Category: Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 7, 2013

Any tips on keeping a straight course in the dark when it’s hard to see things to point at?

I hadn’t coxed in actual pitch black darkness until I was in college. It was hard but as time went on what helped me the most was becoming very familiar with the water during the daylight hours. Doing this meant that I could stay on autopilot with my steering when it was dark out instead of forgetting about all my other responsibilities and constantly leaning out of the boat, looking around, etc. to see where I was (although I still did this on occasion if it was raining, snowing, or foggy). When I first started coxing at Syracuse, since I was pretty unfamiliar with the river, I’d pick out various markers along the shore, typically a light of some kind, a boat that was docked nearby, etc. and count the number of strokes it would take to get to a bend or turn. When we got to that point I’d know that in three strokes I’m gonna need to steer lightly to starboard. It was a pretty simple solution that didn’t require much effort or overthinking. In Boston I didn’t have to worry about this as much because there’s so much ambient light around that we were never really in the dark.

If you’re already comfortable with steering then you’re probably operating on autopilot the majority of the time you’re on the water anyways but you’ve got the benefit of being able to see your surroundings. When you lose that ability or it becomes harder to do you’ve got to use what you know of what the river looks like during the day to help you out. One of the big cons of autopilot is that you only focus on what’s directly in front of you instead of everything that’s surrounding you. The more you’re aware of your surroundings the easier it can be to steer, regardless of the time of day.

When you’re on a river, you might be tempted to get close to the shoreline (closer than you normally would) and follow it but I’d advise against that because you never know what’s under or hanging out into the water, how shallow it is, etc. and you risk damaging the boat or injuring a teammate. If anything, I’d say position yourself slightly closer to the middle of the river (provided there are no crews coming in the other direction) so that you’ve got more of a buffer against the things you can’t see.

If you’re on an open lake or body of water, the biggest tip I can offer is to just not steer. Hold the rudder straight and only make adjustments if your coach tells you to. Also talk to your rowers – let them know that it’s tough to see and you need them to work with you so that you can maintain the point you’ve got. This means rowing at the same pressure as everyone else and/or making immediate adjustments when you call for one side to come up or go down in pressure for a stroke or two. If you can see something far off in the distance, like a cell phone tower or something, use that as your point.

If you really can’t see anything though, you should say something to your coach. They can sometimes underestimate what our field of vision is like and how tough it can be to see as it gets darker.

College Coxing High School Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 3, 2013

Hello! So I am currently a senior in high school and a coxswain for the varsity girls at my school. I would like to walk onto a team in college but the problem is I’m a little big for a coxswain (5’7″, 120-125 lbs). I know weight matters but is it totally unrealistic for me to cox in college? (I stopped rowing because of serious hip problems that are relatively unfixable.)

I don’t think it’s unrealistic at all to walk on – you’re the perfect size to cox for the men’s team, if your school has one. Their max is 125lbs for coxswains, regardless of whether they’re male or female. Height really isn’t that big of a deal (I feel like most male coxswains I know are in the 5’7″ to 5’10” range) so I wouldn’t really consider that a factor. If it’s something you’re really serious about doing, email the coach sometime in the spring to introduce yourself and say that you’re interested in walking on to the team in the fall. Sometimes they’ll have you come to practices with the recruited athletes right at the start of the season since you’ve already got some experience vs. waiting to start rowing with the novice walk-ons.

Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 3, 2013

I have some questions, but first … at my school rowing can be done for 4 years, 1st two years competing is in quads and the 3rd and 4th years are done in eights or fours. In my first year I rowed in the top boat for my age with three other girls, one in particular was stroke (call her Daisy) and I was three seat. In the second year, I rowed with two of the same girls again, this time I stroked and Daisy was in bow. We are half way into our third season, again Daisy and I are in the same boat, although this time in an eight, Daisy is now stroke, and I am switching between seats 7, 5 & 6. Lastly, Daisy and I are very similar, the only real difference is our weight in which I weigh more than her. So my questions are, What does this mean about Daisy and I? Why I am no longer stoke? How do you decide who should stroke? If I wanted to be the stroke of our boat, what should I do? Thank you!

