Category: Q&A

Coxing Q&A

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What are some “rhythmic calls” you use? I know ones such as hook, send and catch, send but I was wondering what others are used.

I’m a big fan of taking a “swing three” or a “swing five” and saying “long swing“, “surge  long“, swing through“, “long rhy-thm”), etc. I think it’s important to pick one call and stick with it for the duration of the three or five strokes just because I feel like it helps get everyone moving together better/faster than if you were alternating between two or three different calls on each individual stroke.

Most of my rhythm calls also specifically include “swing” or “rhythm” in the call. I don’t tend to look at “hook send” or “catch send” as rhythm calls but they can definitely work that way, although I think the rhythm part of it is secondary or tertiary to catch/finish timing and/or acceleration.

Related: Hello! Sorry if this is a dumb question but I was wondering, what does it mean when coxswains say “cha”? Thank you!

Another good rhythm call is “cha”, which I talked about in the post linked above. As I said in there, it’s not one of my most used rhythm calls but it really has started to grow on me over the last year or so. Some coxswains say “cha” or “ja”, others add “ssshhhh-uh” to the end of their calls (this is what I do) but it all accomplishes the same thing.

Ergs High School Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hi! I am a High School senior lightweight rower who recently got back from injury and I 2k-tested a couple of days ago in which I pulled a 6:50 (my pr is 6:48) and I am really looking forward to lowering my 2k. I heard doing a lot of ss is good but my question is when is a lot of ss is not good? Because I don’t want to overtrain my body. I am also planning in doing ss everyday so I would like to know what type of workouts would work?

Check out both of the posts linked below, they should answer your question and give you some ideas on different kinds of pieces to do.

Related: How much steady state is too much and how do you know if you’re pushing too hard or not enough? Currently I’m doing: 70′, 17s/m, 2:05-2:10/500m three times a week (Heavyweight male U23). Thank you!

To summarize both of those, 45-60 minutes is roughly what you should be aiming for. If you wanna mix it up and bike instead of erg then you can do a 75-90 min bike (broken up into chunks, like 3×25, 2×30, or something like that) at 75%-ish of your max HR. (I don’t often see our guys when they’re on the bike but this is the range that I think most people shoot for). How often you do it depends on your team’s training schedule – you can definitely overdo it if you’re trying to do that much extra work on top of two practices a day but since you’re in high school you probably won’t have to worry about that.

Related: What are some good erg workouts that you find particularly helpful to lower 2k times?

We practice primarily in the morning for two hours and will eventually add in one afternoon technical row each week but outside of that in the afternoons/evenings the guys have two lifts per week and on the other days they have captains practices where they erg, bike, or row in the tanks. If you practice in the afternoon then you might want to do your workout in the morning before school (yea it means waking up earlier and that’s never fun but you do what you gotta do). I wouldn’t do a steady state workout every day though – maybe 3x a week at most right now.

Related: How to prepare for a 2k test

Issues with overtraining tend to arise when you fail to give your body an adequate amount of recovery time. Give yourself a few hours between when your team is practicing and when you’re doing your own workouts (the minimum that I’ve heard several coaches say is four hours), make sure you’re taking at least one full day off per week (this is necessary for your muscles to recover and get stronger), and make sure you’re fueling yourself properly (which I talked about in the post linked above).

College Coxing How To Novice Q&A

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Got 2 very different questions:

1) How would you describe the difference between a good men’s coxswain and a good women’s coxswain?
2) I’m going to be head of coxswains this fall – we call the position the Cox-Coach – so I’ll be in charge of cox education, both for novices and varsity. I’m already asking for input from our current coxswains and rowers, but here’s my question for you: ideally, what would week one look like in the training of a novice college coxswain (before ever going out on the water), and what are specific ways to help continue coxswain education long term?

Thanks!!

I’ll use our coxswains as an example for your first question because we just went over their evals from spring break today and it’s fresh on my mind. We have two women and one guy that make up our team of coxswains – the guy is a senior, one of the women is a junior, and the other is a freshman. All three of them are very good but what separates the guy from the girls (and why our team tends to favor him for racing) is his style of motivation. When we’re doing hard pieces he’s very loud, aggressive, raw, and in your face (you’ll see this when I post the videos I took last week). One of the rowers commented on his eval that he’s very good at getting them focused on pulling hard and winning but on the flip side he tends to only focus on rowing hard instead of first getting the individuals and crew as a whole rowing well. Basically his forte is that testosterone-backed style of motivation that just comes a lot more naturally to men than it does to women.

