Category: Q&A

Coxing Drills Q&A Rowing Technique

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I say “catch 1, 2” a lot to keep ratio but after the catch when they’re on the recovery, why do I want them sliding back slowly? Shouldn’t that be the quick part when they’re actually taking the stroke? Or maybe my coach likes me to say that just because she still wants us taking it slow?

After the catch … you mean the drive? The drive is when where they’re taking the stroke and the recovery is when the blade is out of the water and they’re sliding forward into the catch. You wouldn’t count out “catch 1, 2…” on the drive though because that’s “fast” part of the stroke when the blade is in the water. Ratio is always 2:1 or 3:1, meaning that the recovery is two to three times longer than the drive.

Related: There’s a lot of like, I don’t know how to describe this really, lurching in the boat? Because I think the girls slide forward to fast and that makes us go back instead of forward if that makes sense. how would you correct this? Thanks!

When you take it slow like that, are you rowing with any kind of pressure? The only time I can think where I’ve had an exaggerated drive instead of an exaggerated recovery is when we’ve done rushed-recovery drills. They work on having quick catches because you’re taking no time on the recovery. The drive, on the other hand, is slow and there’s no pressure on the stroke – you’re basically reversing the ratio, so instead of it being 3:1 it’s now 1:3. Does that sounds like what you’re doing? If that’s not it, then I’m not sure what your coach is having you do. I’d definitely ask for clarification though so you’re sure you’re communicating the right stuff to the crew.

Coxing Q&A Rowing

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Under 120lbs, 5’5″ and not the strongest rower – should I switch to coxing if I want to? Thanks.

If you feel like making the switch to coxing would be a good move for you, then by all means talk about it with your coach. You’re about the size of some of my friends who have coxed for men’s teams so definitely ask them if they need a coxswain. I don’t think it’s unusual or that big of an issue to go from rowing to coxing, especially if you have an injury that could be compromised by rowing or you’re just way smaller than your teammates, but outside of those reasons is where I start to get a little annoyed.

Related: I’m currently a novice high school rower but I haven’t been feeling really into rowing lately. I’ve wanted to cox since I started in September, but I’m too big to cox for the women. I’m 120ish and really want to cox for the men next season. However, I’m really nervous to talk to my coach about it because she considers me one of her better lightweight rowers. I know I still have a while to think about it since the season doesn’t end for a few months but how should I talk to her about this?

If you’re not the strongest rower (not you specifically, just speaking in general), why not … get stronger? Work out on your own, improve your technique, pay attention to your diet, etc. The only way to get stronger is to put in the effort. It bothers me when people want to switch to coxing because I feel like it gives the impression that coxing doesn’t take much work either. Like … I’m not willing to put the work in to get better at rowing so I’ll just switch to coxing since it requires less or no work. I don’t say this because it’s what I assume people think, I say it because I’ve seen people do this on teams I’ve been a part of and that was their main reason. Coxing actually does require a lot of skill that, despite not being physical like rowing is, still takes a lot of effort to achieve.

Comparing rowing to coxing is like comparing apples to oranges – they’re both fruits but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. One is not harder than the other because they’re both equally difficult, just in different ways. It pisses me off when people say that just because we don’t do anything physical, our jobs are easy and/or we don’t do anything useful.

Related: Is it unusual to change from rowing to coxing? I’m nearing the end of my novice season and feel like I could be a good cox in the future. I love rowing and am getting decent results but at 5’4 (shorter than one of my coxswains) and 120lbs (female) I have to work crazy hard to keep up with all the bigger girls. I’ll be sticking with the sport either way but it just seems like such a cool component of the boat to be.

It takes a lot of time to learn how to cox right and even longer to learn how to be a good coxswain. It’s not just something you can/should “switch to” because rowing isn’t panning out the way you wanted. Well, you could, I guess, since most coaches probably look at this issue a lot differently than I do but regardless, I feel like going from being a rower to being a coxswain has to happen for the right reasons. Unless you’ve already put the time, effort, sweat, and hard work into becoming an all around better rower and still can’t keep up with your teammates, I would hold off on making the switch. If your team needs coxswains that slightly changes things but my feelings on the overall issue remain the same.