To be honest, I don’t think it says much about either of you other than Daisy is good at setting a rhythm and you’re good at translating the rhythm and/or generating power. I highly doubt either of your weights has anything to do with it. You not being in stroke doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a bad stroke seat – your coach probably just felt that you fit better in 5, 6, or 7 … or they have no reason at all and just felt like moving you guys around. If you really want to know why you’re in one seat instead of the other, talk to your coach. I really don’t think this is one of those things that needs to be treated like some super big secret so hopefully they can clue you in on their thought process as to why they like you in the seat you’re in now vs. where you were before.

I’ve previously talked about lineup positions in the post linked above so check that out. The fact that you’ve moved around a few times really isn’t a bad thing, although most people tend to perceive it that way. Over time I’ve come to conclude that in most cases, if your coach is doing it with purpose and not just randomly, it means that they think you’re an all around good rower who works in whatever seat they put them in. Some rowers, for whatever reason, only do well in certain seats, most often because they’re only able to row one side. If you can row both sides you can pretty much bet on being moved around a lot (at the very least within whatever four you’re a part of – stern, middle, or bow) because the coach knows you can function pretty much anywhere.

In terms of deciding who should stroke, I kinda discussed that in the post I linked to. The biggest factor for me is someone that has good technique and is able to set and maintain a rhythm immediately on the coxswain’s command. They’ve got to be a leader and have good communication skills because on the boat’s hierarchy totem pole, they’re right below the coxswain (in my opinion, at least), followed up by the bow man and then the middle six (sorry guys). As a coxswain I rely pretty heavily on my stroke to give me feedback on how they feel the boat’s moving, does it feel rushed, etc. so good communication between the two of us is key.

They’ve also got to be a leader because they literally have seven people following them at any given time. If their stroke isn’t good, bets are that a few other people’s won’t be either. If they’re slacking, other people probably will too. Knowing how important my relationship is with my strokes, I think it’s important to get the coxswain’s input too. If, for whatever reason, one coxswain and one stroke just do. not. get along in the boat, it’s going to take a lot to get me to put them together unless it’s completely unavoidable (like, if it’s our best coxswain and best stroke and they’re both 1V material). Bottom line, there are a lot of factors.

If you want to stroke the boat, again, talk to your coach and see why you’re in the seat you’re in and ask if that’s likely to be where you’ll stay throughout the season or is there a chance that you could try stroking again. My first question to you in this situation would be why do you think you should be the stroke? I’m looking for real, concrete answers here with some legit data to back it up. Saying you just want to be stroke because it’s the most recognizable position in the boat besides the coxswain ain’t gonna cut it. Saying you stroked the quad last year, won a decent amount of races, etc. also isn’t going to cut it. I want know whether or not you think you have a good working relationship with the coxswains (all of them, not just the one you’ve been with the most), how you feel your technique is, how comfortable you are with being able to go from one stroke to another within two strokes max, what kind of leadership you can bring to the boat, etc.

If you can give me good, well-thought, genuine answers to all of those questions, I’d probably consider trying you out in the stroke seat for at least a week to see how you did. After that, I’d get feedback from the coxswain, crew, and you, of course, and then decide whether or not a seat race were in order. Whether or not that’s the process every coach would follow, I don’t know, but I’d have answers on hand to those questions just in case.

Coxing Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 3, 2013

The other day in our eight we were doing some pieces in which the coach didn’t think everyone was trying. She thought only two out of the whole eight was actually trying hard. She didn’t name, names but you could tell some people she believed weren’t doing anything. In the defense of the crew, the cox wasn’t saying anything, no motivation or anything. After the session I was talking to one of the ‘spare’ coxes who was in the speed boat with the coach. We discussed how she judged who was pulling and her main answer was that the coach was looking at peoples faces and at the puddles but mainly the faces. Personally, maybe I wasn’t trying my hardest (I know, but its hard when the whole boat seemed to be powered by only yourself) but I do not believe looking at faces would be the most accurate way of measuring who is trying as I can easily make faces, and I know some people whose face doesn’t change no mater how hard they are pulling. How do you tell?

