Category: Novice

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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The cox on our boat (novice 8) is annoyingly unfocused a lot of the time – she doesn’t listen to our coach about our drills, she complains a lot which wastes our water time, she always has the wrong cox box or attachment, and she always chats to stroke seat instead of leading us. The boys’ team said they had similar problems when she coxed them last term. Should I speak to her or our coach and what should I say?

This is one of those situations where you have to tread lightly because you never know how the other person is going to take it – they can either accept the feedback and do something different, ignore it, or run to your coach and say you’re ganging up on or bullying them. If you have team captains I would first bring it up with them, say what you said up above, and ask if they would mind saying something to her and letting her know that the rowers are getting frustrated so she needs to start being more attentive and focused. Since they have slightly more experience than you do it might be easier/better for them to address it first than for someone of equal standing (aka you) to bring it up. Plus, you’re each others peers and no matter how harsh you’ve gotta be, its always better to hear stuff like this from your teammates than from your coach(es).

If you don’t have team captains I would ask maybe one or two other rowers from the boat to come with you when you talk to her. Try to pull her aside after practice one day and let her know that her behavior is distracting to everyone else in the boat and it’s becoming more and more apparent that she’s not as focused as she needs to be. Having the wrong equipment, not listening to the coach, calling drills wrong, talking to the stroke when she shouldn’t be, etc. is frustrating to you guys because its not possible for you to do what you need to do if the person who’s supposed to be leading you is giving off an “I don’t care” attitude. You shouldn’t be afraid to be frank about that either – you have every right to be upset if your coxswain’s not doing what he/she needs to do. I would avoid bringing up anything about knowing how she was with the guys because that’ll make it seem like you’re all talking about her behind her back, which will just make the situation worse.

If after talking to her nothing changes (I’d give it at least a week), then I would go to your coach with the same two or three people you originally brought with you and tell them what’s going on. Let them know that you’ve talked with her or asked the team captains to say something to her and nothing changed. It’s likely that they’re frustrated as well with her not listening to them, having the wrong cox box, etc. so hopefully none of this would be news to them.

Novice Q&A

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I joined my university rowing club with the intention of rowing for them, however, as the club is very small and I coxed a little in autumn, I find myself being asked to cox, both for my squad (novice women) and the two senior squads. I’m 5ft10 and 125lbs, so really quite big for a cox. I really don’t want to lose my place in the main novice eight if I’m never going to be a decent cox, but equally, I’m not the strongest in the boat (probably around 4th based on technique and ergs) so coxing might be a good way to go. I don’t know whether to dedicate myself to coxing, and accept I’ll be on the large side, or stick to rowing. Could you shed any light on the frequency and success of coxes who aren’t pocket sized? Thank you.

I personally don’t know too many non-pocket sized coxswains but the ones that come to mind were all lightweight rowers that switched to coxing due to an injury. They didn’t do too bad with it, the only problem they had was fitting in the seat since they were several inches taller than the average coxswain. Even though coxswains usually are pretty tiny, it’s the weight that matters more than anything else. A good number of men that cox are in the 5’8″ to 5’10” range (Zach Vlahos, the senior men’s coxswain, is 5’9″…) so it’s definitely feasible if you wanted to keep doing it.

If you’re fourth on the ergs you’re in the upper part of the the middle of the pack which leads me to assume that if you trained hard enough you could probably be one of the top people in there. Only time can tell whether or not you’re a good coxswain unless you do something so egregious right off the line that your coach decides that it would take more time and effort than it’s worth to teach you to cox than it would to just coach you towards being a stronger rower. I would talk with your coaches and see what they say but if you’ve got the option I’d probably stick with rowing. I would tell your coaches too that you don’t want to lose your spot in the novice 8+ and let them know that your preference is rowing so that they know and can either find someone else to cox or make sure that you’re at least getting an adequate amount of training time with your own boat.

