Category: Q&A

College Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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Hi, I’m on a novice crew team and I’ve enjoyed it, but I want to quit. My team will have enough girls to fill an 8 but how do I let my coach know? I’m an engineering student and my schedule is too demanding for this sport. I know I’ll miss it but I need to focus on my schoolwork. Any advice?

I’ve been in a similar position before so I understand where you’re coming from. School does come first so it’s good that you’re recognizing where you need to focus your time. If you have a good coach hopefully he/she will understand although I won’t make any guarantees about them, at the very least, not being annoyed. As long as you tell them sooner rather than later, you won’t be leaving them high and dry which will make it a lot easier on you since you won’t have to face the ire of your entire team.

Related: I’m debating with myself whether or not to quit coxing (at the end of the year of course, I would never quit midseason) and I was wondering if you could listen to my reasons and offer some advice?

When you talk to your coach, I would sit down with them in their office and explain that while you’ve really enjoyed being on the team, you’ve realized over the past semester that the amount of time you were spending with crew was taking away from what you should have been spending on school. Knowing that your schedule is only going to get more intense from here has led you to the decision to remove yourself from the team so that all of your focus can be on your classes. Thank them for the opportunity to be a part of the team and throw in something in particular that you really enjoyed. Coaches always like to know that even if you can’t stick with the team, you at least got something out of it during the time you were with it.

High School Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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So I’m a novice coxswain and I am very self conscious. I am constantly asking my rowers what they want to hear and asking others for advice. In a race we did well at, I was really proud of myself but then one of the girls in the boat told me that they did all the work and I didn’t really do anything. And then when we do bad in a race, I feel like its all my fault. I don’t really know what to do…

That is so rude of that girl. I really can’t stand rowers that have that attitude towards coxswains. If you think that they are such unimportant additions to the boat, go scull or row a pair. They’re there for a reason whether you like it or not.

Related: I started rowing about a year and a half ago, but I’m 4’11 so my coach had me cox 4-5 months after I had started rowing and instantly fell in love. I’m a varsity coxswain, but I always have trouble finding my voice during races. I’m not terribly confident because some of the girls in my boat criticize me, but it’s never constructive it’s really rude, but I stumble over my words and end up repeating myself. Do you have any tips on how I could improve my calls?

If you do poorly in a race, it’s never one person’s fault. Yea, if you’re steering all over the place that’s probably going to make a significant difference and you deserve to have the rowers pissed at you for that. Otherwise, there isn’t much you can do to effect the outcome of the race other than call a good piece. Know your strategy and how to execute it. When you do execute it, do it confidently so that the rowers will feel your commitment and respond in kind.

Related: I’ve always been that insecure person but according to my rowers and coach, I’m a “good coxswain.” Problem is that I always find fault in whatever I’m doing. I’m positive towards my rowers but negative towards myself. Any tips on how to be more self confident?

Like I said to the person in the post linked above, sometimes you have to remove yourself from the situation and look at it from a neutral perspective. What actually happened in your race? What could you have done differently in terms of calling the race or where you made a certain call? How well did the rowers respond to your calls? What worked, what didn’t? What was the competition like? Are they known for being an insanely fast team who wins everything or are they a team you should have easily beaten? What were the weather conditions? How did that effect the water? How prepared was your crew for the race? Were they excited for it or was it “just another race”? All of those things have an effect on how well you do in a race, outside of the actual rowing. It’s never “all your fault”.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I’ve always been that insecure person but according to my rowers and coach, I’m a “good coxswain.” Problem is that I always find fault in whatever I’m doing. I’m positive towards my rowers but negative towards myself. Any tips on how to be more self confident?

Most people are really surprised when I say this but I’m the same exact way. I’ve been told I’m a good coxswain and a great coxswain but I will never fail to find fault with at least 10 things I did during practice. When my rowers or coach ask me about it and I tell them whatever is bugging me they basically tell me I’m insane because I’m the only person that notices stuff like that and it’s not even anything that has any effect on the boat. I get very OCD about my coxing, how I call things, etc. and after we finish a piece I’ll think of something to say and get so annoyed at myself for not thinking of it earlier. I wonder if that could have been the call that resonated with the rowers or if waiting another 50 meters to call a burst would have made the difference in the end. It’s stupid, trivial stuff but I really do beat myself up over it. There have been times where we’ll have had a great practice but I’ll leave furious because I feel like I did terribly, even though I know deep down that I didn’t.