Alternatively, both the women bring a very calm energy to the boat. They can get aggressive when they want/need to but it’s a more calm motivational style that you typically associate with women. The energy they bring to the boat as described by the rowers is a more practical energy that they use to get the crew rowing well and swinging together. Having primarily coxed women in school this is definitely how I’d describe several of my friends. Personality-wise they tended to be a little more quiet and reserved off the water than others of us and that was reflected in their coxing style on the water. One thing I think we (and most women’s coxswains I know) were all really, really good at though was getting inside our rowers heads in that sick way that only women can do to each other. (I know some of you will know exactly what I mean by that too.) In my experience both with the men’s crews I’ve coxed and with coaching these guys, they all definitely prefer the more raw, in your face style whereas women’s crews don’t respond nearly as well compared to the calmer, more tactical approach.

So, I guess to answer your question … even though the answer is completely subjective based on each individual crew … what I think it comes down to is their style of motivation. Women’s coxswain also have to be a little bit better at how they phrase things and their approach to motivating certain personalities since in general women are a little more sensitive on that front compared to guys. The guys on our team probably wouldn’t blink an eye if our coxswains told them to stop being little bitches but if you said that to a women’s crew it probably wouldn’t go over as seamlessly. If anybody has any thoughts on this definitely feel free to share down in the comments.

For your second question, I think the first week should be spent just getting them familiar with the program and how things are run. Off the top of my head that’d most likely entail giving them a complete tour of the boathouse so they know where they can find things, where things are stored, which boats/oars are used by which crews, what the procedures are for various things (for example, how to notify someone that something isn’t working or needs fixed – we have a system for this at our boathouse where the rowers/coxswains/coaches fill out a slip that details whatever the issue is and then we attach it to a clipboard outside the workshop), etc.

Also introduce them to any relevant people, such as other coaches (it’s so awkward not knowing the other coaches and then having to awkwardly introduce yourself like, a week later…) and your boatman, if you’re lucky enough to have one. Boatmen can be a coxswain’s best friend (they always have spare wrenches which is great when the rowers lose yours … or in the case of our coxswains, drop them in the water three times in one week) so it’s worth it to get acquainted with them early on.

I’d also spend a day going over how your coaches run practice (what’s the standard “formula” look like – i.e. our practices start out with one or two drills that double as the warmup followed by pieces of some kind (the bulk of the workout) and ending with paddling/light steady state back to the docks) and what drills you typically do and how to call them (don’t get too into detail, just give them a brief “drills 101” overview). And then obviously you should also spend a day going over the different parts of the boat, how to work the cox box, how the steering system works, how to get the boats from the racks to the water (and back), and anything they should know about the water you row on (traffic pattern, shallow spots, areas to avoid, landmarks, etc.). The last two days of the week I would bring them out on the launch so they can observe practice themselves and see the thins you described about the waterway (traffic pattern, landmarks, etc.).

If you really want to go the extra mile, write all this down and give it to them in handout form so they can read it and not have to try to memorize everything you’re saying. Bonus points if you include labelled maps and diagrams since visualizing things tends to be a lot simpler and easier to understand than reading through dense paragraphs of notes.

As far as continuing coxswain education long term, making yourself available is definitely one of the most important things you can do. I don’t want to take too much credit for the improvements our coxswains have made this year but I think part of it goes back to them knowing that whenever they have questions or want to go over something I’m always available (and if I’m not, I’m always willing to make time outside of practice to talk). The more available you make yourself the more likely they are to ask questions or for feedback and in turn the better they’ll get. This might mean having regular “office hours” where you hang out at the boathouse for an hour each week and if someone has something they want to talk about, that’s their time to do it, or it might just be you putting out a general reminder, such as “I’m always free before/after practice, hit me up if you wanna talk”. Do what works for you.

Related: Coxswain evaluations + my system for organizing them

Doing coxswain evaluations on a regular basis is also important because feedback from the rowers is critical in terms of know what’s working and what isn’t. Outside of that I don’t think there are any specific things you really need to do. I’ve done regularly scheduled meetings (usually on a weekly basis) in the past but it’s not always necessary so this year I’ve kind of adopted the whole “we’ll meet as a group if we need/want to and if we don’t, we won’t” mindset, which has worked fine for us. Like I said though, the biggest and best thing you can do is just making yourself available for when questions arise or they have something they want to discuss with you. It’s a really simple thing to do that can make a world of difference in the long run.

Q&A Rowing

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I’ve been rowing for six years and since my novice year I have consistently been in the V8. Our coach told us that in order to win we need to want to win more than the competition and in order to want it more we need to work so hard we can’t stomach the thought of losing. I’ve gotten to that point but it appears that this will be my first season in 11 that I will be rowing in the JV 8. I feel like a failure and that I’ve let myself down. It’s gotten to the point where it’s affecting other parts of my life. I’m taking it out through practice and working harder than ever. I feel like I’m being over dramatic but it’s so upsetting because I’ve made PRs on multiple erg tests (all are within the top 5 scores on the team) and I can feel that my stroke has significantly improved and it’s still not good enough. I know I’m being over dramatic but it hurts a lot and don’t know how to get over it. Do you have any advice?