Every coach has their own “way” but for me, the best way to tell is by looking for the bend in the oar throughout the drive. Assuming you’re getting connected at the catch, the amount of pressure you’re applying will translate into how much bend the oar gets. A good example is this photo of GB’s men’s four from the Olympics. If I’m not able to be directly beside the crew to look for this, I’ll look at other things like the puddles, the bodies, etc. (As a coxswain I’d go by feel and the puddles.) I hardly never look at the faces though, mostly because that never struck me as something that would accurately portray how much effort someone is putting in. Some people that I’m coaching right now can pull unbelievable splits on the erg but, like you said, don’t look like they’re exerting themselves at all. On the flip side, I’ve coached high schoolers who are barely pulling anything worthwhile but look like this guy every stroke. Can your facial expressions reveal how hard you’re working? Sure, but it’s not the most reliable way.

On a side note (and maybe a little off topic), I completely get what you’re saying about how hard it can be to row hard during a piece when it feels like you’re the only one doing something and/or the coxswain appears to just be along for the ride. This is why I find it so frustrating when I listen to recordings and the coxswain is either saying nothing or what they are saying is completely … stupid. As much as you might not want to pull hard in those instances, as a coach, I really encourage you to anyways. Not because that’s your job and what you’re there to do (even though it is) but because it shows me that you are stronger than the situations you’re put in. If you can tough it out through a piece like that it would make me think that you’re going to give 100% regardless who you’re rowing with and what boat you’re in. Having a not-very-good coxswain isn’t a 100% ironclad excuse to not pull hard because even though they should be talking to and motivating the crew, you, the rower, have to have some kind of inherent motivation that keeps you going if/when the coxswain stops talking. If for some reason you can’t think of something, use the standby of “my coach is watching me, this could be the piece that moves me up to (whatever boat you want to be in)”. When you’re seat racing, coxswains typically aren’t allowed to say anything other than time and the stroke rate which means that it will be silent except for the voice in your head telling you to keep going. If you don’t have that voice going when the coxswain is talking you most likely won’t have it going when they aren’t, which is when you need it the most.

I don’t know how supportive most coaches would be in this situation but I also wouldn’t be afraid to tell the people in your boat to start doing something once you’ve finished a piece. Typically I would discourage rowers from saying stuff like this because it’s more of the coxswain’s responsibility but if the coxswain’s not doing anything either, I think that opens it up for someone else to say something. (Please don’t all go and mutiny on your coxswain now…) I wouldn’t point out individual people and say “Yo Annie, PULL HARDER” but rather make a general statement like “come on guys, we were moving the boat really well earlier/the other day/whatever and now it feels like we’re dead in the water…”. Something that gets your point across without putting the blame on any one person. Even if you feel like you’re the only one pulling, avoid saying something like “I’m the only one doing anything” because that’s not going to help you out at all because it’s likely that the other seven people feel like they are the only ones pulling.

If your coxswain isn’t doing something that you need him/her to do, say so. Tell them that the boat as a whole feels unmotivated or whatever and that you need them to really get into it on the next piece. If there’s specific stuff you need to hear, tell them. (It might be best to do this before or after practice though.) Typically when coxswains aren’t talking it’s because they don’t know what to look for or say. If there’s something you’ve been working on over the last few practices tell them to focus on that and maybe two or three other things. For example, say you’ve been working on going into the water together – tell her to watch the boat’s timing at the catch and also make sure everyone is coming out together (finishes). In addition to that, have him/her watch your stroke rate (especially if it’s a capped piece) and communicate that every minute or two while also saying the usual motivational stuff, like where you’re at on other crews, what looks good, etc. (Reading all that might make it seem like I’m saying do their job for them but I’m really not. Hopefully everyone knows that by now…)

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 23, 2013

Hello, I am a male HS senior coxswain who is 5’11”, 132lbs., and currently getting looks from several top level college coaches. Problem is, my HS coach says I am too heavy and I have been getting vibes that I may not be allowed to cox this spring due to my size. Compared to the other coxswains in my boathouse, I by far put my boat in the best position to win even despite my weight. I need to have a sit down conversation with the coaching staff to get things straight. I have a general idea of how to make my case to cox but I would like some more input. How would you suggest I approach this conversation? My boat is going to have our fastest season yet and I would like to spend my last HS year finishing what I started three years ago. Coxing is something I want to continue to do on a competitive level in college, so that makes things even more complicated. Also, as a collegiate coach yourself, and I don’t know if you can speak for the rest of the Cornell coaching staff, what is your philosophy about heavy coxswains? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

You are tall for a coxswain … is getting down to 120lbs even possible for you, let alone healthy? That should be what your coaches are asking you rather than giving you vibes like they’re not gonna let you race.

