Category: Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 28, 2013

So I’ve been rowing for 6 months now and I work really hard and do extra coaching sessions and am super passionate about it, but I feel as though I’ve recently stopped improving. Is it normal to plateau for a while in terms of your rate of improvement with rowing? Also, when rowing a double scull what does each seat mean? I was put in bow seat. Thanks!

I got an email about this the other day that asked a similar question. I think the plateau is fairly normal, to be honest. It’s very much like losing weight. First the weight loss is rapid and then it starts to gradually slow down as you continue to lose more. Eventually it gets to a certain point (i.e. those last five pounds) where you level off and it feels like you aren’t losing anymore. After a period of time you’ll find a way to jump start your system, either by ramping up your exercise, changing your workout routine, or making additional tweaks to your diet, that will get the process going again. When the body gets used to something it tends to become desensitized to it to the point where it stops responding, essentially because it’s bored. If you’re going out and doing the same workouts on the water over and over and over day in and day out, your body is probably thinking “eh, been there, done that, I’m over it”.

Talk with your coach and see if you can change up what you do during practice by throwing in some different drills and pieces than what you’ve been doing. After a week or two of going that you’ll probably start to notice some changes because you and your body will be excited again. Also make sure you’re recovering properly in between sessions.

Check out the post linked above – I wrote it awhile ago in response to a question about who goes where in the boats. This person asked about where people go in a quad and an eight, but the responsibilities of each seat are the same regardless of what kind of boat you’re in. The only change is that as move down towards the smaller boats, people tend to pick up more responsibilities. Your best answer to this question though is going to come straight from your coach since he/she is the one that put you there. If you’re curious as to why you’re in a certain seat, always ask!

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 27, 2013

How do coxswains come up with a “signature call?” Any tips? Do you have one?

I definitely had a few in high school, each for a different boat, but I can’t remember what any of them are. One thing I know though is that coming up with a signature call is never something that’s planned, at least for me. It was always something that happened on accident or unintentionally. It’s kinda like how people get nicknames after they do something embarrassing. They weren’t trying to get a nickname, it just happened and now they’re stuck with it. My suggestion would be to go with the flow and keep doing what you’re doing. If something comes to you, use it, but don’t force it. Signature calls are great but they don’t make a coxswain. You don’t have to have one.

A similar thing I tell coxswains to do is develop special calls that only your crew knows. (I don’t know if that was what you meant by signature call but I tend to think of them as two separate things.) If you can say whatever your special call is and the rowers know it means “power 10”, it definitely gives you an advantage over other crews because they can’t counteract something if they don’t know it’s happening (whereas if they hear you say “power 10” they can obviously counter that). There’s also the emotional advantage you get from calls like that because if it’s something that has a specific meaning to your crew, the response is going to be a lot stronger in comparison to your normal run of the mill calls.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 22, 2013

So I just read all your posts and what makes someone a good coxswain … you talk a lot about personalities. In general I think I have a personality of a coxswain. I’m pretty loud and sarcastic and I generally like to talk. However, I have often been told that I am not aggressive enough as a coxswain and that I need to be more stern. I have tried but I can’t seem to get that guttural sounding voice. Any advice?

I do talk a lot about personalities. I think one’s personality is a large determining factor in their ability to be a coxswain (not even a good coxswain, just a coxswain in general). I don’t know if being loud, sarcastic, and liking to talk necessarily equates to having the personality of a coxswain but I get what you’re saying.

You don’t have to get that deep, growling voice to be aggressive. Does it help, sure, but is it necessary, no. I don’t really know how to phrase this so that it makes sense but the aggressive part of coxing is almost more of a state of mind than it is about your voice. I know I talk about it coming from your voice a lot but you have to be in the right state of mind first. The voice is almost a secondary thing, if that makes sense.

What helps me keep my voice low and intense is talking from my core. Instead of just yelling from my throat, I get low in the seat and use my entire core to project my voice. I find that not only does this save my voice but it also helps what I’m saying come across a lot clearer. If you’re talking mainly from your throat it’ll have a tendency to crack a lot, which doesn’t happen as often when you use your core. I talked about that a little in one of my earlier videos. The aggressiveness comes across in my tone and my words. For the most part I don’t think I really have that growl-y voice but I still think I maintain a pretty solid level of aggressiveness.

Listen to some of the recordings I’ve posted. Most of the coxswains are aggressive in their calls but not necessarily in the same way. This coxswain coxes similarly to me in that we’re both conversational with our coxing but the intensity is still there vs. someone like this coxswain who naturally have that growl in their voice. If that deep, guttural voice doesn’t work for you, that’s OK! Find what works for you and go with it.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 21, 2013

I honestly have no idea how to know how many strokes until we finish a race, piece, etc. Like, do I just guess?

