoping that the first-hand experience would help me understand how to fix some common problems. Now that I’m coxing again, I still get really confused when something is wrong with the set. I don’t know what other advice to give other than handle height suggestions and counting for catch-timing, especially when it doesn’t seem to be up or down to one side consistently (like rocking back and forth with every stroke). I was wondering what advice you would give to your rowers in a situation like this, and how you can recognize and remedy some common technical problems.

There are a lot of things that can mess with the set and all of them are exacerbated when the rowers you’re coxing are novices. The most common and obvious thing is handle heights and that tends to be what coaches point out the most, so it’s natural for that to be the go-to thing you call for when trying to get the boat to set up.

Calling for catch timing, even though it does cause the boat to go offset, doesn’t do anything to help with the set (at least in my experience) because it takes the focus away from one problem and puts it on another. People start rushing up the slide because they’re behind the count or sitting at the catch and waiting because they’re ahead of it. Any inkling of thought about handle heights goes out the window, which in turn can end up making the set even worse.

When the boat goes off set and I’m coxing, I usually…

Tell the side it’s down to to lift their hands. If that doesn’t work after a stroke or two I’ll tell the other side to lower their hands a bit.

Change how I say “set it up”. If you say “set the boat” too often it’ll start to lose it’s meaning and people will stop listening, so in addition to tell each side what to do I’ll say “stabilize it”, “level it out”, etc.

Remind them to adjust their handle heights only at the finish. Coming out of the turn at the finish is the only spot where their hands should move; too many people try to make adjustments in the middle of the stroke and that ends up throwing the boat way over to the other side (and pissing off the rowers who just had their fingers smashed on the gunnels).

Remind them to shape the finishes by pulling in to their targets and giving themselves room to tap down. So many people either pull into their laps and lift their hands up immediately after the finish or pull in too high and come away at the same height … and then wonder why the boat’s not set.

Make sure their weight is centered in the middle of the boat and that they’re not moving around unnecessarily while they’re sitting out.

Usually I’ll make general calls for technique and the bodies unless I hear the coach point out something specific, in which case I’ll try to focus my calls on that and incorporate the feedback they’re giving into my rotation of calls. For example, if they say something to 3-seat about getting the bodies set early so they’re not rocking over mid-recovery and diving down with the shoulders at the catch (resulting in their blade going up in the air, which leads to a litany of other issues), then I’ll make that (and 3-seat) the focus of my calls for a few strokes until the boat levels out.

As far as recognizing other general technique issues, that comes with experience, paying attention during practice, and hearing/seeing what your coach is pointing out. If you hear them tell someone they’re washing out, look to that person’s oar and see if you can see it. (If you don’t understand what washing out is, for example, ask.) From there, listen to see what the change is that the coach wants them to make and then watch their blade to see if they actually make that change. See if you can spot the differences between before the change and after. Remember what the boat felt like during the “wrong” strokes so that in the future when the boat feels like that again you can look to see if anyone is washing out and then make the necessary corrections from there.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 27, 2013

I used to cox women for all four years I was in high school. I’m in college now and on a men’s team. In an eight or a stern loader four I have a hard time seeing things in front of me since my rowers are so much taller than women I’m used to coxing. This had led to close calls with logs floating in the water and other obstructions. HELP!

I’ve had similar problems coxing men’s eights a couple times. I’ve had a few close calls with singles and pairs because they sit directly in front of my bow so I have no idea they’re there until the coach says something and I steer around them. (Although why you’d sit right in front of an eight and stare right at them as they walk up on you instead of just moving is beyond me.)

Whenever I’m on the water, regardless of who I’m coxing, I’m never trying to look at what’s directly in front of me; instead I’m looking at everything that is 100ish meters in front of me. That way if I see something and know I can’t completely maneuver the boat out of the way in time I can say “ports, watch the log under your oars”. If I see something like another boat then I’ll obviously do whatever’s necessary to avoid them, either by using more pressure from one side or just stopping and readjusting my point. Stopping is a last resort though. I move my head to the left or right every couple of strokes just to check where I am but the key is to limit how far you move your shoulders and lean out. If I have to lean a little farther than normal I will and most of them will see you doing that and just know that you’re trying to see what’s ahead but I’ll still usually say something like “sorry guys, just checking what’s ahead…” if the boat really crashes over. If there’s a lot happening up ahead then sometimes I’ll sit up on the back of the stern for a stroke or two just to give me a broader view of where I can go. Talking to my coach and asking him what’s ahead of me when there’s a lot of traffic is also helpful on occasion.

