Category: Coxing

College Coxing High School Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 4

By readyallrow January 3, 2013

University of Delaware Coxswain Practice POV

The part I specifically want to point out in this recording is from 1:44-2:05. She’s concise, to the point, intense, and consistent with her calls – she doesn’t stop talking but she’s not rushing to get her words out either. Her calls in between each stroke are spot on and you know what she means even though she’s not saying a lot of words.

Also, after the starts when they’re doing the rate shifts, she does a good job demonstrating what I mean about drawing your voice out at 2:11 and 2:27.

Victoria City Rowing Club U17 Canadian Henley 2012

This is a recording where I question if the coxswain made them row better of if they would have rowed the same without her. This is a classic example of “cheerleader coxswain” who doesn’t sound sure at all of what she’s saying. It’s not bad coxing by any means … there’s just a lot of unnecessary cheerleading going on that could have been replaced by more effective calls.

The one thing that I liked that she said that I think we all tend to forget is “it will hurt to back down and it will hurt to keep pushing, so we’re going to keep pushing”. That’s a great call to make at the end of the race when you need to get that extra push from the crew.

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

College Coxing How To Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 3, 2013

I have been told by my rowers that I need to call them out directly more, rather than general corrections to the boat as a whole. I cox collegiate men but I’m not afraid to push them around. My problem is that I am having trouble actually seeing what the problem is. I can tell that catches are off, someone is rushing, but I can’t always tell exactly who it is. Any suggestions for improving this skill?

That’s good that your rowers want you to call them out more individually – don’t take it as a bad thing! There’s a couple things you can do to help yourself get more acquainted with the tendencies of the individual rowers.

When you’re inside on the ergs, watch the rowers for a few minutes each. Have a notebook handy and write down what you see about their stroke – get REALLY analytical about it. Look at the catch, drive, finish, hands, bodies, slides, where their chin is, etc. This will give you an idea of each rower’s “style” and from there you can make the appropriate calls, both as positive reinforcement and constructive criticism.

When you’re out on the water, ask your coach if you can spend a day just focusing on the rowing. Maybe do a long steady state piece or something where you don’t have to talk very much and can focus on the bladework. For us as coxswains, it’s very hard to see the individual rowers since we’ve got a 6’5″ mammoth sitting directly in front of us blocking our view of the rest of the rowers. Go through the boat pair by pair, then by fours, then all eight and see what you notice about the blades with each group. Breaking it down and looking at the boat in small chunks is sometimes easier than trying to process the whole eight at once. Another thing you can do to focus your brain on the blades is too stare directly at your stroke’s sternum. It sounds weird but looking directly ahead like that allows your peripheral vision to take over, which can help you see which seat is early or late. Have a recorder with you when you do this that way you can just say what you see instead of jostling around with your pen and paper.

Ask your coach if he can record the crew when you’re on the water, preferably one day when you’re doing drills and one day when you’re doing steady state. Get side views of the entire eight (both on starboard and port) as well as 30-45 second long zoomed-in shots of the individuals, preferably shot from the side they row. A flip cam works great, but if you’re brave you can use an iPhone too. The quality on both is pretty good. If your coach has the time, ask him/her if they’d mind watching it with you and pointing out what they notice with each rower, things that they would like to see improved or have noticed about their rowing in general. See if you can spot anyone rushing, diving at the catch, being early or late to the catch, etc. Make note of what you see.

Talk to your rowers. If they’re asking you to call them out individually, they probably already have something in mind that they want you to say to them. Six-seat might know that he rushes the slide but not be aware of when he does it. Three-seat knows that his catches need to be sharper but tends to forget to just unweight the handle during harder pieces. Communicating with them and then repeating to them in the boat what they’ve told you is a GREAT way to earn respect and trust from your crew.

When you talk to the “whole boat” and tell them to fix something, internally with each rower it usually becomes “well, I know I’m not doing this so I assume that the person who IS doing it will get their shit together and fix it” … generally the rower that thinks this is the rower who you’re actually directing your call towards but they don’t know it because you didn’t say their name or seat. As you become more familiar with their individual tendencies, that’ll happen less.

When you do talk to the whole boat though, make sure you give them specifics of what you want them to do – for example, setting the boat. We tend to get lazy and say “set the boat”, assuming that everyone can feel what side the boat is dipping to and what change needs to be made. More often times than not, that isn’t the case. Instead say “let’s set the boat, starboards let’s raise the hands a 1/4 inch at the finish, ports let’s bring ’em down just a little”. The specifics make the rowers on each side think about their hands and where they are in relation to what you just told them to do, so EVERYONE can make an adjustment. Talking to the boat without giving specifics makes the rowers complacent – giving them a specific instruction, even when you’re talking to the whole crew, reels their minds back into the boat.

