Category: Coxing

Coxing Q&A

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Is it better for a cox to be feared or loved?

To quote Machiavelli…

“Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.

It is much safer to be feared than loved because … love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.”

I had to write a paper on this question for a philosophy class I took in college and even though my professor had no idea what I was talking about, I used coxing as an example, supported by Machiavelli’s quotes from “The Prince”.

I used slightly contradicting but still relevant examples from Julius Caesar as well. He was loved by members of the army but wanted to be feared by the general public and senate, whom he didn’t trust. My professor described this part in layman’s terms as “if they aren’t with you or if they won’t follow you, at least they’ll be afraid of you”.

To summarize, I agree with both Machiavelli and Caesar. It is safer to be feared because the thought of disappointment or punishment in return is stronger than the obligation of love, BUT it is also better, to an extent, to be loved by those closest to you (via a sense of loyalty or camaraderie) and feared by those who aren’t with you (say, an opposing team or boat). I hope that makes sense – love with a healthy sense of fear from your crew and 100% fear from your opponents.

You could also take the Michael Scott approach…

“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

Coxing Q&A

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#1 Did you ever sing to your boat at practice for fun? #2 did you ever bring say iPod/phone in the boat and put it low volume to the speaker so rowers could row to it? #3 What does it mean when one of my rowers say in the boat that I sound “exactly like how a coxswain should sound.” It was meant as a compliment I think but what should coxes sound like?

Did I ever sing to my boat – uh, no. I did bring my iPod once because they asked me to and I didn’t know any better (I was a novice). We were going for distance that day and although my coach didn’t mind when he found out, he asked me not to do it again because it’s more distracting than anything else. I’m all for listening to music on the erg but in the boat there are too many things to focus on and outside distractions are usually what I’m trying to get them to ignore.

I’ve had people say that to me – it’s definitely a compliment. Put simply, it means you sound authoritative, concise, intense, and in control … all things a coxswain should be.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Would coaches make good coxswains? Assuming they’d fit in the seat, they know the technique, run practices, are motivational, and know how to communicate to the rowers…

Ehhh … debatable. Personally, I think coxswains have more potential to be good coaches than coaches do to be good coxswains. For the record, I thought coxswains made good coaches before I started coaching because my best/favorite coach in high school was a coxswain and he was incredible.

The only reason I say coaches wouldn’t be good coxswains is because if coaches knew anything about coxing, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. Most coaches I know and have had have said “I don’t know anything about coxing … just go out and don’t hit anything”. I think that even though we both know the technique, how to run practice, etc. the delivery of that information is what makes the difference.

Coxing Q&A

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When did being a coxswain really and truly click for you?

I’d say within the first month or so of being on the water as a novice I had the general hang of everything but as far as the specifics (like practice management, executing a race plan, etc.), I think they really clicked at various times over the next year or two. Steering was always my Achilles heel and was the skill that took me the longest to get fully comfortable with but with practice I improved a lot.

Related: Because there are so many aspects in a coxswain’s job, what do you think is the one thing that is hardest for you?

As far as making calls and stuff, I picked that up right away – all my coaches remarked that I’d picked it up faster than any coxswain they’d ever coached before. I spent an unusual amount of time talking to the varsity coxswains, researching everything I could about what calls to make, what everything means, etc. so that I’d be prepared when I went out, so I think that definitely played a part. Once I had the hang of the basics (steering, making calls, basic technique, etc.) then I spent the next few years really working on it. It’s just like school – you start off with basic addition that you learn pretty quickly so that eventually you can work your way up to trig and calculus. Everything about coxing just fits me and my personality though, which is another reason why I think it clicked so fast.

Coxing How To Q&A

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My coach says that there’s  “a feistier” side in me that my rowers may not know about me. I can see why, I seem a little timid at times, but on the water when I make calls, I guess my voice changes and I get really into it/competitive. She also told me I should work on being even more of a leader, esp. on the water. As in I could throw in some challenges like out of shoes rowing at the end of practice or something. How do I become an effective leader without coming across as a bitch, rude, etc. ?

