Category: Q&A

Coxing Q&A Racing Rowing

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So I have a question. My rowers are asking me to take power 10s basically every 20 ish strokes. It seems excessive to me but I feel like I should follow their request. What do you think? Thanks!

My first question is why are they asking you to take them every 20ish strokes? I’d figure the answer out to that first before deciding whether to acquiesce their request or not. I’ll agree that that does seem a bit excessive but if you’re doing it during practice, say during a steady state piece or something, then I think it’s fine. On occasion I’d do that with my eights when we were doing longer pieces to break up the monotony – they wouldn’t just be power 10s though, they’d be 10s for something, but hopefully that part’s obvious.

During a race, yea, that’s pretty pointless. When you do any kind of burst the output is typically expected to be just a bit above normal compared to the rest of the race. If you’re rowing at 96% as your “baseline” then the 10s or 20s you take, assuming you use them sparingly and strategically, should be able to be right around 98%. If your base is 96% and your consistently taking 10s/20s then right around 750m in you’re going to stop feeling any difference in power between your base and the bursts. Around 1250m you’ll start to feel everything falling off and nothing will be as powerful because they essentially wasted their energy and spun their wheels in the first half of the race.

Talk to them and figure out why they want you to call 10s so often and then decide from there. Just because they’re requesting something doesn’t mean you have to do it. Life’s full of little disappointments like that. If you don’t think it’s an effective use of your time though then tell them why (you can use what I said up above if you want, just don’t just say “no, that’s dumb, shut up and row”). It’s also possible that they’re asking you to call power 10s because they don’t think you’re talking to them enough or giving them enough feedback while you’re rowing and since power 10s are an easy “go to” thing to tell the coxswain to do, that’s what they’re doing. Regardless of what it is though, you need to communicate with them and figure out why they’re asking for this, why they think they need it/what they think they’re getting out of it, and then decide if it’s a worthwhile use of your time. Talk to your coach too if you’re unsure. They know your crew better than I do so they’d be able to say “yea, they need some practice taking some hard strokes when they’re tired (like they will be during a race)” or “no, that’s not what they need to be doing, rather you should have them do something like this instead: _____”.

Coxing Q&A

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I’ve noticed a lot of the coxswains in your recordings liking the “hook, send” call. What exactly is meant by this?

“Hook, send” is a two-part call that you make at the catch (hook) and the finish (send). Every coxswain kinda tweaks what the meaning of “hook” and “send” are for their crew so I’ll tell you my definitions of them. The hook part refers to that upward “J”-like movement you make to put the blade in the water. Since the goal at the catch is to go straight to the water, I’ll say “hook” to remind the rowers of that sharp, quick move they have to make to get a good latch on the water. The send part means exactly what you’d think it means – you’re sending the boat when the blades are out of the water. If you’ve heard the term “run”, it means basically the same thing. When I say “send” I want to feel a good, clean snap at the finish when the blades are released and feathered (watch the GIF in that link to see what I mean) and then I want to see and feel the boat run under us on the recovery. Getting a good amount of run can only happen if you have a good catch, solid drive, clean finish, cohesive swing, and a balanced boat. “Hook, send” focuses on the first three of those things.

Sometimes you’ll hear “kick, send” too, where “kick” refers to the pushing-off movement you make against the stretchers once you’ve got the blade in the water.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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There’s a coxswain who is excessively competitive. She’s very cocky and hard to practice with. We had a day of skill & drill and she cut me off while launching/docking, ignored my requests to start drills together, coxed 1/2 to 3/4 pressure like race pieces, and didn’t really try to keep our boats together. She doesn’t help set up workouts on land until I ask, and clearly looks down on rowers/coxswains on lower boats. Is there a way to talk to her or the coaches without heightening the tension?

This is something I’d let the coaches handle. It’s likely they’ve already noticed her behavior (and if they haven’t, well, that’s another issue) so bringing it up to them shouldn’t come as a surprise. Raising issues like this with a coach always carries the risk that they’ll blow you off or think you’re just being petty but if I was in your position I’d say something. It’s really irritating, not just for you but for the rowers as well, when there’s such a blatant lack of communication between the coxswains, most especially when it’s one-sided. As I’ve said in the past, when you talk to your coach(es) keep it simple and to the point. Try to keep your personal feelings out of it and just give them the facts (basically everything you said up above). Let them know that you’ve tried talking to her previously about keeping the boats together, doing drills together, helping with land workouts, etc. but nothing really seems to get through to her. Once you’ve said that, let that be the end of it from your end and let them handle the rest. Ideally they’ll take her aside privately before or after practice one day and talk to her.