I think you just have to accept the fact that you ARE in fact, a good coxswain, and if you ever do mess up to the point where someone other than yourself notices, they’ll say something. I try and make it a point to be as routinely perfect as possible so that when I do make a mistake or someone asks me to adjust how I call something, I know they’re calling me out because what I did was out of the norm, not because I actually am terrible at coxing. I don’t know if that makes sense (it does in my head – everything always makes sense there) but it really has helped me to be less hard on myself.

After Head of the Charles I was beating myself up for days about the race because so many things went wrong but it finally took one of the women in my boat sitting me down and drilling it into me that the unpredictability of it all is unavoidable. Shit was BOUND to happen and it just so happened to occur during our race. I did everything right and that showed when I was the only coxswain to not be penalized during said mishaps. You have to realize that there are things you have control over and things you don’t. Focus on what you do have control over and let everything else go. The stuff you do focus on, focus on it the necessary amount…if you feel yourself getting really wound up over something, take a deep breath, look at the situation neutrally, and ask yourself if this is REALLY something you need to concern yourself with or are you just being overly-sensitive to the issue?

I’m a perfectionist at heart when it comes to rowing and coxing so not having things be “perfect” can really drive me nuts. I started to realize though that all my over-thinking was making me miserable, which obviously is not something you want to be as a coxswain. I’d already gone through the period of hating rowing and I didn’t want to do it again, so I decided one day that the next practice was going to be different…better. Instead of beating myself up over something I didn’t do or could have done differently, I made a serious effort to do whatever it was on the next stroke or the next piece. It wasn’t anything that anyone but myself noticed but it made SUCH a huge difference. Letting the anger of not doing something fuel you to actually do it is a wicked good stress reliever.

Don’t ever let anything get in the way of you enjoying being in the boat. I’ve been there and I’ve done that and trust me, it’s not worth it. Whatever you’re finding fault in, instead of letting it bother you, do something to fix it. Even if it’s something only you will notice, it does make a difference. Ultimately you can either CHOOSE to keep being hard on yourself or you can CHOOSE to make yourself better, but whatever option you go with, in the end it’s always your choice.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

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Hi! I’m a junior in HS and I have a few colleges I’m interested in and I’m thinking of emailing the coaches. As a coxswain, what should I say? I also don’t have an SAT score yet so I’m not sure what to do. Can I just ask them what the requirement would be for SAT/GPA? Am I even allowed to email coaches yet?

Check out the “contacting coaches” tag – there’s lots of info in there about how to reach out to coaches, what to say, etc.

There are rules and such surrounding communication between coaches and prospective student-athletes but they pertain more to when the coach can contact YOU, not the other way around. Getting in touch with them now as a junior is fine (they can reply to your emails and stuff) but they can’t reach out to you directly until after July 1st of your senior year.

Related: Hey, I’m a senior in high school. I’m a coxswain and my coach said that I should email coaches to let them know that I’m interested in joining the team, do you have any advice as to what I should do/say in the emails?

Not having your SAT scores yet shouldn’t be a big deal, especially since you’re a junior. Assuming you’ve already taken the test or are scheduled to take it sometime in the next few months, you can include that information in your email – something along the lines of “I recently took the SAT in December 2012 and am currently awaiting the scores. When they arrive, I will forward them on to you.” Simple and sweet. Not only does it tell them that you’re on top of this stuff but it also gives you the opportunity for follow-up communication in a month or two. In my opinion, I think the follow-up is more important than the initial contact. Anyone can make the initial contact but only the really interested people follow up.

I wouldn’t ask the coach what the SAT/GPA requirements are simply because you can find that stuff out on your own by looking at the admissions website. You can ask them in comparison to the admission standards where do the athletes usually fall but the basic parameters are all laid out pretty clearly online.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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

For me personally, the hardest part is maintaining a calm demeanor on the inside. I think because I’ve been coxing for so long I have a pretty good grasp on all the skills required of a coxswain, but with that comes a heightened sense of awareness that can drive you insane if you let it.

On the outside, I’m very good at maintaining my composure and calmly communicating to my crew what needs to happen, regardless of the situation, but on the inside I’m going 234902 miles a minute, taking in everything around me, and questioning everyone on the river. I’m not so much worried about what I’m doing so much as I am about that other coxswain out there … do they know what they’re doing? I get extremely nervous when I see another coxswain blatantly messing up on the water simply because I know how dangerous it can be for everyone else on the water, including that coxswain’s own crew. In hectic situations, even though on the outside I’m calm, I have to close my eyes and take a few breaths to calm myself down internally. Coxing is very, very, very much a trust-based discipline and I have to remind myself to trust that the other coxswain knows what he/she is doing even if at the moment it doesn’t look like they do. If I want other coxswains to trust me I have to extend the same courtesy to them, even if it’s at the sake of my own sanity.