Truthfully, I don’t think you need to say anything other than what you just said. You and your crew are poised to have your fastest season yet (give reasons why you believe this, don’t just say “we’re gonna be fast!” – how do you know this, what are you basing it on, etc.), you want to finish what you started, you’re being looked at by multiple top collegiate programs, etc. and then list a couple reasons as to why YOU are the coxswain that puts this boat in the best position to win. Remember, it’s not about talking the other coxswains down, it’s about talking yourself up.

In addition to that, emphasize the fact that you’re being recruited by these collegiate programs and let them know how not coxing your last season in high school could hurt that. Obviously you’re going to know where you’re going to school before the season starts (presumably) but that’s beside the point. Getting that practice time, race experience, etc. are all huge factors here.

As frustrating as the whole situation is, try not to let your feelings towards it cloud your judgment when you talk to your coach(es). Listen to what they have to say, stay level-headed when presenting your case, and regardless of what the final decision is remember that you’re still a part of the team and it’s still your responsibility to contribute in whatever way you can. It might not be in the way that you’d hope but there is still a boat that you can help go fast or a coxswain you can mentor. Regardless of how things turn out, put it behind you, and move forward. You’re a senior which means everyone on the team is looking to you (whether you realize it or not) to set the example. Your actions and attitude following their final decision (in your favor or not) will play a huge part in communicating to your teammates what the “standard” is for people on your team. Do you hold yourself to a high enough standard that you can accept the decision and move on or are you going to be that person that bitches, complains, and badmouths the coaches weeks/months after the fact?

I definitely can’t speak for the other coaches but I don’t have a problem with “heavy” coxswains as long as they’re within a “common sense” range above the minimum. By “common sense” I mean just that – knowing that they are physically dead weight and therefore should be the lightest athlete in the boat, coxswains should use their common sense when looking at their weight in relation to their respective minimums if they aren’t naturally under them. 15lbs over it isn’t common sense but 5lbs is. For me, I ‘d say 7-8lbs over the minimum is the upper limit of that range. If you’re coxing lightweights I would say that range shrinks to 3-5lbs because … you’re coxing lightweights. The logic there should be obvious. If the coxswain was toeing the line, I’d casually mention it just to get an idea of what their plan is to get to weight (do they even have a plan?) and ensure that they’re being safe/responsible when it comes to nutrition, exercise, etc.

If a coxswain was over that I’d talk with them, explain my thought process, assess what weight they could reasonably be at relative to the racing minimum (because not everyone can easily be 110lbs or 125lbs), and then come up with a plan with them (and/or put them in contact with the strength coach/team nutritionist) to help them get there within a practical period of time.

When compared to more legitimate things like actual abilities, yes, it’s still a factor but their weight is at the very bottom of the list of things I look at when giving input on coxswains. If I can see that they’re taking it seriously, working out regularly, and putting the effort in it’s a complete non-issue for me. If they’re not putting the effort in or taking it seriously, then it becomes a bigger thing to consider, although still relatively minor in comparison to everything else.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 22, 2013

OK regarding the coxswains working out, I’m a coxswain who typically does abs and stuff on my own at home to stay fit and this season I started doing the ab circuits with the team but I have very strong abs (I used to be a swimmer) so I tend to do all of the stuff correctly without slacking and some of the rowers started giving me dirty looks because it makes them look bad to the coach. What should I do? They feel insulted that I’m doing something better than them. Should I slack a little?

Oh come on. Like, just because the coxswain is the smallest athlete in the boat that automatically means that they should be sub-par at everything just so the “real” athletes can look fitter, stronger, etc? Absolutely not. I played softball for 10 years before I started coxing, in addition to a few other sports here and there. I was in pretty good shape in high school and was frequently able to do the exercises as well as the majority of the rowers and better than some. (By some I mean like, 5 or 6 at most out of 50.) Not once did anyone give me shit for it. Our coach would make good-natured remarks here and there like “guys, are you really going to let a 90lb coxswain do more pushups than you?” and that would end up motivating them to try to do more pushups than me or two of the other coxswains who were also multi-sport athletes. That’s exactly what would happen too – we would essentially challenge them to “get on our level” and they would do it. I can’t speak for the other coxswains but for me, I saw it as just another one of my responsibilities as their coxswain to challenge them just as hard off the water as I did on it. I’m a viciously competitive person but this was never about one-upping them or trying to make them look bad to our coach – all it was was me trying to push them to do better.