If you try talking to her and just end up repeating what you’ve said before, not only will she likely ignore you but she’ll also probably get pissed because you’re trying to tell her what to do, you’re being bossy, etc. (even though that’s obviously not really what’s happening). If she wants to do her own thing on the water, let her and then let the coaches deal with it if they think it’s an issue (which they probably will, especially if they’ve given her specific instructions to do the workouts with another coxswain and to keep the boats together). Don’t bother trying to keep up with her or adjusting your practice plan to fit what she’s doing because you’ll just end up playing catch-up the whole time which will result in a wasted practice for the rowers. As far as docking goes, just give her space and let her go. It’s not worth risking a $30k+ boat just to be able to be the first one to dock. Her attitude towards the other coxswains and rowers is most likely not going unnoticed by them so it’s really only a matter of time before someone else raises the issue of her attitude with your coaches. Do your best, along with the other coxswains, to try and maintain a positive atmosphere when you’re at practice. If your coaches don’t say something to her first, she’ll start to realize on her own that her attitude is making her the odd man out.

Coxing How To Q&A Racing

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Hi! In a race, when you call a power 10, do you call it two strokes ahead (Power 10 in two, that’s one, two,) or do you just call it?

I say it’s up to you, what you’re comfortable with, and what you see. With younger, less experienced crews you almost always call it in two because they need that “warning”/prep period a little more than an advanced or elite level crew would but as you start working with advanced high school crews, college crews, etc. you can almost always call it “on this one” if you choose to.

I tend to go back and forth with how I call it. If I can see another crew making a move or we’re running out of water to make our move, regain seats, walk away, etc. then I’ll say “on this one” because I don’t feel like I can afford to waste those two strokes where you’d normally say “one, two”. If we’re in a good position and I want to keep building on that then I’ll say “in two” or something similar because I think that it helps to maintain the pace that is (hopefully) already working for you and it doesn’t give that sense of immediate urgency that “on this one” does.

College Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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A coach reached out to me a couple months ago and we emailed and talked on the phone for a couple of weeks. I sent him an email about a week ago just to check in, give him an update, and reassure interest. How long should I wait for a reply? When we spoke before it was no longer than two days between emails so I didn’t know if it was weird that things were moving slower or if most seasons are just starting to pick up now.

Right now most teams are returning from winter break/training camp and getting back into the swing of things with school and stuff. I wouldn’t worry too much right now about not hearing back from him right away. Plus, if you didn’t include anything that he thought warranted a reply (i.e. you didn’t ask any questions or anything) then he might have just looked at your email, said “great!”, and filed it away for later. If you did ask him a question, especially if it’s time-sensitive, maybe give it another week or so and send a short follow up with the original email attached below the new one and just say “Hi Coach, just wanted to follow up on the email I sent last week. I know you’re probably busy with XYZ but I wanted to get your opinion/some advice/some insight on _____. Looking forward to hearing from you!” and leave it at that.

Even if you don’t hear back from him, I’d continue to send emails (maybe once a month at most) to update him on any progress you’ve made with the university (such as being accepted, deciding on a major and wondering if anyone else on the team has also majored in it/what their experiences were/how tough was it to handle the academic requirements of said major while on the team, etc.), your plans to come visit campus, any PR milestones erg wise (especially if you’re planning on going to CRASH-Bs next month or participating in any of their satellite events), as well as your race results once the season rolls around.

Moral of the story is don’t take it personally and don’t worry too much about it. Keep him updated on your progress and go from there. If you have a question or something you want to know about, CC the assistant coach (almost always also listed as the recruiting coordinator) on the email if that’s not who you’ve already been talking with. It tends to be their responsibility to deal with the incoming freshmen and all their questions so you might get a quicker response from them than you would from the head coach.

Coxing Q&A Racing

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Any tips on being clear and concise with calls during race pieces? I tend to get a little overwhelmed by everything going on around me and I sometimes trip over words or get too wordy.