Novice Q&A Rowing Technique

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Hi Kayleigh! I have an issue. One thing that coxes and coaches mention quite a bit during pieces, either on the erg or the water, is breathing. I know a lot of people like that, however whenever breathing is mentioned I start thinking about it and my breathing pattern gets screwed up and I have trouble breathing for a few strokes, which in turn screws up my rowing. I don’t want to keep having this problem however I don’t want to say something and be *that* person, especially since I’m new to my team.

Keep it simple – inhale on the recovery, exhale on the drive.

Most of the time coaches and coxswains talk about breathing because it’s an easy thing for rowers to forget to do. Plus, if everyone is inhaling and exhaling at the same time it can help to establish a rhythm in the boat. And, on top of that (but less importantly), it sounds really cool. Not getting caught off guard by them saying something about it really comes down to just being focused on what you’re doing and training yourself to not be so easily distracted. How you go about doing that is up to you. I don’t think it’s an uncommon problem though … I think I’ve known at least 2-3 people at each place I’ve coached that have had the same or a similar problem. If you ask your coach they can probably give you some advice too – that is their job, after all. If you don’t ask, they can’t help you. As a novice you get a pass for not knowing certain things because you’re new so how/why would you know them. You’re only that person if your question is out-of-this-world stupid or the answer is really, really obvious, neither of which apply here.

Novice Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hey there. I’m going to start as a novice rower in a month’s time, and I’m going to be training with high performance athletes because my club doesn’t have a women’s novice crew over the fall/winter training season. I’m nervous because I believe I’m quite unfit, especially for working next to high performance rowers. Any tips about how to pick up on my fitness, so that I’m more prepared to work at my own pace, even though I’m bound to suffer? And by high performance I mean up to elite level, there are members of the NZ Olympic team with our club. There are also school kids too, but I’m not with them. I so don’t wanna be the clueless and unfit one…

The best and most basic thing you can do at this point is build up your cardio base – long runs, 45-60 minutes on the bike, etc. at least 3-5 times a week. That’ll put you in a good position when you start erging and are heavily relying on your aerobic system to provide your body with energy. I’d also do some core work (10-15 minutes worth at least) a few times a week after you finish whatever cardio stuff you do. You can never go wrong with planks but any core workout that focuses on your back, obliques, and abs will get the job done. This will help build up those muscles which will in turn help to decrease your susceptibility to injury.

You’re nowhere near the same level as the high performance/elite people at your club so don’t worry about that. No one else cares so you shouldn’t either. The elite rowers were in your position once too so if anything, you should really introduce yourself and ask for any advice they have about training as a novice or if they’d mind watching you on the erg for a few minutes and critiquing your form. I can pretty much promise you they’ll be more than willing to talk to you for a few minutes if they’ve got the time. We all want to see the sport grow and that really only happens through interacting with one another and helping out people that are new to the sport. Being clueless kind of goes hand in hand with being a novice but if you’ve got more knowledgeable and experienced people training right beside you, you can really give yourself an advantage (and boost your own confidence a little) if you approach them and pick their brains on anything you’ve got questions on. You’re almost doing a disservice to yourself if you don’t do that.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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Hey! So do you have any tips for dealing with a boat that you think won’t do well as they are novices that don’t keep a set? So basically I was thrown into a boat that didn’t have a coxswain for the race this weekend, so I’m coxing them. How do I keep a good attitude and work with it? I’m sorry if this sounds really bad, I’m just trying to figure out a way to work with it.

If you’re coxing a boat that you’ve never coxed before and will probably never cox again, the key is having zero expectations and doing every single thing they ask you to do. In this situation, you really have no … authority, I suppose, over the crew (outside of the obvious stuff) so you can’t really jump in there and start telling them all these things they need to do (or do better) or coxing them like you cox your normal crews. And plus, I mean, they’re novices. What novice crew can keep a boat perfectly set? It’s kind of not fair to assume that they’re not going to do well because they’re novices and/or can’t maintain the set.