You can’t avoid everything but you can always make an effort to try. One universal thing with my crews is that I always tell them that if they hear something, like a log bumping under the boat, just yell up to me so I can try to push it away. Same goes for if we pass really closely to a piece of debris and it’s right up against the hull (which has happened a few times). Having taller/broader rowers in front of you can be tough sometimes but there are plenty of ways to work around it as long as you communicate and pay attention.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 25, 2013

There are many excellent coxswains, especially at the D1 level. But what do you think separates an Olympic level coxswain from the many excellent D1 varsity coxswains?

I agree, there are a lot of excellent D1 coxswains. I think one thing that separates them is nothing more than a desire to go to that next level. Some coxswains/athletes want to push themselves harder and compete at the elite level and some are content finishing out their college careers and moving on to grad school, jobs, life, etc. Pursuing the Olympic team requires a lot of sacrifice, physically (obviously), emotionally, socially, financially, etc. so it takes a certain kind of personality and mentality I think to commit oneself to that.

The other thing, just in terms of skill, how well you’re able to execute the basics (i.e. managing practice, executing a race strategy, etc.) is another thing that separates the two. Obviously the top collegiate coxswains are great at this but if you look at trying out for the Olympic team as “leveling up”, the coxswains that are doing that are just so on point with everything they do. Their focus is even more lasered in, their execution is even more precise, etc.

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 25, 2013

Hi today was my first day coxing and my coach told me I had to talk the whole time. I tried but I felt really silly and I had nothing to say. I would really appreciate just some things to say! Thanks!

You really shouldn’t be talking that much on your first day out, let alone the entire time on your first day out. You should be more focused on learning to steer and getting a feel for the boat. You haven’t even learned that much (or anything, potentially) about the stroke, what’s right, wrong, etc. so I don’t understand why he’d be telling you to talk the whole time. I’d talk to him and ask what he wants/expects you to be telling the rowers, just to get an idea of what he’s looking for. If you’re comfortable calling the warmup on your own, counting them in, etc. then by all means, go for it, but I don’t think there’s any way he can expect you to be saying anything about the bodies, technique, etc. yet. I’m hesitant to tell you anything specific to say because a pet peeve of mine (and most rowers) is when coxswains call things because they think it’s what they’re supposed to say instead of saying it because they have an actual reason to. You can look through the “calls” tag to get an idea of some stuff but about 95% of it most likely won’t apply to a true novice.

Related: So, what did you see?

Feeling silly doesn’t have to do with the calls, it’s more of a confidence thing. You’ve got to be confident and sure of yourself when you tell the eight other people in the boat what you want them to do. For some people that comes naturally but for others it comes over time as they get more comfortable with their crew.

Talk to your coach. Find out what he expects you to say and then ask him to go over all that stuff with you so you can understand what he wants. I really disagree with having you talk the entire time on the first day but he’s your coach, not me, so you just gotta roll with it. If you get too overwhelmed though and are having a hard time grasping everything, definitely speak up and say something. Ask to focus on just one thing at a time to start (starting with steering) and then after a couple practices of hearing what he’s saying, how the drills are called etc. then you can start easing into talking to the crew.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 24, 2013

How long can a cox box go without dying? (If it’s fully charged to start with.)

If it’s fully charged you can probably get around 3-4 hours out of them with normal use. Not having the volume turned up all the way for an entire practice is a great way to save battery – you shouldn’t need it more than half to three-quarters of the way up anyways. The older the batteries in them get though the harder it will be to hold a charge so some older cox boxes might not last as long compared to newer ones.

Coxing Drills Novice

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 21, 2013

Hey, This past spring season was my first season and I am a novice coxswain. Now I am training with mostly varsity kids for the summer. I want to be be able to get them to respect me but I am really short and weak. I have already tried working out with them. Is there any other way to get their respect? Also, what are some drills that I can do on the water when I am waiting for my coach so my rowers aren’t just sitting around? Thanks for the help!