Calling them out individually doesn’t strictly mean one-by-one either. You can talk to them by pairs (or sometimes fours) too if you notice that something that both rowers are doing.

Coxing Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 1, 2013

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?

Nope, it’s not a problem at all. The weigh-in procedure may vary amongst regattas so you’ll have to ask your coach to find out the specifics for the ones you’ll be attending. Some require weigh-ins the day before (IRAs and Sprints, for example), some require it no less than two hours before your event, some don’t weigh in coxswains at all, and some have you weigh in each day of competition. It just depends on the regatta. If you’re under the weight minimum, you’ll be required to carry either sandbags, weight plates, or whatever you come up with to make up the weight into the boat with you. They must be placed in the coxswain’s seat with you, NOT distributed throughout the boat (that will get you DQ’ed). At the end of the race the officials will ask that you hold up your weight so they can see that you brought it with you and that it’s in the coxswain’s seat, not somewhere else in the boat.

If you know ahead of time that you’ll be under the weight minimum, you’re almost always allowed to provide your own external weight. It has to be in the form of sandbags or plates though, not extra layers of really heavy clothing. This is highly suggested by most regattas if you require more than 10lbs of extra weight, that way they don’t have to give you all of their sand to carry in the boat. Most regattas also require that you label the weights you use with your name and/or team, regardless of whether they are yours or belong to the regatta.

Here’s a PDF from the IRA that details their weigh-in procedures for coxswains and lightweights if you race there. If you scroll down to page 6 you’ll find the information about coxswain weigh-ins. That should give you a decent idea of how the process goes.

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow January 1, 2013

As a coxswain are you treated differently as a recruit to a D1 college as opposed to a varsity cox who walks on the team? Or is it rare to have someone walk on a crew team who coxed through high school?

I don’t think it’s rare to have a 3 or 4-year coxswain walk on to the team. If they’re not 100% positive that they want to cox in college, they might forgo the recruiting process and go to walk-on tryouts to get a sense of what the team is like, what the commitment is like, and whether or not it’s something they really want to pursue. I think as a recruit you might be given slightly more “responsibility”, for lack of a better word, because the coach already has a sense of your abilities whereas with walk-ons, depending on where the need for coxswains is, you might be lumped in with the rest of the recruits or you might start off with the walk-on rowers as they learn how to row. Every team approaches it a little differently.

This is also why I always recommend that coxswains email the coaches if they’re thinking of walking on, that way they can at least introduce themselves and give them an idea of their background, skill level, etc.

College Coxing Novice Q&A Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 30, 2012

I’m 5’2 and weigh 153lbs. I can pull 1:58/500 m for a 30 minute test. I’ve been trying to lose weight but the nutritionist has essentially told me that my only option is to lose muscle (because of weight) or actually get bone removed through surgery (which I think is against NCAA rules). I was a walk-on to the crew team and want to row or cox but I have no idea what to do. My coach has told me I would make an excellent cox but I don’t know how to lose weight/approach this situation. Thank you!

One of your two “only” options is to have bone removed? That’s your nutritionist’s weight loss suggestion? Um…

The only way you would lose muscle is if you started starving yourself, which obviously no sane person recommends. You’re a good height to be a coxswain but maybe too short to row depending on how competitive your team is. The minimum for coxswains is 110lbs if you’re coxing women and 120lbs if your coxing men. You typically want to be as close to the minimum as possible (while still being healthy) to avoid adding unnecessary weight and drag to the boat. Coaches will typically give you some leeway though as to how far you can be over before they start nagging you about your weight (and nag they will). The best way to lose weight is pretty simple – diet and exercise. Substituting unhealthy foods for healthier options, eating several small meals a day, and adding in at least 30-45 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week is a good way to get started.

Just something to keep in mind too … 153lbs is a pretty high starting point if you want to cox. If you’re at a competitive program that expects their coxswains to be right at or very close to racing weight, you’re looking at having to lose 25lbs at least. Not that that’s not possible but just be realistic with what you decide to do.

I would search the “weight loss” or “weight” tags on here because I know I’ve answered similar questions from both rowers and coxswains that will probably help you out.

Coxing How To Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 29, 2012

So I’m going to begin coxing this coming spring season, and I am constantly reading about experienced coxes getting annoyed with the newbies. Any recommendations for things I should do to avoid pissing everyone off?