The only time you’ll come off as a bitch instead of a leader is if you constantly yell at everyone and go on power trips. Treat other people how you want them to treat you. If you do that, you’ll earn respect from your teammates, which goes a long way when you’re in the position you’re in.

Related: My coach says that there’s  “a feistier” side in me that my rowers may not know about me. I can see why, I seem a little timid at times, but on the water when I make calls, I guess my voice changes and I get really into it/competitive. She also told me I should work on being even more of a leader-esp. on the water. As in I could throw in some challenges like out of shoes rowing at the end of practice or something. How do I become an effective leader without coming across as a bitch, rude, etc. ?

Don’t take your coach telling you there’s a “feisty” side to you as a bad thing. After the first week or so of going out with my masters 8+ we were at breakfast one morning and one of the women said “I love you as our coxswain but your personality is SO different in the boat – you’re such a bitch!!” At first I didn’t know how to take it until everyone chimed in and said that it was a compliment because my assertiveness, efficiency, knowledge, and most of all intensity make them want to be better rowers. If that’s what being a bitch is, then I’m not complaining. The important thing is knowing how to separate your in-boat personality and your on-land personality … you can’t take all the yelling you do into boat on land with you, otherwise people won’t take you seriously and they’ll lose some respect for you if all they ever hear you doing is yelling and bossing people around.

College Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Hey. I’m just beginning as a coxswain on the men’s team at a D3 college and had a question about the relationship between the captain and the coxswain. They’re both supposed to be leading the team, so where do their jobs differ? I understand that in the boat, of course, the coxswain is in charge but I was wondering more how you handle your relationship with the captain leadership-wise during practices, on land, for team affairs, other leadership functions aside from specifically coxing the boat, etc. How much captain control is too much? I’ve heard that coxswains are supposed to run practices when the coach isn’t around and during the offseason but my captain has been doing that. I realize I’m new so it makes sense, but if I weren’t, theoretically, is that atypical? Thanks for all of posting all of these things. It’s been really helpful.

This is a great question and not one that coaches think about too much when they appoint captains. There is HUGE potential for butting heads if the responsibilities and expectations of both the coxswain and captain aren’t clearly laid out ahead of time.

From my perspective, here’s a brief synopsis of what I think the roles of each are:

Coxswains

The role of the coxswain, like you said, is to lead their boat while they’re on the water and when mandated during on-land practices. In the boat, the only person with any authority is the coxswain (not counting the coach, obviously). It’s as simple as that. While the team is erging, they’ll take down times, cox the rowers if necessary, and observe. Sometimes the coach will also ask them to lead a body circuit or calisthenics or something. When it comes to actual rowing stuff, coxswains are by default the go-to person. It’s also their responsibility to set a good example for the rest of the team – showing up on time (don’t ever be late, EVER), making sure everything is clean and put away at the end of practice, having a good attitude (regardless of the current state of your team, practice, etc.), etc.

Captains

Not every team has captains, so on teams where there aren’t any, coxswains sometimes absorb those duties in addition to their own. When a team does have captains, I look at them as holding more of an “administrative” (yet still very important) role. There’s probably a better word for it but I’m drawing a blank if there is. A captain’s role is to be a leader when it comes to general team management – at team and/or parent meetings, the captains usually go to act as a voice for the entire team. That’s their biggest role, in my opinion. Sometimes they’ll also be in charge of things like finding fundraising opportunities, making sure everyone has their pre-season paperwork turned in, etc. It’s also their responsibility to maintain communication with the coach and pass along any information from him/her to the team, most commonly something like a change in practice time, date, or location.

During the winter months, usually in between finals before Christmas break and the time before winter training starts when you get back to campus, captains can also be in charge of holding practices for those wishing to workout. These are usually optional practices since everyone’s schedule is all over the place in December-January. They’re informal and most likely involve a text or Facebook message saying something along the lines of “The captains are heading to the gym at 1:30pm today for a quick lifting session if anyone wants to join!” In this case, they are in charge of practice since the coaches and coxswains aren’t present. Coxswains can still go but they’ll take a backseat in terms of who leads things. In addition to all of that, like the coxswains, they must also set a good example for the rest of the team. Their desire to always improve, commitment to their teammates, and enthusiasm for the sport and their team should never be questioned.