Outside of that, the other more literal aspect of coxing that I find to be the hardest has been and always will be steering. There’s no denying that it’s a hard thing to do for any coxswain. Even though it was something I made a concerted effort to pick up quickly when I was a novice, I’m always practicing my steering skills so that every time I come off the water I can say that my steering was a little bit better today than it was yesterday. NOT steering while still steering is a tricky thing to master. One of the things I do to physically prevent myself from oversteering is only using one hand. I hate wearing my mic so I always hold it in my left hand and steer with my right. Only using one hand forces me to make very, very, very small adjustments. I put all that to the test on race day when I have to actually wear my mic and steer with both hands.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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In the boat, when you’re calling a rower out to make a change, is it better to call them by their seat or name? A rower told me that by using a name it puts them on the spot – but isn’t that the point to make a change?

If I know specifically who needs to make the change, I always call them out by name. The only time I say their seat number is when I’m with a new crew and don’t know everyone’s names yet. I make a serious effort to learn everyone’s name as soon as possible though because I think the rowers listen to you more if you call them by name vs. by number. Plus, I think it’s the height of laziness to call rowers you’ve worked with for longer than like, a week, by their seat numbers.

Related: I have been told by my rowers that I need to call them out directly more, rather than general corrections to the boat as a whole. I cox collegiate men but I’m not afraid to push them around. My problem is that I am having trouble actually seeing what the problem is. I can tell that catches are off, someone is rushing, but I can’t always tell exactly who it is. Any suggestions for improving this skill?

Regardless of whether you use their individual seat or their name, they’re still being put on the spot … and yes, in order to get the change you want, you have to tell specific people what change to make. Some rowers get pissed when you call them out, to which I respond to with an eye roll and a “shut up”. How else do they expect you to tell them what you want? I think they’re more likely to make a change when they hear you specifically talking to them. Even though everyone should know their seat number, they don’t always associate themselves with that number, so if you say “5, lift your hands at the catch” they might not do it, whereas if that rower hears “Sarah, lift your hands at the catch” they’re more inclined to do it since they know exactly who you’re talking to.

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

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As a novice rower, I’m just wondering: are coxswains supposed to talk at you all the time [erg or boat] or leave you to get in your own zone?

In the boat, it depends on what you’re doing. If you’re doing drills, most of the time talking consistently is required in order to execute the drill properly. Whether or not you talk outside of executing the drill (i.e. giving them feedback/reminders – normal coxing stuff) depends on whether you’re with your coach or not. If I’m with a boat on my own then I’ll cox them normally while executing the drill but if our coach is with us and he’s actively coaching the rowers then I’ll only talk when it involves executing the drill and save any other comments for later. During long steady state pieces, you can interject some periods of silence to let the rowers focus on their rowing.

Related: Today during practice we just did 20 minute pieces of steady state rowing. My crew gets bored very quickly and their stroke rating goes down, so I decided to add in various 13 stroke cycles throughout the piece, but I regret doing it because it wasn’t steady state. I’m just confused as to how to get them engaged throughout without sounding like a cheerleader but at the same time keeping up the drive and stroke.

During races and other hard pieces, in my opinion, coxswains should always be talking just because there’s so much information that you should/need to communicate to the crew.

Related: Interesting question: How often do you think a cox should talk during a race? I feel really awkward and useless if I stop talking for more than a few seconds, and when I rowed our cox would talk almost constantly during races. However, at a regatta briefing the other day the OU Captain of Coxes implied that coxes should only be talking every few strokes. I guess it depends on the standard and nature of the crew, but what do you think?

 On the erg it’s a little bit different. I frequently tell coxswains that for a 2k or other erg test they need to ask the rowers before the test begins if they want to be coxed or not. Rowers often go into bubbles during the test and having someone coxing them can throw them off their focus. If you don’t want your coxswain talking to you when you’re on the erg, that’s fine, as long as you let them know ahead of time.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I was reading on a rowing forum a commenter said that good coxswains are born not made. They can be guided to be successful but not much more than that. Is there any truth to it?

This is definitely a matter of opinion but I personally think that’s a true statement. Some may argue that the phrase “leaders are born, not made” is false but in the majority of my experiences in playing sports (bordering on 20 years) and working with other people I’ve never found it to be so.