Don’t use being “short and weak” as an excuse. I’ve been trying to break that stereotype my entire life and it really irritates me when other people use that to justify why people don’t respect them. I’m 4’11” and 95lbs – I am short and I’m definitely weak compared to rowers but what I lack in strength I make up for in leadership skills, meticulous attention to detail, and just working my ass off to be the best coxswain I can be for my crews. If you want their respect, do those things instead of making excuses.

Two of the drills that my coach has me do are catch placement drills (by 4s, 6s, or all 8 using just the outside hand or both hands – there’s lots of variations you can do) and pause progressions (by 4s, 6s, or all 8, 5 strokes pausing hands away, 5 at bodies over, 5 at 1/2 slide, 5 full strokes).

Catch placement drills, which I talked a bit about in the post linked above, are stationary and the pause progressions will let us row for a bit but not get too far away from him. I wouldn’t go more than 200m or so before spinning, rowing down the other side of the river, and then spinning and going back up, similar to what you do at regattas. Talk to your coach too and ask if there’s anything specific they’d like you to do that day if you’re on your own for a bit. They’ll almost always give you something to do and they’ll appreciate the initiative.

Coxing Novice

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 21, 2013

Hi I’m a novice coxswain (like really novice, my first day of actual coxing was today) and I have a steering question. Should I steer when the rowers are on the drive or on the recovery (blades in or out of the water)? I have looked it up a couple places and found conflicting answers. Today I just steered during both because I figured for my first time it was more important not to hit anything than to have perfect “steering technique”. And I have one more question actually – I found it practically impossible to talk or run drills while steering today. That will get easier as I master steering right? For now do you have any tips for focusing on both talking and steering especially while running drills that involve calling pauses and counting strokes? Thank you so much and I LOVE your blog!

You’re right, the first few times you go out it’s more important to figure out how the steering works and just avoid running into anything. I tend to make small steering adjustments on the recovery. Sometimes I’ll adjust on the drive when we’re doing pieces since that is when the boat is most set (when the blades are in the water) but I find that I often get a better response from the rudder if I do it on the recovery. Turning the rudder effects the set a little though so you want to avoid doing anything that’s going to throw it off even more, especially if it’s already wonky. The boats I’ve been coxing in the last few months have really good steering and the crews I’m coxing are pretty experienced so it doesn’t mess with the set too much. Coming around a corner, if you make that small adjustment right at the finish you can just coast around it. If you’re not used to steering though and/or have an inexperienced crew, just stick to steering on the drive and keep your adjustments to a minimum (both in number and duration).

One thing that you’ll learn as you get more experienced is that steering both is and isn’t something you’re doing all the time. It’s kind of like when you’re driving – sometimes you’re making tiny adjustments with the wheel and sometimes you’re good to just leave it alone. The boat is the same way. You should always be aware of where you are, what’s ahead, etc. and always be keeping your hands on the strings to keep the rudder straight but you don’t always need to be moving the rudder around. Once you get a point you want to steer as little as possible.

As you get more experienced multi-tasking will become second nature. Most coaches are OK with running practice from the launch for the first few days though to let you get the hang of steering. If you’re doing both right away and feeling overwhelmed, tell your coach. It’s more important that you pick up steering than it is for you to call drills right now. Pay attention to the drills and what’s going on so you’re ready to do them when it’s time though.

If counting the strokes in your head is too overwhelming right now just use the stroke counter on your cox box. In newer models (like the one in the picture) it’s in the top right corner of the screen whereas in older models it’s in the lower right corner of. As long as your stroke is rowing you’ll be able to get a count of the strokes since the sensor is under their seat. If they aren’t rowing you’ll have to count the strokes yourself since the cox box won’t pick them up.

Don’t be afraid to try counting, steering when necessary, talking, etc. at the same time (in small doses). You’re going to have to do it sooner or later. As a novice, no one expects you to be perfect right away so now is kind of your one and only chance to “test” things out. If you keep avoiding it though because you think you’re going to mess up, that’s just irresponsible coxing (in my opinion, at least). In the beginning coxing is uncomfortable but embracing the discomfort and not letting it distract you or make you scared is what makes good coxswains.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 20, 2013

Do you think you can cox so much where you start to not want to do it anymore? I don’t feel that way but I’m basically dedicating my entire summer to crew (and I’m perfectly happy with that) but I don’t wanna burn myself out, you know? I love coxing and right now it’s my favorite thing in the world to do so I don’t want to make myself hate it.