Check out the second half of the post linked below. In addition to everything I said there, start gauging the distance you travel over ten strokes at various stroke rates and pressures to get an idea of what the “last ten” feels like. In a sense, yes, you’re guessing, but it’s very calculated guesswork. You won’t always be right but the goal is to be close if you can’t be spot on. It’s always better to say “last 5” and only take three than to say “last 3” and take five.

Pay attention to how much time it takes too because then you can say “10 strokes to go, 15 seconds away from that gold medal…”. SUCH a motivator at the end of a race, especially when it’s close.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 21, 2013

What are the qualifications of being a cox? I’m 5’1 and 108lbs. Also I’ve actually never coxed before but the only way I could row in college is to cox so what are some ways I can get my name out for scholarships?

There’s also no way a coach would give a scholarship to someone who didn’t have any experience. Even if you have rowing experience, you’re not likely to get recruited as a coxswain if you haven’t actually proven yourself as a coxswain yet. Your best bet and my suggestion would be to go to walk on tryouts at the beginning of the year. You can either reach out to the coaches now to let them know you’re interested or just wait until you get to school.

One of the primary qualifications is being at or near racing weight, which is 110lbs for women and 125lbs for men. Height doesn’t really matter but obviously the shorter the better due to space constraints in the boat. Personality-wise, you need to be assertive, tactical, and not lacking in common sense, amongst other things.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 21, 2013

I keep overly saying “sorry” in the boat, even when I don’t need to. Any tips on how to stop?

Just … stop. It’s that simple.

When I was a novice I’d occasionally apologize for things and the rowers would be like … wait, what happened? … because they had no idea what I was even apologizing for. After that I stopped saying “sorry” unless the situation absolutely warranted it. If you say it too often it dilutes it’s value so when you do something that actually requires you to be sorry your rowers will most likely respond with “well, she apologizes for everything, she’s not really that sorry” and still be pissed at you for whatever it was, despite the fact that you offered up an apology.

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 21, 2013

This kind of sounds weird, but I’m a novice coxswain, how do I get my boat to respect me? I feel like (with the exception of calls related to steering and drills) they don’t listen to anything I say in the boat. They talk a lot and I tell them not to but they continue to. They point stuff out to me on the water that I can clearly see and I just feel like they are always yelling at me and telling me what to do. Sometimes I just need to make a decision but I can’t if everyone is yelling at me. I don’t know what to do. I’m learning but the coaches don’t really help me out. Most of the things I’ve learned about coxing I’ve learned from other coxswains on the team or your blog. Do you know how to fix this and get the rowers to listen to me?

You guys should just start telling me who you row for so I can send your team a personalized ass kicking. It’s so irritating when I see/hear this happening. Like, not only is it rude and disrespectful but its also not safe. It seems like I’m the only person that gets that. And the fact that coaches just let it happen?! Come on.

This is one of those things where there’s nothing I can say other than to just tell them to stop doing what they’re doing. Meet privately with your coaches and tell them explicitly the problems you’re having with the rowers. Tell them that you repeatedly ask them to stop talking so that you can do what you need to do but they don’t listen or respond. Explain that you’re trying to build a rapport with them but it’s hard to do when they aren’t putting forth the effort or showing you any respect.

You have to be confident when you’re on the water too, even and most especially as novice. A lot of the times when coxswains say their boat does what yours is doing it’s because the rowers don’t trust the coxswain because the coxswain doesn’t trust themselves. This causes the rowers to think they’ve got to do the coxswain’s job for them and of course everyone has an opinion on how it should be done so it just turns into one big clusterfuck. Instead of saying “guys, be quiet” call the rowers that are talking out by name. There’s no shame in doing that at all.

One way that I got my boat to stop doing that really fast was by saying their names every. single. time. they’d start talking or screwing around. Eventually everyone got so pissed off that they kept of getting called out that they shut up and just rowed. Plus, the rowers that weren’t getting sucked into the antics got really frustrated because they just wanted to row so the pressure of having their teammates turn around and say “Be quiet” in addition to knowing I was going to call them out put an end to the unnecessary stuff that was happening.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 21, 2013

I’m a new coxswain on a team that rows in a salt water bay, and I’ve noticed some of the coxboxes have stopped working. Is salt water damaging to coxboxes? Like if I dip the connector for the mic/boat wire in the water to loosen it like you would in fresh water, is it bad to do that in salt water?

Yes, most likely the cox boxes are being damaged from the salt water corroding the wiring, which can cause the cox boxes to short out or not turn on at all. Salt water also carries an electrical charge if I remember correctly from chemistry, which means you’re lucky you haven’t suffered any kind of electrical shock to your hands or face yet.