It’s impossible to avoid pissing people off though because no matter what you do, someone will be annoyed by what you’re doing. So instead, I’ll give you some general advice.

Pay attention

Soak in the information. Listen intently to the coaches and listen to the varsity coxswains when they’re telling you how to do something or what to do.

Focus

Separate yourself from your friendships and realize that you’re now in a leadership position and favoritism is not something many people appreciate. When you’re on the water, focus on accomplishing the task at hand and not the fact that your friends are in the boat with you. Practice time is not synonymous with sleepovers…you can talk about school, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. AFTER practice.

Do something

When you’re not on the water and you can see the varsity coxswains and coaches working on something, ask if you can help. If you see things out of place, put them back where they belong. Wipe down the ergs after people get off them, take down times, splits, etc. when they’re doing pieces, etc. Never just be standing around. Crew is not the place to be a wallflower.

Make an effort

Educate yourself. Do research. Coxswains are in the unfortunate position of being expected to do a million things but we’re very rarely ever instructed on HOW to do those things. If there’s something you don’t know or understand, talk with your coach about it and ask them to explain it further, then go home and Google whatever it is and see what else you can find. Ask questions – the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.

Be enthusiastic

Don’t mope around and make it obvious that you’re bored or unhappy with your role on the team. If you’re actually unhappy about something, talk with your coach or a varsity coxswain before or after practice. During practice, keep the rowers engaged and on point. If the rowers aren’t looking forward to something, get them excited. Be THAT coxswain that always has a smile on their face and can make their teammates smile too.

Rest assured, varsity coxswains piss off novices coxswains just as much as novices piss them off. There’s a learning curve when you first start coxing that varsity coxswains forget about, which is why most of them tend to get annoyed. What I said up above is the bare minimum of what you should be doing but it’s a good place to start.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 28, 2012

Are there any summer programs you’d recommend for collegiate coxswains?

Check out places like Vesper, Penn AC, Riverside, etc. They all have summer U23/high performance programs that race at the big summer regattas. I’d also talk with your coach and see if they know of anything. Sometimes they have the inside track on that kind of stuff and it can come in pretty handy when they can make a call on your behalf. If all else fails, start coaching. I can’t tell you how much more heightened my coxing senses have become since I started coaching. Email high school coaches or clubs in the area you’ll be in over the summer and ask if they could use a hand.

Coxing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

So today at practice, my coach said something along the lines of ‘wane-off.’ I have always said way(weigh?) enough (sometimes slurred together to make waynuff) so I asked him about it. He told me that that’s not how you pronounce it. He told me it wasn’t ‘enough,’ it was ‘off,’ but I’m pretty sure I’m right … what do you say?

You are correct in that it is “way enough”. According to Wikipedia, it is sometimes pronounced “wane off” in the United States but I’ve never heard it before and am pretty sure that no coxswain or former-coxswain-turned-coach would advocate for it’s use over the more widely known and accepted “way enough”.

I read this great article a few years ago that explained the history, origin, etc. of “weigh enough”, which is the more archaic version of the modern “way enough”. I spent about twenty minutes looking for it but couldn’t find it. I did however come across this article from an old Doctor Rowing column in rowing news that talks a bit about the history of the term and the weigh vs. way debate. It’s on page 46 if it doesn’t go directly to it.

Bottom line – way/weigh enough is the term to use.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

I’ve only been coxing for three years but I feel like it has changed my voice .. .do you feel like that? Like, I feel like I can’t hit as many high notes when I sing in the car (haha) or is there something I’m doing wrong?? I lose my voice easily in races now, especially during the spring when we have like 3 races in a day. What can I do about this? Should I change the way I cox?

YES. I felt the same way when I was in high school. I’ve only completely lost my voice twice and neither came directly from crew, although I don’t think coxing helped. I did notice, and still do occasionally, that I can’t hit the same notes when I sing in the car. I don’t think it’s anything we do wrong, per se, I think it’s more so that over the years we’ve inflicted little bits of damage on our voices from all the yelling and tonal changes, which has led to minute changes in how we talk, sing, etc.

When I was in high school we were a big enough team that we were able to everyone in multiple races which was awesome, but for the coxswains – between heats, semis, and finals – by the end of the day we were lucky to still be able to talk. I have a naturally loud voice that, for the most part, seems fairly indestructible but whenever the weather was bad (cold, windy, rainy) my throat would always hurt a lot more than when the weather was nice.