You definitely can. That’s partially why I quit in college. Even if you enjoy doing something, you’ve got to give yourself a break every now and then. That means getting completely away from crew for a few days, a week, a month, whatever and just focusing on yourself, doing the other things you enjoy doing besides crew, sleeping, catching up on TV shows, etc.

If you’re OK with coxing all summer (after having coxing in the spring and fall, I assume) then go for it but just make sure you give yourself a week or two before school starts back up to unwind and relax before the season rolls around again.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 14, 2013

How do you know its time to throw in the towel with coxing?

The reasoning is different for everyone but I think it comes down to three things – whether or not you’re happy, having fun, and/or getting something out of it. If you said no to 2/3 or all of them and can genuinely back up why you feel that way, it might be time to reconsider whether being part of the team is a good thing for you or not.

There’s actually a “quitting crew” tag if you want to read other people’s thoughts/questions too.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 8, 2013

Hi. I was recently contacted by the Junior National team because they want me as a cox for this year. I am so honored however I am scared that I am too heavy. I don’t know what I would be coxing and at the moment I am around 128 pounds. I feel as though because I focus so much of my life on a sport that does not require me to be active, I have slowly lost my fitness. I am going on a big trip this summer as well and am scared that I will gain weight while traveling. Do you have a good solid work out routine that can be done in a short period of time?

International rules state that you can’t cox the opposite sex so if you’re a guy you’d cox men and if you’re a girl you’d cox the women. This would mean that you’d need to be at or as close as possible to international racing weight, which for women is 50kg/110.2lbs and 55kg/121.25lbs for men.

This is coming straight from the section on coxswains from the JNT website:

Please note: We are looking for coxswains who can comfortably manage the international racing weight standard of 110.2 for women and 121.5 for men.

Now, don’t take this wrong way – I’m going to tell you exactly what I would expect/assume the JNT coaches to tell you. Being a coxswain comes with a lot of responsibilities, monitoring our weight when it’s necessary being one of them. In the beginning it’s not as important but as you progress through the sport and start coxing more competitive crews, it does become very important. I’ve said this many, many, many times – we have a purpose in the boat, yes, but no matter how you look at it or what way you try to spin it, we are dead weight. When you’re hauling dead weight, you want to haul as little as possible. That’s why short, petite people are chosen to be coxswains and why we’re “encouraged” to stay as close to the minimum racing weight as possible. Yea, it’s annoying, but it’s part of the job.

You signed up and went through the whole ID camp process which meant that at the very least you thought you had a chance of being invited to selection camp. When you did that and throughout the winter and spring you should have been keeping an eye on your weight, regardless of whether your were at, above, or below the minimum at the time. I really, really disagree with what you said about focusing so much on a sport that doesn’t require you to be active. That’s no excuse. There are plenty of opportunities to work out with the team when they’re lifting, running, doing calisthenics, core, etc., in addition to making time to work out on your own. When it comes down to it, you’ve got to be willing to put the time and effort in from the start, not at the last minute.

It’s not all about exercising either. You can work out all you want but if your diet is bad, you’re negating any gains you would have gotten from the exercise. There has to be a two-part approach/commitment to losing weight: one, adjusting your diet and two, exercising. Cardio is everyone’s best friend when they’re trying to lose weight, so running, biking, swimming, erging, etc. As far as gaining weight while traveling, you just have to be conscious about what you’re doing. I’m not going to say you should question whether you want those French pastries more than you want to cox the JNT because that’d make me a hypocrite and an asshole but my theory on stuff like this is that if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way to make things work.

I would suggest getting a hold of the coaches who sent you the invite and talking to them about any concerns you have. You’re obviously a good coxswain otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten the invite but I’m not going to lie to you and say that excellent coxing is going to win out over weight all the time, especially when you’re competing at this level. The coaches wouldn’t have emphasized the part I quoted a few paragraphs ago if it wasn’t part of their consideration for who makes the final boats. You essentially have to always assume that given the choice between two coxswains of equal skill, the coxswain who is closest to or will have the least difficult time maintaining their racing weight will be the one chosen. I don’t mean to say that to make you lose hope or anything, it’s just one of those harsh realities that people tend to gloss over or that coaches don’t fully explain, which ends up making people way worse than if they’d just known the rationale ahead of time.