My suggestion is to get in touch with NK and tell them what’s been going on. They’ll be able to tell you for sure if there is irreparable damage done to the cox boxes or whether or not they can be repaired/replaced. To be safe though, stop dipping the connectors in the water.

Coxing How To Novice Q&A Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 18, 2013

I just got picked to cox the four that we are sending to our regional championship regatta after only having two weeks practice (apparently my coach thinks I’m doing something right haha). Anyway, the guys in my boat always ask for more technical calls and I don’t know how to make them when I can’t watch them row. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I assume you’re in a bow loader? Record them! That’s my number one piece of advice for anyone coxing bow loaders. Have your coach or someone riding in the launch record them during practice one day (like, 30 seconds or so here and there throughout the row) and then give you the footage to (preferably) go over with your coach after you get off the water.

Even though you can’t directly see what they’re doing you can still get an idea of what their tendencies are by watching the video. Stroke’s thing might be squaring up late, 3 might need to get his hands matched to the boat speed a little quicker, etc. If you can spot those things on the video you can use them as calls during practice, even just as a reminder call when you’re not sure what else to say. The rowers will be forced to think about it for a stroke or two, which means they’ll either realize they’re doing it and then make the change or think about it and remind themselves to either keep doing or not do whatever specific thing you’re telling them about.

Another thing you can do on your own is really learn about each part of the stroke, the drills you do, etc. and learn what all of the technical intricacies are. During the stroke, what should the bodies look like at hands away, 1/2 slide, the catch, the finish, etc. When you do cut the cake, what’s the purpose, what’s it working on, how’s it done, what must the rowers do in order to execute it properly, etc. When the rowers are tired, what do they have to do with their bodies to stay supported throughout the stroke? ALL of those tiny, miniscule bits of information that you can pull out of each of those things is a technical call you can use.

And my other number one piece of advice when dealing with rowers – ask them what they want. If they’re asking you for technical calls there’s a good chance that there is something specific they want to hear, even if it’s something seemingly insignificant, like reminding them to keep their eyes and chins up. Talk to each rower individually and find out what calls they want to hear and then as a crew, what do they want to hear. They’re your best source of information so don’t hesitate to use them.

Coxing Novice Q&A Racing Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 18, 2013

Hey! I’m a novice coxswain for a high school men’s team and we’re approaching the end of the season. We have one race this weekend, and after that, we have championships in May. I have been told that I improved a lot this year, and for that, I’m grateful. We were just told who would be going to championships, and I was relieved to find out that I had been chosen. However, I have been having some paranoia that when it comes down to the actual race this weekend and at champs, my calls will be the same as they were for every other race we’ve had this season. And that’s definitely not what I want. I want my calls to be unique and to stand out amongst the pool of coxswains that have been chosen. Boatings haven’t been made yet, and along with working on execution and steering, I want my racing calls (and practice calls) to be more defined and more unique. I was wondering, since you’re an experienced coxswain, how do you mix up your calls in the boat? Thank you.

So, my theory on coxing, like most things, is that if it’s not broken don’t fix it. I completely understand wanting to step up your game and come up with “new” stuff for these bigger races but fight the urge to completely change your style or what you say. Your rowers have most likely become accustomed to your calls and, unless they’ve specifically said they’re over them and don’t get anything out of them anymore, will be listening for them during your race. Rowers are creatures of habit in my experience. If you want to incorporate several calls that are boat-specific (calls only your crew would understand), that’s fine (and advisable!) as long as you talk it over with your crew first and determine what they want/need to hear, where they want to hear it, etc. (You should be doing that anyways.) Your coach already chose you – they’re not going to change your mind just because you cox the same way you’ve been coxing all season. The reason they chose you is most likely because the way you’ve been coxing all season is good and the coaches see the rowers responding to you. That’s something that should make you proud, not paranoid.

In terms of how I mix my calls up, like I said, unless the rowers specifically ask me to call something differently or make a call for this thing at that spot during the race, I don’t really change up what I’m saying that much (outside of the 2-3 variations I tend to use). That’s not to say that I have a script or anything that I follow each time I go out, what I mean is that if my call for clean finishes is “accelerate, squeeze” I’m not going to suddenly change that to something else because I run the risk of the rowers not knowing what I’m saying or why I’m saying it. Granted, my current boat is made up of rowers who have been rowing for 20+ years so they basically know what all the variations of each call means but not all crews are that savvy so it’s not something I necessarily advise doing unless you have plenty of time to get them re-acclimated to your new calls.

If you find that you’re getting bored with a call, first ask yourself why you’re getting bored with it (are you repeating yourself a lot for some reason?) and then ask your boat if they feel the same way. If they say yes, find a new way to say what you want to say. If they say “no, I like that call because…” don’t change anything. The call might be stale to you but if that’s the one that kicks the ass of even one person in your boat, you don’t want to mess with that.