Does it make the rowers look bad in the eyes of the coach if someone whose physical fitness contributes nothing towards generating power in the boat is performing better than them at certain exercises? I can’t speak for every coach but for me, it doesn’t necessarily make you look bad but it does make me raise an eyebrow, especially if it’s obvious that you should be performing better than them. There’s no excuse when it comes to doing exercises correctly. I literally cannot comprehend, no matter how hard I try, how some people don’t understand how to properly do a pushup or a crunch or a plank or one of the many other ridiculously simple exercises that we do. If you’re performing them incorrectly after you’ve been show the right way to do them, yea, you can bet your ass I’m judging you for it. This has absolutely nothing with how well the coxswain or anyone else is doing it. If you can’t even do a pushup right, do you honestly think that makes me confident in your abilities to move an oar through the water? No, it doesn’t.

Circling back around to your question, no, you shouldn’t “slack a little” just to make your teammates feel better about themselves. Just writing that pisses me off. The looks they give you are the looks I’m giving them right now. Seriously, if they put half as much effort into doing the circuits correctly and pushing themselves a bit as they do getting pissed at you for doing just that they wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not the coach was comparing them to you because there would be no comparison.

The bottom line is they need to step up and so do you. If I was talking to you as a group I’d be pretty damn stern with the rowers and tell them to either grow the fuck up or leave. I have no patience for stuff like this. With you, I would say that as much as I (as a coach and fellow coxswain) appreciate seeing you workout with the team, in this case I would rather see you standing up at the front of the room leading the workouts and ensuring everyone is doing them correctly and not half-assing anything. That means calling people out when they’re doing something incorrectly or when they’re slacking and pushing them to be at the level your coach (and/or you) expects them to be at. Instead of brushing it off when they give you dirty looks, assert yourself. Be a leader and lead your team instead of blending in with the crowd and letting them settle for anything less than excellence.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 20, 2013

We have a coxswain who always covers his microphone with his hand which he thinks gives him this like gruff thing going on, but the problem is we can’t always understand him and quite frankly, it’s annoying. I don’t get why he needs it when we’re not going into the wind but what should we do? Would it be rude to ask if he could please stop or what?

I know several coxswains that do/did this and they were all guys so it’s funny that you say your coxswain does the same thing. If you can’t understand him (and even if you think it’s annoying) you should just ask him to stop. I can understand trying to hold the mic a little closer to your mouth if the wind is particularly strong but it’s really rare that this is actually necessary. If what he’s saying is muffled then that negates whatever effect he’s going for anyways. As long as you aren’t rude when you say something, asking him to stop messing with the mic wouldn’t be rude at all.

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 19, 2013

Hi! I just started coxing this fall, and towards the end of the season my rowers told me that the calls I was making during our race pieces were good but that I should work on being more controlled with my voice. I think it’s because I’m nervous about being silent for too long so I rush everything out but then I also run out of things to say. I also think I need to work on being less repetitive and have a little more intensity to my calls. However, we went off the water right after that. Is there any way I can work on this over the winter? I really want to work on these things and I’m bummed I won’t really have a good opportunity the whole winter. I cox the guys on the ergs but it’s very different than being in the boat. Right now I’m just listening to tapes when I have spare time and taking notes, but is there any way to actually practice this before spring?

One thing you can do in the winter to increase the variety of your calls is get together with some other coxswains, listen to some recordings (including each others), and start creating a list of calls for … everything. Catches, finishes, drive, recovery, making a move, sprinting, etc. Everything. Google Sheets is a good way to keep it all organized. With each call you write down, make sure you understand where it should be called (meaning where during the stroke and if necessary, where during a race or piece), what its purpose is, and how it should be said (tone of voice, intonation, etc.) – all good things to write down next to each call.