Tripping over words is gonna happen. It’s just one of those things that you can’t get defeated by, especially if you’re just starting out as a coxswain. Out of all the recordings I’ve listened to I’d say probably three of every five have some kind of flub in them. It’s not that big of a deal though and most of the time if it’s just a quick stumble the rowers won’t notice it, especially if it’s during a race. If it becomes a frequent thing and it’s causing you to get flustered and lose your focus, then it’ll start becoming a distraction to the rowers, which you don’t want.

The times I have the most issues with this is when it gets really cold outside and my face is so cold that my lips are numb. Numb = not moving very quickly = my brain is stringing together calls faster than my mouth can spit them out. Most of the time I just stop, shake it off (I literally shake my head), refocus, and pick up where I left off. All that happens in about a split second so it’s not like you’re taking five strokes to recover. Acknowledge that you slipped up but remember that at the end of the race, you’re most likely going to be the only one that remembers and/or cares.

One thing that can help with being too wordy is to plan out your calls ahead of time. I don’t plan out my races word for word but I at least have a general idea, based on previous races, practice that week, and talking with the crew, of what I want/need to say. You can make it easier on yourself too by putting a post-it note near your cox box with a list of calls on it so that you can see the calls that you need to start incorporating into your vocabulary. That way on race day you’ll already have them in your brain and won’t have to worry so much about getting tripped up over trying to come up with things to say. It also helps you avoid being too wordy because you know these are the calls you need to make at some point based on everything I already mentioned, meaning the rest of the time should be filled with anything you see about their blades right now (as a crew or individually), where you are location-wise, where the other crews are, etc.

Related: HOCR: Race plan “hacks”

Before you work on your calls though you need to figure out what’s overwhelming you about races. Is it just because you’re not the only boat out there or because everything’s happening so quickly or …? As soon as you determine why you’re getting overwhelmed then you can take the necessary steps to work on that during practice so that in future situations you don’t feel that way. If it’s because of the other boats being around you, put yourself in between two other crews while you’re doing warmups or something and don’t pay attention to them. Keep an eye on the distance between the blades so there aren’t any clashes but other than that, pretend like they aren’t there. Focus on your crew, their technique, and what they’re doing.

Since you’ll likely need to look at another crew during a race to see their position, practice doing this by pacing yourself throughout your row – try doing it every 5 strokes to start. All you’re doing is giving them a quick glance too. The longer you look at them the greater the chance that you’ll get distracted. Everything that’s going on around you should be secondary to what’s happening in front of you. Keeping the focus on what your crew is doing and not getting distracted by the other crews around you is a matter of discipline, plain and simple.

Coxing High School Q&A

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Hi! I am a junior and I row for my high school team and cox/coach for a rec team (for breast cancer survivors). I have a lot of different experiences with the sport at this point and I plan on coxing in college. However, I would like more opportunity to compete at a higher level, since I feel rather dead-ended by my small high school team (I would cox but they need me as a rower). Besides the Jr. National Team, do you know of any good opportunities, preferably in the summer? Thanks so much!

You should look into the various summer camps hosted by college programs, as well as some of the full-summer high performance programs like the ones offered at Penn AC, Vesper, CRI, etc. The programs that run all summer can get pretty pricey but they’re always worth considering if you have a good resume, provided the cost isn’t an issue. The camps that are run at the universities are typically one week camps and most involve staying on campus in the dorms (which is usually where the bulk of the cost comes from) but they’re a great way to get some experience in a different environment and interact with the coaches from those programs.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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I recently joined a novice girls crew team because they needed a freshman coxswain. This team allows 8th grade rowers from the local middle school to participate as well. When I joined there were already three 8th grades coxswains, but the coaches were so desperate for a freshman cox they were willing to take me, even though I am 5′ 4” or 5′ 5” (but I only weigh 98lbs). The coach has taken a shine to me because I can erg well, do workouts with the rowers, and have picked up coxing very quickly. When we have been doing exercises where our coach puts us in boat groups I have been getting the better rowers. Although the rowers seem to like me, this has generated some resentment from the coxswains. You seemed to have given good advice about winning over rowers and I was wondering how I might win over the other coxswains on my team.

