Even though I know Iâve mentioned this in passing, Iâm not sure if Iâve ever actually explained the concept of âinâ vs. âonâ vs. âoverâ. Itâs an important one to know and understand because executing one over the other can have an impact on what youâre crew is doing (and not always positively either).
IN
This is probably one of the top three most common calls we use. âIn twoâ is used to tell the rowers when to do pretty much everything from add in to power 10 to weigh enough.
Related: All about power tens
When you say âin twoâ, what youâre really saying is âtwo strokes from now, do whatever it is Iâm telling you to doâ.
In the context of coxing, the stroke begins at the catch (whereas in terms of technique it begins on the recovery) so thatâs where you want to call the two strokes that signal when the rowers should do whatever youâre telling them to do, that way everyone does it at the same time. For example, if Iâm coxing a crew and I want to add a pair in, hereâs what would happen:
âOK letâs add bow pair in in twoâŚâ I would start this call when theyâre at the catch and finish it just as the hands start to come away (aka over the full length of the drive) or when theyâve just about got their hands fully extended. Iâm not rushing the words out but Iâm not saying them slow as molasses either.
âThatâs oneâŚâ âThatâsâ is said just as they start to square the blades up over the last three inches of the recovery and ‘one’, obviously, is said right at the catch.
âAnd two, on this one…â ‘And two…’ is said during the same part of the stroke as ‘Thatâs one’ and ‘on this one’ is said over the last 3/4 of the drive. As Iâm saying âon this oneâ, thatâs when bow pair should be preparing to come in. Prior to all this when I make the initial call, they should sit back at the finish so that as I finish saying ‘and two’ they can start coming up the slide with everyone else in preparation for the next stroke.
This next part is where people get tripped up. When I say âin twoâ Iâll count out two full strokes and then when I would say âthreeâ if I were still counting, that is where bow pairâs blades enter the water. Occasionally Iâll see rowers try to come in right as the coxswain says two and it ends up throwing everyone off. Wait two full strokes THEN come in.
The main purpose of âin twoâ is to act as a preparation call â youâre telling the rowers theyâve got two full strokes to get ready to do something before they actually have to do it and then right on that third stroke, thatâs when the magic happens.
ON
This is the simplest one. âOnâ is typically called as âon this oneâ, meaning the catch immediately following this call.
Itâs typically used for one of two reasons â youâre with an experienced enough crew that the prep time that comes with âin twoâ isnât necessary or youâre in a situation where you donât have time to spare and whatever needs to happen needs to happen right now because âin twoâ would be two additional strokes too many.
When I make this call I usually say something like âletâs go on this oneâ, where âletâs goâ is said as the handle is coming into the finish, âon this oneâ is said on the recovery, and the âthis oneâ Iâm referring to is the catch immediately after that recovery.
What youâre doing is eliminating the two strokes of prep time that âin twoâ gives you, although youâre not eliminating it completely. The latter half of the recovery coming into the catch serves as the prep time in this case, which is why itâs important that you donât rush out your instructions as âgetreadytogoonthisoneâ because all youâre doing is catching everyone off guard and ensuring that youâre only gonna get 7 or so good strokes out of the 10 you just called for.
The only time Iâd say this call wouldnât be advised is when youâre trying to go up/down on the rate by more than 2-3 beats. You can easily get that in one stroke but if youâre trying to go from your start to a settle or your base pace to a sprint the rowers, particularly the stroke, is gonna need more time than that. During a race if you see a crew walking right through you, âin twoâ isnât an appropriate call because thatâs two strokes youâre giving up where you could otherwise be trying to counter their move. Same goes for pretty much anything that happens within the last 250m of the race â itâs all gotta happen on this one.
OVER
This is is the Gretchen Wieners of coxswain calls â totally misunderstood, undervalued and always trying to make something happen that is never gonna happen (unless executed properly, of course). The thing with this call is that one of two things usually happens: coxswains donât know itâs an option so they donât use it at all or they call for it but treat it the same way they do âin twoâ.
âOverâ is what I like to call a progressive call â when you call for it, what youâre saying is âThere should be small incremental adjustments happening on each stroke of the X number of strokes I called for. When all the strokes are completed we should have achieved whatever the initial call was asking for.â
Another way to say that is that you want to see something happen over the course of a couple strokes instead of on one specific stroke. If that still doesn’t make sense, look at it in terms of wave summation (not the actual physiology behind it, just the picture)Â – with each stimulus there’s a gradually greater response. That is what you’re looking for when you call for something to happen “over” a certain number of strokes.