Q&A Rowing

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I’m very sensitive to pressure and negativity and being stroke that obviously doesn’t help my boat. Tonight’s outing was horrendous for me but the others said they didn’t even realize I was having such a bad time because they thought it went great. This outing we were chased by another boat and they’ve come dangerously close to us at the last testing so obviously our whole crew, but especially me, is being affected. How do I keep calm, especially when chased?

I’m similar. I’m pretty hard on myself so even when I know our boat had a good practice, I’ll still nitpick everything I could have done differently to make it even better. I don’t mind races because I’m super competitive so I tend to look at every one as a challenge. That’s my suggestion to you.  If they want to chase you, fine, let them, but be thinking the whole time “just try and catch us, keep trying, whaddaya got…”. Instead of letting the pressure get to you, accept their challenge. If the other boat(s) have come close to you in practice, don’t be intimidated by that. Instead, go out and row your ass off to intimidate them. That was always one of my favorite things when I’d race was to have a crew get close to you one day and let them think they’ve cracked you and then come back the next day and handedly beat them.

Confidence is huge. Communicate with your coxswain, keep the stroke rate steady, and focus. Concentration is key. Let your coxswain worry about the other boats and where they are. Your job is to focus solely on setting the rhythm and pace for the other seven rowers. If you’re spending too much time thinking about the other boat your boat is gonna be the one that suffers. When that happens the other boat wins, regardless of whether or not they came in first because psychologically, they’ve got you. Before each practice, piece, race, etc., take a deep breath and think about what you’ve gotta do. If you’re experienced enough to be able to maintain your rhythm and everything with your eyes closed, do that. I had a stroke seat once that would row the middle 1000 of a race with her eyes closed, which forced her to pay attention to only our boat when she couldn’t get herself to do it mentally.

The biggest thing is to just find a way to be motivated instead of intimidated. How you do that is completely up to you but once you get in that boat, all the nerves have gotta disappear. It might seem like a lot of pressure to have seven other rowers relying on you, but ultimately you were put in that seat for a reason. Your coach clearly thinks you have what it takes so just embrace it!

Coxing Q&A

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What type of shoes do you think are appropriate for coxswains to wear in the boat?

I usually wear some rotation of Hunters, Uggs, or Bean Boots and then starting in late April through September I wear sandals every day. Sperry’s, tennis shoes, etc. are all fine too. Basically just wear something that can stand up to getting wet and will keep your feet warm when it’s cold out and you’ll be good.

Coxing Ergs Q&A

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When we write down erg scores/times, I never fail to copy one down wrong. Ugh. Any advice? I know it’s SO simple but…

Trust me, you’re not the only coxswain to have a brain malfunction while trying to write down splits, times, watts, average stroke rate, etc. Multiply all of that by 25+ rowers and you’re bound to make a mistake. It happens, you’ve  just gotta make sure to minimize the number of times it does so that time’s not being wasted and the data the coaches are getting is accurate.

My friends and I came up with a “system” in high school to make writing everything down easier, simpler, and faster. We had a similar system in college too that made the process a lot smoother, especially since there were twice as many rowers to collect data for. In addition to all this, another thing that helps is dividing up the rowers amongst the coxswains, i.e I’ll take the front row, you take the second row, and so on, that way you’re not rushing around trying to get everyone done.

Before

All the ergs are numbered, 1-x. Each erg must be full, meaning it can’t go someone on 2, someone on 3, no one on 4, someone on 5, etc. That’s what always trips me up when I’m writing stuff down. When they sit down, I write each person’s name down beside their erg number. Once I’ve written their name down, they can’t switch ergs. While they’re erging, each coxswain makes a “table” for whatever we’re supposed to be writing down so we can quickly fill it in when they’re done. (You can also input them directly into Excel if you’ve got a laptop on hand and a spreadsheet pre-made that’s ready to be filled in.) Also, if for example you’re taking splits and time, make sure the order you have them written down in is the same across the board, that way when you give your coach the numbers or they look at the sheets they don’t have three pieces of paper that have splits written down first and one that has their overall time down first.