Another thing you can do is get some video of crews on YouTube (or your own crew, if you have some) and watch it with no sound while practicing your calls. The coxswain’s view of races would be a good way to practice this. This allows you to practice making the calls at the correct spot in the stroke, as well as work on your intensity, tone, control, etc. during the more “frantic” parts of the race. It’ll also help you work on your pacing so you don’t use all your calls up right at the start of the race. I’d recommend doing this with the other coxswains so that you can critique each other and get feedback on everything.

When you’re coxing the guys on the erg, make sure you’re coxing everyone and not each individual, if that makes sense. Normally when you think of coxing people on the erg you think about standing behind them giving them power 10s. What I’m talking about is talking to the entire group of rowers and making calls similarly to how you would in the boat. Make individual calls if/when necessary but the majority of what you’re saying should be directed towards everyone. Forget about the 5s, 10s, etc. and focus more on making general reminders about the bodies and helping them visualize being on the water with an oar in their hand. Take calls from the list you’ve been creating and try to incorporate 3-5 into your vernacular every few days until they become a regular part of your vocabulary.

It’s great that you’re going into the next few months knowing exactly what you need to work on. It can be tough working on the audible part of coxing in the winter but it’s definitely possible if you get creative.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 16, 2013

Hey! So I’m a coxswain in high school and we (all the coxswains) want a coxswain evaluation/ranking from the rowers. Some coxswains feel like they should be in a different boat and we all want feedback from the rowers. How do we go about asking our coach about it?

I would advise against a “ranking” from the rowers. That would only cause … problems. Leave that kind of stuff to your coaches.

I’d talk to your coach and say that you and the other coxswains are looking for some more in-depth feedback from the rowers so that you can get an idea of the things you need to focus on improving over the winter. Ask them if it’d be possible to do a coxswain evaluation at the start or end of practice one day. If it is, ask them if you can make a list of things that everyone wants feedback on and give it to them for final approval within a day or two. Some coaches will want to create the evaluations themselves but others might be OK with you guys coming up with the questions (or some of them) yourselves as long as they get to see what they are first.

If they’re OK with you writing some of them, sit down with the other coxswains and come up with a list of 8-12 things that you think are the most important things for you to be evaluated on. If you need help coming up with ideas, check out the “coxswain evaluation” tag. Also make sure to note whether you want feedback in the form of short answers or a 1-2-3-4-5 system where “5” is very proficient or whatever you want to say and “1” is the opposite. Personally I’m a fan of short answers but the amount of time you have usually dictates whether or not doing that is an option.

Also, when you propose the idea to your coach, leave the part about being in different boats out because that’s not something the rowers have any control over – the coach(es) make those decisions and they’ll have their own reasons as to why you’re in the boats you are. If you or anyone want to know specifically why you were in this boat instead of that one, you should go directly to your coach and ask.

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 15, 2013

Hi! I know you’ve addressed this situation already but I need a little more advice in this case. You talk about how a coxswain (me, sophomore) dating a rower (junior) is a bad idea but it’s already happening and has been for almost a year. The new recruit freshmen don’t know about it yet because we are trying to keep it as low-key and off-the-water as possible. I guess I’m looking for damage control tips. We have a lot of boat switch-ups through the season so we aren’t often in the same boat. If I have favoritism at all it’s for the rowers in my class year because I’ve worked so hard with them. How can I continue to show the team that this won’t negatively affect them? We generally just don’t talk about it.

If you don’t talk about it and are keeping it low key and off the water, why do you need to do damage control? I think I’m either missing something or you’re making a bigger deal out this than it is. You’re not required to tell them you’re dating. Granted, they probably already know because people talk but if they haven’t said anything they probably don’t care. They probably wouldn’t care even if you did tell them. The only time stuff like this becomes an issue is when it starts to show up at practice – you’re ignoring your responsibilities in favor of hanging out with them at practice, you’re showing unnecessary favoritism towards them, you start being overly passive aggressive towards each other if things start going poorly, etc. If none of this is happening, again, I’m not sure why damage control is necessary.

Is dating one of your rowers a good idea? Not usually. Is it possible if people are mature about it? Definitely. This is more often the case in college than it is in high school (because people are generally more mature in general) but it is possible.