When you use this one, youâre using it in conjunction with âonâ, not âinâ. Calling for something to happen over X strokes in two is wrong. I use this call primarily to bring the rate up or down and for miscellaneous technique things. If weâre rowing at a 28 and I want to take the rate to a 34, this is how itâd sound:
âOK weâre at a 28, letâs go to a 34 over three … on this oneâŚâ This call usually takes me about a stroke and a half to say if I say it exactly like that, which I normally do. Iâll say âOK weâre at a 28Ⲡon the drive and âletâs go to a 34 over threeâ on the recovery of the first stroke, followed by âonâ throughout the drive (Iâll draw it out to sound like âonnnnâ) and âthis oneâ as the hands come around the turn at the finish.
âThatâs oneâŚâ âThatâsâ is said on the last three inches or so of the recovery (about the time when they start to square up) and ‘one’ is said right as they catch. When youâre bringing the rate up it happens on the drive, not the recovery so you should feel a difference on this first catch and drive. The next catch and drive you should feel a little more oomph and then a little more on strokes 2 and 3.
If youâre starting at a 28 and youâre shooting for a 34, ideally the rate would come up like this: [stroke 1] 29, [stroke 2] 31.5, [stroke 3] 34. Give or take half a beat or so thatâs about where you wanna be when youâre bringing the rate up six SPM. In order to get the rate where you want it to be, youâve got to communicate with your stroke seat and tell them the rates so they know how much more to bring it up in the X number of strokes they have left. Since Iâm calling the stroke number at the catch, Iâll call the stroke rate at the finish so it sounds like âThatâs one 29, two 31.5, and three 34, that’s it⌔.
All of the above would also apply to bringing the rate down. During a race, if I see that the rate has jumped a couple beats then Iâll call for them to âlengthen it out over two on this oneâ while making leg calls on the drive and relaxation calls on the recovery.
The reason I get so specific is because âbring it downâ says and does nothing. The biggest problem that arises from that call is some people will do it, some wonât, and whoever does do it won’t do it at the same time. By saying âover twoâ that tells them theyâve got two strokes to adjust the rate and âon this oneâ tells them when I want everyone to start making the adjustment. Itâs also important to say the stroke rates here too so the stroke knows where heâs at and where you want him to be.
With technique, Iâm usually calling for something related to posture. In particular, if I notice the rowers are starting to get tired, the strokes are a little sloppy, the boat feels heavy, etc. then Iâll say âOK over the next three letâs sit up on the seats and sharpen the catches ⌠ready, now.â Following that Iâll make any relevant calls (âlight on the seatsâ, âpop make it lightâ, etc.) and then after the three strokes are done Iâll say something like âyea, thatâs itâ to let them know that I feel the changes they made and to maintain that going forward.
The problem with “over”, as I mentioned in the beginning, is when coxswains call for it and then treat it like an “in two” call. This typically has to do with the rowers not understanding the difference in terminology, which is why it’s important that you explain to them what your calls mean. The most common thing I see is coxswains calling for the rate to come up over three or five and nothing changing until stroke two or four. Remember, it’s incremental. Each stroke should be a little bit more than the other. What the “more” is depends on what you’re asking for.
Now that that’s all been explained, I recommend finding a video that shows a straight on view of the boat so you can see everyoneâs catches and practice making these calls. This one would be a great one to use – just mute the audio so you’re just focused on the blades.
Another thing you can do is get on an erg and go through all these motions yourself at varying speeds so you can get used to calling them at different rates. Practicing during the winter if you’re calling a practice is also a good time to work on this. Even if you’re not calling something, you can still watch the rowers and go through the calls yourself in your head.
Donât get frustrated if you end up confusing yourself a few times either â I definitely did. I think itâs good to actually sit down and think about this stuff though so that youâre actually aware of how youâre calling it and when your making each individual call. I know it might seem silly and/or pointless but it is worthwhile in the long run because it helps you develop consistency in the timing of your calls (which translates to better timing and efficiency within the boat) and comes in handy when you have to explain to novices how to do this. If you know every. single. detail. and actually understand why you do things the way you do them, not only will you be able to explain it better but you’ll also set a good example for the other coxswains.
