Category: Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 27, 2012

I guess this is more a social life outside of rowing kind of question, but I’m in university rowing and there are a lot of socials which a lot of people attend. But, being in the UK, it’s all about getting drunk and partying etc, and I don’t particularly enjoy that so most of the time I feel left out and only go to the bigger ones (like Christmas ball) and have one glass. But I’m also a novice and want to meet people/seniors which is hard if you just go to practice. Do you have any advice?

When you go to the socials, try not to focus so much on the fact that you feel left out – instead, try and join in on some conversations if you see any happening, as well as look for anyone else who looks equally bored. There’s almost always someone else who is uncomfortable or feeling left out too that you can strike a conversation with.

If parties aren’t your thing, that’s OK! Take the initiative to try and organize something more low-key – maybe a team dinner at one of the senior’s apartments at the start of the year/season to get to know the new team members or a team activity to raise money for charity (an ergathon, triathlon, etc.). You’d be surprised how well you can get to know someone when you have to be on an organizing committee with them. You could also have once-a-month team get togethers … ideas for that could be each boat brings their favorite board/card game to play and you spend the night playing games, going on a restaurant crawl (drinks at one restaurant, appetizers at another, entree at another, desserts at another), etc. You could also look on Groupon or similar deal-sites to see if they have any good deals on stuff like rock climbing, laser tag, spa days & massages, etc. that you and some teammates can do.

Don’t be afraid to admit that parties aren’t your thing. If there is an upperclassman that you know fairly well, ask them for their advice … just say that parties aren’t your thing but you don’t want to seem anti-social or like you don’t want to get to know people, because you do. They might have some ideas for you too!

High School Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 23, 2012

Hi, I’m a 5’6 140 pound 16 year old girl. I’m a first year varsity rower with the second best scores on my team, yet my coach still won’t put me in his varsity four in favor of a girl who’s slightly taller than me but not as fast, even though he already has a girl my height (the one girl on the team who consistently beats me) in that boat. Is it because of my height? What can I do to make him show him I am better than she is?

I don’t think it’s based strictly on your height, especially if he already has another 5’6″ rower in the boat. If you have good erg times, my next guess would be your technique. Power and strength can only take you so far – what really gives you that extra inch is how well you row. If you and this other girl are similar in every other category, that would be why I assume your coach chose her over you. That’s purely speculative though. Before trying to show him why you’re “better” than her, first find out what makes her “better” than you. Talk with your coach and say that your goal is to row in the varsity four. You notice that you and this other girl are very similar and you want to know why she was chosen over you so that you can work on whatever the deficit is in the hope of eventually getting in the boat. If you do any erg pieces with your coxswains around, ask one of them to watch you and point out anything with your technique that you could work on. Talk with your coach about what he’s looking for in a V4+ rower so that you have some idea of who he wants in the boat. Be mature in your approach to talking with him and don’t let it come off as bitchy or whiny – that’s a surefire way to ensure this other girl stays in the boat all season.

Don’t let your main focus during training be about proving yourself against this girl. To an extent, yes, that’s what you have to do in order to be in the boat, but your main focus should be on becoming an overall better rower – getting stronger, working on your technique, improving your splits, etc. If you do all of that, your rowing will speak for itself.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 20, 2012

So this might come out bitchy and trust me that is my very last intention, but I don’t like my cox. First, I should probably tell you that she and I are the “babies” of the varsity team, we’re the only sophomores, everyone else is a Jr. or Sr. We only have one other cox who is a senior but my cox is more skilled and is almost always placed in the top boat, as am I which is great ya know, power to the underclassmen, but I just really don’t respond well to her tone of voice/style etc. I’ve tried making suggestions b/c the last thing I would want to do is disrespect a teammate or insult her abilities but she really only implements the suggestions made by the older girls which peeves me to no end. I get the idea that she sometimes thinks she’s better than me which is also really frustrating especially b/c she messes up the workouts/stroke ratings/stoke count multiple times a practice. Not saying I’m perfect and or don’t mess up I just feel like I’m that kid in class who always has their hand raised but the teacher just never freaking calls on me. How do you think (from both a coach & teammates perspective) I should handle this?