After

#1 rule, no one is allowed to leave their erg until their stuff has been written down. This just ensures no one gets skipped or erg #5’s times are written down in erg #4’s place. I make sure the screen that displays everything is up so I can get time, splits, meters, etc. off of it all at once without having to waste time cycling though them. If I’ve gotta write down watts, which isn’t on the main screen, it’s always written down last and is always listed last on my table. All the info on the main screen I take down in the order it’s displayed. Time goes down first, since it’s at the top, then splits, then whatever else, that way I don’t get confused as to whether I just wrote splits in the time column or time in the splits column.

Also, take your time. Be quick about it obviously but don’t rush to the point where you’re being sloppy, can’t read what you’ve written, or aren’t looking carefully at what you’re writing down. Don’t let the rowers mess with their screens either. If they want to look at something just tell them to wait until you’re done so they aren’t in the way and/or slowing you down. Also, double check everything before moving on to the next erg. #1 rule of coxing, better safe than sorry.

Coxing Q&A

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Hi there! So I’m in my 5th year of rowing (3 years in high school as a rower on a women’s team, in my second year of coxing men’s collegiate right now) and this morning during seat racing I experienced a problem I’ve never had before. We were in fours, and my stroke seat, a port, was out-powering every 3 seat who switched in, but my bow pair were matching up pressure. It was pushing my stern to starboard a bit, but I was steering to port just enough to keep our bow pointed straight. However, we also had a cross-wind coming from port, also pushing us to starboard. The result was that I held the right point, but my course wasn’t straight because we were kind of skidding sideways while we were going forward. In a situation like that where I need to steer a straight course but I can’t actively cox my boat (beyond telling them stroke rate and position) and I can’t ask them to adjust pressure, what can I do beyond just using the rudder? Is there a way to keep my boat straight without sliding sideways across the water like that?

When you’re rowing into a crosswind the best way to avoid getting your bow knocked around is to angle it slightly into the wind so that when the gusts do hit you, they blow the bow straight and forwards instead of hitting you when you’re already straight and pushing you to the side or off at an angle. Trying to get your point back when you’re fighting the wind is a lot harder than just pointing into it from the very beginning. To anticipate this I’ll watch the water in front of or around us so I know where the wind is coming from and when we’re about to get hit by a gust, that way I can make an adjustment before the wind catches my bow and pushes it around.

Related: One of my coaches was a coxswain and I got switched out the last third of practice to be in the launch with her. OMG BEST TIME EVER. Every time I had a question she’d answer it so well! More coxes should become coaches! One thing she was talking about was watching the wind patterns – like the dark patches in the water to let the crew know. I understand the concept, but I’m not really understanding why. Like, I tell them that a wind/wake is coming to prepare them?

As soon as you get off the water make sure to tell your coach all of that information though – stroke was overpowering everyone who was seat racing, the wind was pushing you around (even though you were pointed mostly straight), you couldn’t ask them to adjust their pressure, etc. All of that is important to the “integrity”, so to speak, of the seat races.

Sometimes weather is a factor and there’s nothing you can do about it so don’t be afraid to bring it up. If the wind or something like that is a big issue when you’re out and it’s hard for you to control the boat in it, don’t wait until you’re off the water, tell your coach right away. It might piss everyone off in the moment (especially if things are already tense due to the seat racing) but if you have to delay racing or row somewhere where the water’s calmer, that’s usually the best (and fairest) option.

Coxing Novice Q&A Rowing

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We have our last big head race this Saturday, and then it’s regatta season. Our crews will probably be mixed up but I don’t know how much. I was wondering what you’d look for in a rower/crew in regatta season as opposed to head season? It’s my first regatta season and I’m loving my crew so I’m in a bit of a pickle.

I think most coaches look for the same things in both the fall and the spring. Technique, strength/power, etc. If you’re asking in terms of lineups, I don’t think coaches have a lineup they race specifically for head race season and one they specifically race for during sprint season, so my guess would be that unless people in your boat(s) made any drastic improvements over the winter that would warrant them being moved up a boat, they’ll stay mostly the same. Best suggestion though is to talk to some of the varsity rowers and/or your coach to get an idea of how they do things in the spring.