In terms of how much control is too much, I would say that if one person starts infringing on the responsibilities of another, that’s too much. If a captain starts trying to tell the coxswain what to do in the boat or the coxswain starts trying to take over as “voice of the team”, that is when a power struggle tends to happens. This is why if your team has captains, it’s imperative that either you two sit down and figure out who’s going to do what or your coach lays out a specific set of guidelines before captains are voted on stating exactly what their responsibilities are. Maintaining a good relationship between captains and coxswains will make practice a LOT better for everyone involved. If they’re constantly trying to one-up the other, they’re going to lose a lot of respect really fast from their teammates.

Related: I know coaches are always looking for “team leaders” but there’s this one girl on my team who TRIES to be a leader but is just ignorant & bossy. Inevitably, she only hurts herself by getting on her teammates & even coaches nerves. She’s leaving next year (along with a huge majority of my team) & I want to be an effective leader but I’m afraid of being annoying to underclassmen like this girl is to me. How do I lead w/o being bossy and making people want to straight up slap me in the face?

As a novice coxswain, I would look to both the varsity coxswains and your captain(s) as you learn how things are done on your team. It might seem like your captain is being pushy right now but it’s likely that they’re just trying to help ease you into things or the coach has given them the specific job of running off-season workouts. Either way, I wouldn’t worry too much about it right now. Talk with them and ask what their role on the team usually is and what can you expect for yours to be. Getting that clarified right away, as if I haven’t said it enough already, will make things much easier for both of you.

Related: As a coxswain, I guess you could say this is my first actual leadership position. I’ve had a little experience with being in charge of activities, but never the safety of a 30 thousand dollar boat … or people. What would you say makes an effective leader? Most people if they are, are born leaders. How would you bring that out of someone, if that’s even possible?

PS: If you’re a coxswain and a captain, make sure you keep your ego in check. The “Napoleon complex” thing is meant as a joke when it comes to coxswains so let’s not ruin it by becoming tyrannical, power hungry gremlins.

Coxing Q&A Rowing Technique

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Hi! Read your last post about rushing rowers. How can you tell which rowers are rushing? My view usually stops at 7 seat. Are you supposed to watch the oars to see if catches match? Thanks!

That’s about where my (and most coxswains) view stops too unless I tilt my head to look out of the boat. I normally do a few things to see if I can pinpoint who it is.

Tendencies

Does someone in the boat ALWAYS rush? Is your coach constantly telling one person to control their slides? This is one of the pieces of knowledge I rely on the most, especially when I’m in a bowloader.

Talk with your stroke

In my experience, the stronger the rush, the closer to the stroke it’s happening. In talking to my stroke and having them tell me how rushed it is, I can usually narrow it down to a specific pair. If it’s really strong and they’re getting thrown up the slide, I look to 5 and 6 to see if they’re where the rush starts. If it’s not too strong I’ll look closer towards bow.

Lean out

I don’t recommend this unless you can do so without rocking the boat too much. Sometimes leaning your head out of the boat can help you see the bodies a little better, which can help you see who’s rushing up the slide.

Talk to your coach

If I can’t tell where it’s coming from (which, to be honest, for most of us is the majority of the time) I’ll yell out to my coach and ask him if he can see from the launch where the rush is coming from. Since he has a perfect side view, I rely on his input a lot.

Watching the oars doesn’t really help that much when it comes to rush because someone could fly up their slide and then sit at the catch until everyone else gets there then drop their oars in at the same time as them. Their catch timing in that case would be near perfect but their slide control would be horrific. “Timing” as a call gets generalized too much I think. I try and only talk about timing when I’m talking about the blades, but if I do make a call about timing with the slides I’ll specify “let’s watch the timing on the recovery” or “let’s get the timing on the slides together”. Otherwise I’ll stick to calls about ratio, slide control, etc.