On a scale of 1-10 in terms of bad attitude and good attitude respectively, if you don’t get in the boat with a 5 or above then you’re basically just giving off the impression that you’re pissed to be in a boat that is beneath you. Going in with a neutral attitude is much preferred over that. Talk to the coach ahead of time, get the warmup from them, figure out what they’ve been working on during practice, what they want the race plan to be, etc. and then do exactly what they ask you to do. Get some input from the rowers or talk to the stroke on the way to the starting line to get some ideas for what they want to hear either motivation or technique-wise and try not to stray too far from any of that. You can really risk coming off as a know-it-all (and rude…) if you jump straight in the boat and try to run the show without knowing anything about the crew. You might be the coxswain and “the leader” by title but the best way to put it is (and I’m stealing this from one of my coaches) that you’re a guest in their boat.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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I’m coxswain captain for my high school team and I want to have a meeting at the beginning of our spring season next week with the novice coxswains to make sure they know what they’re doing. What do you think I should bring up? I know safety and general calls are big ones, I just don’t want to leave out anything important.

Great idea! Way to take the initiative and do that. I think the most important thing that you should talk about with them is water safety. That probably comes as a surprise but I really think that that’s an important topic that isn’t brought up or detailed enough. I’m planning on doing a post about it next week but if you want some bullet points beforehand, feel free to email me.

The key with having a meeting like this is to avoid giving too much information and overwhelming them. The minute they start feeling overwhelmed by what they’re hearing, that’s when they’re going to start tuning you out (source: every math class I’ve ever taken from like, 4th grade through senior year of college). I would pick five key things and no more than that. If you have more than five things (which you probably will) prioritize the most important ones and then have another meeting sometime next month. (That would probably be a good idea anyways.)

If I was doing it I would probably go in this order but it’s obviously completely up to you:

General responsibilities and expectations (minus the romanticizing and overly-flowery descriptions (words cannot describe how much I hate this); be straightforward and tell them what their job/role on the team is, what is expected of them from their teammates and coaches, etc. The clearer you are about this from the very beginning the less room they have later on when they’re slacking off and saying “I didn’t know I had to do that”.

Water safety

Basic terminology (and by basic I mean the most basic of the basics)

How to cox a boat off the racks, down to the dock, into the water, off the water, up the dock, and back onto the racks (make them actually do it too after you’ve showed them how to do it; you don’t have to actually use the boat but at least have them go through the motions)

How to get information off the ergs. Work with your coach to come up with a standard list of things to write down, that way everyone is always on the same page and the process is fairly streamlined (i.e. every time the rowers do a workout it should be automatically assumed that if you’re writing stuff down you should be getting their splits, average stroke rate, and time). Show them how to do that, then have them go through it a couple times so that you know they know how to do it.

A fairly atypical list I think but if you think about it, this is all pretty important stuff that no one ever goes over with coxswains in the early days of their careers (and if they do it’s on the fly or in a loud erg room). What to do on the water in the event of an emergency (medical, safety, etc.) is NOT something you want to try and figure out on the fly though because … well, I’m sure you can all figure out why.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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So as a novice, I’ve been coxing for about 5 months. My learning curve was very fast and I quickly became our top novice coxswain, yet I feel like I’ve hit a plateau. I’m not getting any better yet everyone else is improving faster and my top spots are very threatened right now. How do I get better after hitting a plateau? (btw: We don’t have winter training, we are on water all year round) Thanks!

I think the best way to get over a plateau is to find new ways to challenge yourself. When you’ve hit a plateau that typically means that your body, brain, whatever has adapted to the challenges you were presenting it before and now that it doesn’t perceive them as actually being challenging anymore, it’s bored. You’re bored. To become un-bored and get over the hump, think about all the things you’ve learned how to do in the last five months and then think about how you can start fine-tuning each of those skills. You’ve got the broad concepts down so now it’s time to start focusing on the details. If you’re having trouble thinking of stuff, talk to your coach(es). Since they’ve seen you on the water they’ll know exactly what you’re doing really well and what you can improve on. Get some feedback from them and then sit down and create a plan for yourself. Have a list of goals (small, medium, and large ones) that list out what you want to accomplish.