Coxing Q&A

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What does coxing mean to you/for you personally?

Coxing is my release. It’s cheaper than therapy and I get to yell … loudly … and a lot. It’s how I relieve stress and it’s how I get my adrenaline rush. I think part of the reason why I was so excited to get back out on the water when I started coxing again was because I had five years of pent up stress to get rid of. I’ve always been an intense coxswain but damn, I surprised even myself when I called my first few bursts.

Related: Because there are so many aspects in a coxswain’s job, what do you think is the one thing that is hardest for you?

When I’m out, I am 100% present and focused on what I’m doing but I’m also 100% in my own bubble where no one or nothing can bother me. It’s my thinking place. Even when I’m calling power ten after power ten after power ten and my brain is going eight hundred miles a minute, I still do some of my best thinking out there. Nothing can touch me. For two uninterrupted, blissful hours, I am completely my own.

High School Q&A

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Hi, I have a problem and I would love to hear your thoughts on it! Ok so, I am a sophomore in high school and I have been rowing for my local boathouse in the juniors programs but there aren’t any spring programs. Every school district that lines the Hudson River in my county has a crew program besides mine. I have talked to my school’s athletic director and my coaches for winter training about rowing for another school and they all have said it’s impossible. I will be able to row again in the summer and the fall, but do you have any thoughts or suggestions on how I could go about this? PS you have an awesome blog!

If they don’t have a program, I don’t see why it’s a big deal for you to join another team. I never understood that when I was in school either. Unfortunately though, if that’s the rule you’ll more than likely have to follow it. I know here in Boston a lot of kids whose schools don’t have teams go to CRI and make up one big club team, so I don’t know if that’s a possibility for you if there’s a team like that on the river or if your coaches will still say it’s against the rules. Couldn’t hurt to check it out though. If there is, you might be able to work something out with your school but it could mean that you’d have to row for that other club year-round instead of rowing for your regular program in the fall.

One thing you could do though if none of those things are an option is offer to help out one of the other teams on the river in exchange for using their ergs, weight rooms, etc. That way you could keep training and keep getting experience, even if your chances to get in a boat are limited. Offer to come in the launch a few times a week and take video for the coach or something like that. Coaches love volunteers and almost always have something that needs to be done that they don’t have time to do themselves.

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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I’m a novice and I keep hearing that the head varsity coach at my club is an ego tripping jerk who doesn’t let a lot of stuff slide which stinks because I’m injured and stuff and I don’t think I’ll be totally better by next season when I go to varsity and OMG how do I cope with a scary coach?

Forget everything you’ve heard until you’ve experienced it for yourself. Go talk to him as soon as possible and let him know about your injury, the time table for when you hope to be back to 100%, and what you can expect (training wise) when you return. Also ask what would happen if you weren’t at 100% by the time you moved up to varsity, that way you know what to expect and aren’t blindsided by anything next season.

Related: I’ve been injured for about three weeks now – it’s a hip flexor strain that hurts the most toward the end of my drive. Prior to my injury I was doing extra work in addition to our team’s winter training program and really felt myself establishing a good position for spring season. Since I’ve been injured I’ve been taking a few days off, trying to come back and being too hurt to finish a workout and then proceeding to take a few days off again. It’s a cycle. Recently I tried taking longer off but it’s so frustrating to not be able to work out while everyone else can. I couldn’t go to CRASHBs either, which really sucks. I feel like I’m losing all the hard work I put in for months because of this injury. I hope to start to ease back into things in the next few days but we have a 2k in two weeks and I’m terrified I won’t be ready and the work I’ve done won’t show. Then we go to Miami in three weeks. Basically, I’m asking how this sort of setback will affect my fitness level and the work I’ve put into training and how it looks from a coach’s perspective/coxswain’s perspective.

If he brushes you off or something, have your parents talk to him. In most cases, when parents get involved, coaches will be less rude and/or dismissive towards them than they will to the kids. Just have your parents approach it from the “concerned parent, not sure if my son/daughter told you but they’re injured, etc.” angle instead of the “my son/daughter said they told you this and you said that” angle. That’ll just cause a lot of unnecessary drama and put you in an awkward situation.