This is why I have an issue (albeit a minor one) with coaches really pushing that whole “you have to want it to so much you’ll do XYZ” mindset because if it gets pushed too hard then people end up in the situation you’re in where they feel like failures because they’ve essentially been conditioned to think that not winning or being in the top eight or whatever is the worst thing ever. That’s just my opinion obviously but I think it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a fine line when it comes to stuff like that.

Erg scores aren’t everything. Most boat movers are good on the erg but not all those who are good on the erg can move a boat. I’m assuming that if you talk to your coach they’ll probably say that something about your technique is what put you in the JV8 which is encouraging since  fixing your technique is easy. Well, it’s not easy but it’s something you can easily commit to working on and improving, even in a short amount of time. Find out what it is you need to work on (it might be something specific or it might just be general…), commit to making and incorporating small improvements into your rowing, talk with your coach regularly about how you’re doing, and then after a couple weeks (like, two-ish minimum) ask if you can seat race for a spot in the V8.

I don’t necessarily think you’re being overly dramatic (maybe a little but not overly), I just think you’re being  harder on yourself than you need to be. Does getting put in the JV lineup after consistently being on varsity sting a little? Yea, it does but it’s the decision your coach made so you’ve gotta go with it (for now) and move on. Don’t throw yourself a pity party over this. My take on all of it is that if you’ve been rowing in the V8 for 11 seasons then whoever took your seat must be a really, really strong rower (either power wise, technique wise, or both), which means your coach probably had a really tough decision to make. This is a good thing. You want to have more than eight people competing for your top eight otherwise it’s a “top eight” in name only but if you’ve got ten people competing to be in it then you actually do have to narrow your lineup down to the eight best of those ten. Having a good 2nd/JV8 is good/important because it means the V8 is gonna have someone to push them during practice and vice-versa which in turn means everyone is going  to get faster.  This. is. what. you. want.  Right now whoever took your seat is (indirectly) saying “come and get me” so ultimately it’s your decision whether or not to put the time and work in to reclaim your spot.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches Technique

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My coach who used to cox used the phrase “tuck up those finishes” when we were out on the water and I was wondering what that meant?

I’ve never heard that specific phrasing before (it sounds British…?) but my guess is they’re saying to make sure you’re pulling in high and tight, meaning you’re pulling into the right spot on your ribcage (the high part) and that you’re pulling the handle all the way in (the tight part, aka you’re not going down and away when the handle is still six inches away from your torso). That’s total speculation though so I’d ask them before/after your next practice what they meant by that. It’s always better to ask the person who said it (if/when you can) since they’ll be able to tell you exactly what they mean and how it applies to whatever was happening when they said it.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

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Hey! I’m currently a sophomore in high school and I really want to get recruited into a D1 or D2 college rowing program. I’ve been rowing for 3 years and the only problem is my height. I’m 5’3-5’4. My best 2k time is 7:44.2 and I plan on dropping about 14 seconds by senior year. My coach said that I have really long reach. How much is my height going to hinder me from getting recruited? Will I be better off switching to coxing?

I’d look into lightweight programs since you could definitely get some looks with that 2k time, even more probably if you go below 7:40. If that’s the route you go then I don’t think your height will really be that much of an issue. Just thinking about the lightweight women on our team, I feel like the ones I see most often around the boathouse are in the 5’3″ to 5’6″ish range. Obviously your height can be a disadvantage (especially if you’re rowing in a heavy/openweight program as a shorter person) but since lightweights are naturally shorter than heavyweights it’s not as big a deal to be a few inches shorter. I definitely wouldn’t switch to coxing though since you’ve already got a really good 2k and could potentially make for a good lightweight recruit.

Coxing Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hey! I am a women’s coxswain. I weigh like 116ish pounds depending on the day. I want to lose a couple pounds and I know I can do it healthily. The problem is that I can’t find a way to lose it. I eat very healthily and I exercise pretty regularly, but I always stay around the same weight. Any suggestions?

That’s your body’s way of telling you to stop because you don’t have any excess weight to lose. If you already eat a fairly well-balanced diet and work out on a regular basis then your body fat is probably at a reasonable enough level that there’s nothing extra to get rid of. The minimum is 110lbs, you’re at 116lbs … your weight is fine if that’s what your concern is. I honestly wouldn’t worry that much about trying to lose a few pounds and instead just keep eating healthy and working out when you can.