Small goals would be things like incorporating in three new calls for the catch into your vocabulary in the next two weeks (followed by three new calls for the finish in the following two weeks, etc.).

Medium goals would be smoothing out your docking technique over the next month (i.e. gauging when you need to drop down to fours, then pairs before weighing enough and leaning away so that the boat never comes into contact with the dock – this was one of the things I did and is probably the skill I’m most proud of. I’m a freaking amazing docker.).

Large goals usually encompass the whole season but can be tricky for novices, especially novice coxswains, to come up with. I guess one thing you could do is record a practice or race now and then record another practice or race at the end of the season and then compare the two. This would actually be a great way to hear the progress you’ve made with pointing out technique issues, increasing the efficiency of your calls, working on your tone and intonation, and just improving your overall communication skills with your coach and crew while you’re on the water.

Don’t think of this period as a plateau because that gives it a negative connotation and just makes you feel like crap. Think of it instead as that period between levels when the game is still loading. You’ve leveled up but you’re waiting for the next set of challenges to be put together and presented to you.

College High School Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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My team is going to start a big/little program between the varsity girls and novice girls this spring. When we do the big/little reveal, we want to give gifts to our littles! Obviously this isn’t a sorority, so we’re not giving them paddles or anything like that, but do you have any suggestions for things we could put into gift baskets? Thanks!!!

That’s awesome!! We didn’t do this when I was in crew but we did when I was in band and it was so much fun. The big brothers/sisters would always write notes to our littles at band camp and before all our competitions, basically saying we were proud of them, making sure to touch on any big hurdles they’d overcome or major improvements they’d made, etc. It was one of the best traditions we had. I actually just found all the notes I got from my big sister from my freshman year and it was so fun going back and reading them and remembering all the silly inside jokes we had.

That could be something that all the varsity girls do for the novices – each varsity girl writes something for each novice and then you can compile them into individual book-like-things for each girl, that way they’ve got 10-15 (or however many) letters just for them. Keep it short, simple, sweet, and fun – let them know you’re excited to have them on the team, note something that you hope to see happen this year, recall a similar experience that you went through so she knows that she’s not the only one experiencing this issue, remind them that teamwork makes the dream work (or whatever other silly cliche phrase you wanna throw out there), etc. Bonus points for brightly colored construction paper, markers, stickers, and glitter. Bitches love stickers and glitter.

The other thing that we did that has been a tradition for like, 30+ years I think, is each new member of the band would get a brick. Our band was pretty big and with each member standing side by side we could nearly reach end zone to end zone during our shows. This resulted in our band being nicknamed “The Wall of Sound” (from Phil Spector’s wall of sound, if you know anything about music production/engineering) because when everyone would line up like that and then march forward it was a literal wall of sound coming towards you. Now, from that comes the bricks. Each member was considered a brick in the wall (a nod to Pink Floyd) in that without one of the bricks, the wall would crumble. So, during the summer after we’d started rehearsals, the upperclassmen would get together with a load of bricks, one for each freshman, and they’d stack them up on top of each other to create a wall-like formation. On one side they’d spray paint the band’s logo across all the bricks and then on the other side they’d paint each person’s name on an individual brick. We were then given our bricks by our big brother/sister and were “officially” considered to be part of The Wall. I still have my brick and consider it to be just as important as all the medals I’ve won from crew.

My point with that story is that you could also include something that shows them that they’re “officially” a part of the team. For us, it really drove home the message of how it’s about the bigger picture and how that bigger picture can’t be achieved without the contributions, dedication, and passion of each person. It’s the same with crew.

Another idea is if you’ve got a parent who knows their way around a wood shop or you’ve got some artistically inclined rowers, you could make each rower their own mini replica blade, sort of like this. If someone can make a bunch of plain ones from wood then the varsity girls can paint them with your team’s colors and then present them to the novices. Alternatively, you can make them out of modeling clay too. (I’ve done it, it’s super easy). Just draw out a template, roll out the clay, use a X-Acto knife to cut it out, and then bake it.