With coxswains, as with any leader, there are certain personality traits that you inherently have to have in order to be successful and not having those traits puts you at a real disadvantage. Most coxswains are, by nature, strong leaders, organized, calm in the line of fire, a little pedantic, stubborn, cocky (in a good way), strong-willed, assertive, outgoing, extroverted, confident, persistent, creative, proactive, competitive, goal-oriented, adaptable, conscientious, observant, meticulous … I could go on and on. Those traits aren’t something you can be taught. I think you can pick them up over time but I can’t teach you how to be any of those things. If someone already possesses them, they can be nurtured and built but they can’t be taught or explained to someone who doesn’t already get it. There’s a mindset that comes with being an athlete and there’s no way you can possibly understand that mindset unless you are one – it’s the same way with coxing. Based off of what I know about myself and nearly every good coxswain I’ve ever met, we were all born to cox. Passion for the sport aside, it’s what makes sense based on who we are as people.

Like I said, it’s all a matter of opinion. There are always going to be anomalies but like I said, a lot of the traits that make coxswains can be nurtured but it’s hard to teach them to someone who’s passive, shy, quiet, etc.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

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This is probably a weird issue but I’m a coxswain and a few outings ago I accidentally spit on my stroke seat during a piece. The stroke screamed and demanded to be removed from the boat because she didn’t want to be in a boat with such a gross coxswain. This is the only time it’s ever happened to me but now the rowers are purposefully rowing poorly when they are in my boat and when out coach asked for input about coxswain placement for the next race, they trashed me and I was moved down a boat.

I’m assuming that this wasn’t on purpose and was just a result of you getting into the piece. Yea, that’s pretty gross and I definitely would have been like “…ew, seriously??” if I was your stroke but she and the other rowers took it way too far. If you’re feeling particularly passive-aggressive I would refuse to take their times down after their next erg test because rowers are disgusting and sweaty and covered in snot, vomit, and god knows what other bodily fluids after an erg test and nobody wants to be near such gross shit after an erg piece.

The solution to this problem is to talk to your coach and explain that it was an accident. Ask yourself though if you really want to cox a boat where the rowers evaluate their coxswain on something stupid like this instead of your actual abilities. I sure as hell wouldn’t. I’d tell them to go fuck themselves and stick with the boat you were moved down to. If your coach knew that that was why your evaluations were so poor, I’m sure he’d have something to say about it to your stroke and those rowers.

Rowers, if you treat your coxswains like this or see someone treating a coxswain on your team like this and say nothing about it, I have no respect for you. None.

I did something similar in one of my boats in high school and my stroke just busted out laughing and said “now you know how we feel!”. I had a cold at the time when we were doing a really intense race piece and I sneezed but tried to hold it in so it wouldn’t interrupt my coxing. That resulted in me choking which led to me coughing up a lot of nasty crap in my throat, which then led to said nasty stuff flying towards my cox box and my stroke’s feet. It was disgusting and I was like … omg … did that just happen … but my stroke was cool about it and laughed it off (although she wouldn’t let me live it down for at least a year after that).

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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How are coxswain evaluations conducted?

What is asked and how they’re conducted will vary by team, but in general, they’re usually a survey (either paper or online) that your coach gives the rowers to complete. Some coaches have both practice and race-day evaluations but most stick to just general coxing skills without going into specifics.

Common questions that rowers are asked to provide feedback on include:

Something the coxswain does well and should keep doing

Something you don’t like that they do and think they should change or stop doing

Something new or different that they should incorporate

Who is the most/least motivating coxswain and why (or why you find/don’t find your coxswain motivating, if you’re not given the option to choose)

Who is the most/least confident and why (or why you find you find/don’t find your coxswain to be confident)

Skills regarding coaching on technique, how good the feedback is that they give you, etc.

One call you like and one you don’t like, and why

How’s their steering

What level of respect do you have for them, on a scale of 1-10 (or whatever) and why is it at that level

How efficient they are at giving directions – are they clear, concise, understandable, etc.

Do you think safety is a priority and why

Overall contribution to the boat – good, bad, etc.

Are they prepared or running around like a chicken with their head cut off

Do they work well with the coaches, other coxswains, and rowers

Sometimes the evaluations require written explanations from the rowers and some just ask for a number on a scale of 1-10. I think the more feedback you can get the better, so written responses are preferable. I’d like to say that the evaluations are free from popularity contests and personal like/dislike for the individual but that’s not always the case. Evaluating someone on whether or not you like them as a person instead of evaluating their overall skills is pretty immature in my opinion and is something that I feel the need to stress to everyone who reads this – don’t.

Check out the “coxswain evaluation” tag too, there will likely be a lot of information in there going forward on how to do them, what to include, etc.