Coxing Novice Q&A

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Hi, I have never experienced rowing before and I would like to be a coxswain. I’ve done a little bit of research on what a coxswain does. I would like to know what you think is expected at tryouts.

Is there such a thing as coxswain tryouts? I don’t think anyone really “tries out” coxswains (mainly because it’s kinda hard to do due to logistics) so I can’t really say what you should expect. I would just show up, indicate you’re interested in being a coxswain, and plan on spending a good amount of time observing what the varsity coxswains are doing and how the coach(es) run things until it’s time to get on the water. The more you can educate yourself now on how the team does things, the basics of coxing, etc. the easier it’ll be once you’re actually in a boat.

Has anybody ever actually gone through coxswain tryouts? Did you have to do anything or did your coach just say “you’re invited to join the team, you’re not, etc.”?

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Hi – I was wondering what you thought about motivating rowers outside of practice, such as making healthy choices or attending practice more often. Sometimes when I try this I feel pretentious or nosy and even though I have respect from my teammates in the boat and at practice, they might not take me seriously or say something along the lines of, “thanks Coach”. Thanks for any advice.

Eh, I think this is one of those things where you have to know your audience and understand the culture of the program. If you’re a fairly casual team then having someone suddenly trying to inject in a level of enthusiasm and personal responsibility that isn’t typically there can come off as you being that “eager beaver” type of person that we all know and roll our eyes at. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to try to up the level of your team but … it doesn’t always work. It also depends on your experience level too. If you’re a novice and you’re walking down the hallways at school saying “make good choices!” to other people on your team then it can’t be hard to see how that would get annoying.

Personally, I really don’t like when people do this because it’s rare that it actually comes off as intended and not as coming from a place of superiority. It’s just one of those things that (maybe irrationally sometimes) really pisses me off, regardless of whether it’s happening to me or people around me. Making healthy choices, showing up to practice, etc. are things that people need to decide for themselves that they’re going to do and it can be really annoying to have someone in your ear telling you to do something that you aren’t fully committed to doing. It’s kind of like telling an addict that they need to get clean – most of them know that’s what they need to do but they don’t want to do it because someone’s telling them to, they want to do it because it’s what they want and choose to do. It’s a weird analogy but one of my coaches said that to us in college and it’s just always kinda stuck with me.

Ultimately I think you can go one of two ways here. One, just back off because this approach isn’t working. Two, talk to one person (your stroke seat or the person who seems to be the most committed out of the group) about why you’re doing this and get them to buy into it. It’s a lot easier to get other people to buy in if you’ve already got someone (influential) on your side. Think about how you’re communicating this too – if you feel like you’re coming off wrong figure out why. Is it just because people aren’t responding the way you want them to (you can communicate fine and still have people not respond) or is it because you actually do sound pretentious when you talk to them? This is a good skill to develop in general so I’d encourage you to do it regardless of what you end up deciding to do. Every situation is different but in this one I’d say it’s probably best to just let it go because it sounds like you’re (unintentionally) annoying your teammates more than you’re motivating them. I wouldn’t take it personally though, especially if you still get along well and they still respect you in general.

Coxing Q&A

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What are some items and pieces of clothing that you think all coxes should have at indoor practices (normal ones and tanks) as well as in the boat once we are on the water again? I’m trying out for a new team (switching from rowing to coxing) and I want to be prepared and give a good impression of that to the coach.

This clip from GIRLS pretty much explains my stance on how coxswains should dress at practice.

I can’t imagine the coach is really going to care what you wear but to answer your question, just keep it casual. I pretty much live in leggings and pullovers or some iteration of that, unless I’ve gotta go somewhere right after practice, in which case I’ll wear normal clothes. Our coxswains all do the same, if they’re not wearing sweatpants and a tshirt they’ll usually wear whatever they plan on wearing to class, unless they want to bike or workout while the guys are erging. It used to bug me when coxswains would wear “normal” clothes to practice because you’re pretty much just asking to leave with your nice clothes smelling awful and you just look out of place but honestly, wear whatever you want. Stop by an American Apparel if you have to.

Related: What to wear

Once you’re on the water what you wear is going to depend on what the weather’s like. Do not be that weirdo that wears jeans and a button down while you’re coxing though. I can’t even with coxswains that do that. Check out all the “what to wear” posts though (linked in the tag above) – they cover pretty much everything.

As far as other things to have, at practice a notebook is always handy but there’s not usually much for coxswains to do when you’re inside so there’s not really anything you need to have with you.

Related: What’s the most basic gear a novice coxswain should have?

All anyone is going to care about you bringing on the water is your cox box so whatever else you bring is up to you. I’d recommend a waterproof bag with a wrench or two, a recorder, some electrical tape, and some band aids to start.