One of the things that I started doing midway through high school was instead of “yelling”, I started projecting, meaning instead of using JUST my voice, I started using my diaphragm and core to make myself louder. That’s another reason why I really recommend coxswains do core exercises with the rowers during the winter … it helps our voices, odd as it may seem. When you’re on the water though, if your abs are on fire at the end of a piece or a race, you’ll know you’ve done it right. You know when you’re yelling you can kind of “feel it” in your throat? That’s why coxswains lose their voices. If you instead project from your core, you aren’t straight yelling as much, which gives your voice a break.

Make sure you drink lots of water so that your throat doesn’t get dry. I’ve never tried the hot water and honey trick that people tell you to do when you have a sore throat, but I’ve heard it works so that’s an option as well. When you’re not coxing, especially at races, try not to yell or unnecessarily raise your voice. Save the loud stuff for when you’re on the water.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

So this might come out bitchy and trust me that is my very last intention, but I don’t like my cox. First, I should probably tell you that she and I are the “babies” of the varsity team, we’re the only sophomores, everyone else is a Jr. or Sr. We only have one other cox who is a senior but my cox is more skilled and is almost always placed in the top boat, as am I which is great ya know, power to the underclassmen, but I just really don’t respond well to her tone of voice/style etc. I’ve tried making suggestions b/c the last thing I would want to do is disrespect a teammate or insult her abilities but she really only implements the suggestions made by the older girls which peeves me to no end. I get the idea that she sometimes thinks she’s better than me which is also really frustrating especially b/c she messes up the workouts/stroke ratings/stoke count multiple times a practice. Not saying I’m perfect and or don’t mess up I just feel like I’m that kid in class who always has their hand raised but the teacher just never freaking calls on me. How do you think (from both a coach & teammates perspective) I should handle this?

My first thought was she’s taking the older girls’ suggestions because they’re more experienced, so she thinks they know more, whereas you and she are the same age so you probably wouldn’t know what you’re talking about in comparison (if that makes sense). My other thought is maybe she’s friends with the older girls and that’s why she listens to them. What’s your relationship like with her? If you’re not friends or you butt heads, she might ignore your suggestions out of spite.

Have you tried talking to her one-on-one regarding your suggestions? Part of what makes a coxswain “good” is the ability to take constructive criticism or suggestions from the boat (including from the rowers you don’t necessarily like) and implement it, even if means adjusting how we do things. Unless you flat out tell her she’s doing a terrible job, I don’t think that would be insulting or disrespectful to approach her and say what you’re thinking. Another approach would be talking to the senior coxswain and asking for her advice on what to do. As a coxswain, she might be able to talk to this girl and explain that you have to take into consideration the suggestions of everyone in the boat, regardless of your personal relationship or feelings about them.

What about your coach – have you tried talking to them about it? If it’s affecting your rowing and really bothering you, I’d have a conversation with them and ask for their advice on how to handle it. They might be able to give you something more substantial to work with since they know you and your coxswain (whereas I don’t). If you talked to her and she still didn’t respond to your suggestions, I would pull her aside and say the same thing that I’d say if I were talking to her coxswain-to-coxswain … regardless of how experienced or inexperienced a rower is or how you feel about them outside of the boat, if they say something’s not working for them, you have to look at yourself and see what you can do to improve. It does suck because we tend to be perfectionists who think what we’re doing is always right, but in the end we have to do what’s best for the boat. A coach doesn’t want a coxswain that ignores what her boat says because that gives the rowers minimal reason to listen to her, which leads to all sorts of drama and problems.

What is it specifically about her style or tone of voice that you don’t respond to? If you can think of the specifics, that will be a lot more helpful to your coach and coxswain that just saying “Oh, I don’t respond well to her”. This will at least give her something to work with whereas just saying you don’t respond to her style could be construed as “Oh, I just don’t like her and this is how I justify not listening to her” (which I doubt is what you do but that could be how she sees it).

If she’s always messing things up in practice, that’s also something your coach should know. That wastes time and the energy of the rowers, which is annoying all around. One thing coxswains often forget (I’m guilty of this sometimes too) is that rowers can count. Even though we’re counting for them, they still know their 1-2-3s. If they hear the coach say that you’re going to do 20 on, 10 off, etc. and you count 22 on, 9 off, etc., that’s going to piss them off. It makes them question if you’re paying attention, which can then lead to a whole other set of issues. If that’s part of the problem with your coxswain too, bring it up with your coach. They want the rowers focused on JUST the rowing, not on what the coxswain is (or isn’t) doing.