You could include something that you wouldn’t have survived without when you were a novice. I remember talking about this with my friends once. One wouldn’t have survived without a really thick, warm pair of wool socks, another wouldn’t have survived without the granola bars her mom had waiting in the car for her after practice (because she was always starving), another said DVDs for the 5+ hour bus rides we took every week when we’d travel … stuff like that. I’d have probably given my little a bunch of Hot Hands and an ear warmer. If someone has a coxswain for their little sister, get them a notebook and a pack of pencils. (Hint hint nudge nudge, this is a great present for novice coxswains.) If you’ve got stickers or car decals with your team’s logo on them, throw some of those in there too. Another thing you could get if you could find them relatively cheap enough is water bottles, that way everyone always has one and you can minimize waste by not having plastic ones lying around the boathouse. Don’t count out the practical stuff either, like rubber bands for their hair, band-aids, cough drops, etc.

Last idea: a blanket! My warmest, most favorite blanket that I own is one that I got from crew. It’s fleece and is orange on one side and black on the other (our school colors). They are literally the easiest things to make in the world and don’t require any sewing abilities whatsoever. I’m actually shocked that mine is still completely in tact considering it went to every regatta, then to college, and then everywhere else I’ve gone over the last twelve years.

Coxing Ergs Novice Q&A

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Hello! I just starting coxing in the winter season and I’ve been really quiet while coxing erg workouts because I never know what to say to encourage someone. What are your staple phrases to use to encourage someone during an erg test/workout or during a regatta?

The first thing you should do is always ask the people erging if they want to be coxed. Some people need it, other people hate it. In my experience most people are OK with subtle technique reminders but don’t care too much for the “yay, go you” motivational calls, mostly because they’re largely unnecessary unless someone is really struggling. This obviously varies by team though. If you want to say something encouraging, say it to the whole group – something like “looking strong, guys” or whatever. Don’t be cheesy though. I beg of you. If whatever you’re going to say sounds like it could be on a Hallmark card or part of a “deep” Tumblr text post, don’t say it.

Related: Advice for coxing a 5k on the erg? There are only so many times I can remind my boys to keep their back straight and drive with their legs.

When I’m coaching or coxing an erg workout I typically just walk around and watch people’s form. For the most part I’m fairly quiet too. I like to use the time to observe rather than talk because my theory is that when we’re on the water, that’s my time but when we’re on land and they’re on the ergs, that’s their time. When I’m walking around, I’ll lean down and say something if I see something stand out with their technique or if I see their splits climbing above where they should be but usually it’s just a quick reminder like “get the arms all the way out”, “chins up”, “watch your split, get it back to 1:49”, etc. If there’s something that requires some more detail, an explanation, etc. then I’ll just wait until they’re done erging before I say something to avoid distracting them.

“Staple phrases” is tough because there sort of is no such thing – my staples are different than most other coxswains staples and their staples are different from other coxswains’ staples. As I’ve said many, many, many times before, the best way to figure out how to motivate someone is to just ask them. What do they want to hear, what do they need to hear, what reminders do they want/need, what are their goals, etc. From there, all you have to do is repeat that to them when you feel they need it (or they tell you they do). You could always go through the “calls” tag too if you wanted – there’s a lot of stuff in there so I wouldn’t recommend doing that unless you’ve got some free time on your hands.

Related: The worst coxswain calls

All that being said, you’re a novice – you really shouldn’t be saying that much because you don’t know anything yet. The only thing worse than not saying anything is saying stuff that you yourself don’t understand. Walk around with the experienced coxswains, ask them questions, learn about technique on the ergs, get to know the rowers, talk with the coaches about the goals of each practice and why you’re doing the workouts you’re doing, etc. Spend time educating yourself at and outside of practice and then as you start to get more comfortable with the terminology, technique, etc. then you can start coxing the rowers (if they want you to).