Whenever I hear about a coxswain being resented by his/her fellow coxes I assume it’s because of one of two reasons. One, Coxswain A is doing what’s asked of them (and what isn’t, which is sometimes more important) by the coaches, gets along well with the team, and makes an active effort to learn and get better. Coxswains B, C, and D all show up and do the bare minimum so they think that Coxswain A is sucking up or purposely trying to make them look bad when actually, he/she is doing exactly what they should be doing. The second thing is that Coxswain A does everything I just listed but instead of being… normal … about it, they rub the other coxswains’ faces in it (sometimes subtly, other times blatantly) and act superior about everything. Either of those two things combined with typical 13-17 year old high school behavior and you’ve got a recipe for dramaaa.

As a coxswain, winning over another coxswain is harder than winning over a rower. I don’t know what it is but that just seems to always be the case. Think of it like cats and dogs with rowers being the dogs and coxswains being the cats. Rowers will be your friend and listen to what you say as long as you’re nice, don’t yell, and bring them food on a regular basis. Coxswains, on the other hand, make you work for their affection. They’re cunning, occasionally territorial, not a fan of sudden movements, and most likely plotting some kind of world domination. Like cats, it can take a while for them to warm up to you. Be friendly, interact with them (not just with the rowers) but don’t force the intercation, ask them for help every now and then (even if you don’t need it, say, like when you’re running a circuit or something), invite them to erg or do the workouts with you, etc. It’s not your job/responsibility to make them like you – that’s on them if they choose to do so – but like I’ve said before, you’re all on the same team thus you should at least be cordial with one another, regardless of whether you’re actually friends. If their only reason for disliking you is because you’re doing what the coaches are asking and as a result are getting the top boats because of it, well, maybe they should consider upping their game instead of standing on the sidelines being resentful.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Our cox steered our boat into a tree today (the river has been high since the floods so there were strong currents; it’s not really her fault) but our coach had a proper go at her and said she should apologise to me (I was at bow) for being hit by a tree but I really don’t want to make a big deal of it as she’s my friend even outside of rowing. What should I do?

I’m all for keeping coxswains accountable when they make a mistake but there’s no need to make it a bigger deal than it is or make them feel worse than they already do (and trust me, if they’re a good coxswain who knows what they’re doing, they will feel bad). If your coach already said something to her then there’s a good chance that she feels a bit guilty that her friend got whacked by a tree, so if/when she apologizes just accept it and move on. Let her know that you know that the circumstances were a little out of her control so she (hopefully) did the best she could at the time. Accidents happen. If she’s got an otherwise good track record as far as steering goes, chalk this one up to factors outside her control and let that be the end of it. Keep things lighthearted but reserve the right to bring up “that time you steered us into a tree and I got a branch to the back of the head” at least once a season for the rest of your time in school.

College Q&A Recruiting

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Hello! I am attending a “business casual” open house this weekend at a college that I am strongly considering. I want to make a strong impression, I was just wondering, as a coach, what do you think would be appropriate to wear? I want to look nice without looking silly or too glitzy. Thanks in advance!

Long after you’re gone, the coaches are going to be remembering you, not your outfit. Looking nice is obviously a given but don’t forget that what’s going to leave the strongest impression is your personality, interest in the school, and what you feel you can bring to the program.

Pro tip though, don’t overthink what you’re gonna wear. The key is to pick something you’ll be comfortable in since that’ll help you project confidence in whatever situation you’re in.

I usually wear similar iterations of what’s above to job interviews or other business casual-ish events (rowing related and otherwise) and dress it up or down as necessary, either by swapping the top for a blouse and jacket or the shoes for a more casual pair of flats or sandals. I’d probably dress up a little more for schools like Harvard than I would for somewhere like Miami but it’s your call based on the environment you’ve seen when you’ve visited previously.

For shoes, stick to flats or, if the weather’s wet, snowy, etc., a pair of tall boots. If you wear any jewelry, try to keep it simple and not too flashy, noisy, or in your face. If you wear any perfume, try to keep it toned down too. You don’t want that to be what announces you when you walk in a room.

For guys, you really can’t go wrong with a button down and a nice pair of slacks or chinos. I wouldn’t completely rule out jeans as long as they’re a darker wash – anything lighter looks way too chill for something billed as “business casual”. If nicer shoes are deemed appropriate, just go for a pair of dress shoes or boots. Do not wear tennis shoes and don’t forget a belt.