Coxing Q&A Rowing Technique

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Today our novice boat was SO rushed! No matter what the stroke, they’d hit it for like 3 secs before flying 3 or more SR than was supposed to be. Stroke told me that she and 7 seat were trying to control it but middle 4 on back kept rushing. I tried to say “lengthen, ratio shift, control, etc.” while still saying their SRs. Nothing I said changed it, if anything SR went higher. I gave up by the end of it, since they weren’t listening. Coach didn’t help, just said follow stroke. Help?

Ugh, I’ve been in this situation before. I will try and correct it 99.9% of the time but then my impatience kicks in and I just say “screw it” and let them figure it out on their own. Sometimes that’s all you can do. I’ve also had that coach that is totally useless and says things like “follow the stroke”. You’re the coach, can’t you come up with something a little more helpful that that?

If you know that the middle four were the ones that were initiating the rush, don’t be afraid to directly call them out.  When I’ve had this happen in the past, I’ve directly called out the people that I know are causing the rush and I’ve asked them a) do they know what seat they’re in, b) do they know who the stroke is, c) do they know how to control their slides, and d) is anything that either the coach or I said unclear? Normally the answers go something like yes, yes, yes, and no, to which I reply “then what are you doing??” They don’t normally have an answer for that but by that point they either realize that they are the problem or that when I was telling people to slow down the slides I wasn’t just talking to test my brain’s ability to formulate sentences.

Related: In the boat, when you’re calling a rower out to make a change, is it better to call them by their seat or name? A rower told me that by using a name it puts them on the spot – but isn’t that the point to make a change?

After I’ve had that conversation with them, we usually take a break from whatever we’re doing for so everyone can refocus. Once we get started again I remind them that the slides need to be controlled, they need to follow the person in front of them, and they need to not assume that they’re not the one causing the problem. Incorporating in calls that focus on getting everyone’s body motions matched up right out of the finish usually helps too (i.e. matching the hands away, timing the swing of the shoulders, starting the slides together, etc.) but at some point you do have to just stop talking and let them row in silence for a bit so they can focus on implementing the changes.

Coxing Q&A

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How much would you say rowing kit, lifejacket, cox box weighs on top of your usual body weight?

I’ve never actually measured any of this so this is all guesstimating. Depending on how many layers I’m wearing, my clothes can probably add anywhere from 3-8ish lbs. A lifejacket probably weighs two pounds, and a cox box is probably another pound. So on a normal day where I’m not wearing every layer I own, I’d say all that probably adds maybe 6-7lbs to my weight. Like I said though, I’ve never actually weighed myself with all of that (and I’ve never had to wear a life jacket while on the water) so this is purely speculation.

Related: How does getting weighed in work during the spring season? I’m a coxswain for a collegiate men’s team where the weight minimum is 125. I’m naturally under 110, so what’s going to happen? Sand bags? Will it be a problem?

I feel compelled to throw this out there now … if you’re a coxswain and you’re weighing in at a regatta, you can’t use outside stuff to add to your weight if you’re under the limit. Usually you have to weigh in wearing what the rowers wear – i.e. your uni or whatever you wear when you race. When I was a novice we had to weigh in before a regatta and at the time I didn’t know I couldn’t wear all my layers when I did it, so I ended up taking everything but my long spandex pants and long sleeve spandex shirt off. Other than the obvious reason, they can also ask you to wear just your spandex so they can make sure you aren’t loading your pockets with wrenches, weight plates of your own, etc. to try and cheat the scale.

What to wear: Coxswains (Men)

Coxing

What to wear: Coxswains (Men)

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Previously: What to wear: Coxswains (women)

In part one I talked a lot about the importance of wearing the proper clothes while out on the water, especially in the winter. For coxswains this is especially important since we are stationary for the majority of practice, which causes us to get colder much faster than everyone else. Like I mentioned in the last post, if you’ve got a survival suit that you can throw over these layers when it starts getting cold, definitely do it.

Women are usually pretty good about wearing the right clothes, it’s the guys that tend to learn the hard way. “Tough guy points” as they’re known around the boathouse are voided if/when you develop hypothermia. I can’t stress the importance of wind and waterproof/resistant layers enough. Coxing when you’re cold is hard and makes it tough to focus so do yourself a favor and make sure you’ve got the right gear on when you go out.

Image via // @theboatsmancompany