My first thought was she’s taking the older girls’ suggestions because they’re more experienced, so she thinks they know more, whereas you and she are the same age so you probably wouldn’t know what you’re talking about in comparison (if that makes sense). My other thought is maybe she’s friends with the older girls and that’s why she listens to them. What’s your relationship like with her? If you’re not friends or you butt heads, she might ignore your suggestions out of spite.

Have you tried talking to her one-on-one regarding your suggestions? Part of what makes a coxswain “good” is the ability to take constructive criticism or suggestions from the boat (including from the rowers you don’t necessarily like) and implement it, even if means adjusting how we do things. Unless you flat out tell her she’s doing a terrible job, I don’t think that would be insulting or disrespectful to approach her and say what you’re thinking. Another approach would be talking to the senior coxswain and asking for her advice on what to do. As a coxswain, she might be able to talk to this girl and explain that you have to take into consideration the suggestions of everyone in the boat, regardless of your personal relationship or feelings about them.

What about your coach – have you tried talking to them about it? If it’s affecting your rowing and really bothering you, I’d have a conversation with them and ask for their advice on how to handle it. They might be able to give you something more substantial to work with since they know you and your coxswain (whereas I don’t). If you talked to her and she still didn’t respond to your suggestions, I would pull her aside and say the same thing that I’d say if I were talking to her coxswain-to-coxswain … regardless of how experienced or inexperienced a rower is or how you feel about them outside of the boat, if they say something’s not working for them, you have to look at yourself and see what you can do to improve. It does suck because we tend to be perfectionists who think what we’re doing is always right, but in the end we have to do what’s best for the boat. A coach doesn’t want a coxswain that ignores what her boat says because that gives the rowers minimal reason to listen to her, which leads to all sorts of drama and problems.

What is it specifically about her style or tone of voice that you don’t respond to? If you can think of the specifics, that will be a lot more helpful to your coach and coxswain that just saying “Oh, I don’t respond well to her”. This will at least give her something to work with whereas just saying you don’t respond to her style could be construed as “Oh, I just don’t like her and this is how I justify not listening to her” (which I doubt is what you do but that could be how she sees it).

If she’s always messing things up in practice, that’s also something your coach should know. That wastes time and the energy of the rowers, which is annoying all around. One thing coxswains often forget (I’m guilty of this sometimes too) is that rowers can count. Even though we’re counting for them, they still know their 1-2-3s. If they hear the coach say that you’re going to do 20 on, 10 off, etc. and you count 22 on, 9 off, etc., that’s going to piss them off. It makes them question if you’re paying attention, which can then lead to a whole other set of issues. If that’s part of the problem with your coxswain too, bring it up with your coach. They want the rowers focused on JUST the rowing, not on what the coxswain is (or isn’t) doing.

Coxing Teammates & Coaches

Defining the role of the coxswain: What coaches look for in a coxswain

By readyallrow December 19, 2012

I was going through row2k’s poll archives and came across this one that asked “What do you look for most in a coxswain?” That’s such a loaded question – how do you pick just ONE thing that you look for the most when there are so many things that a coxswain has to be able to do?

This is a pretty accurate representation of where you should be focusing your energy so if you’re a novice coxswain wondering what you should be focusing on in order to become an asset to your team, here you go.

EXECUTION – 37.8%

Execution encompasses practically EVERYTHING you do, from the time you get to the boathouse until the time you leave. This includes getting everyone in the same place to start practice, getting them on the ergs to warmup, getting them to the boat, getting the boat (safely) off the racks and down to the dock, getting out on the water, going through the warmup properly, knowing what the plan is for the day, etc.

The rule of thumb is to always have a plan. Proper execution cannot happen without a solid plan that has that has been discussed and communicated amongst all involved parties. At the beginning of practice you should get together with your coach and ask what you’ll be doing today. Go over the warm up sequence, drills, pieces, etc. and determine the focus for each one. Regarding drills, if you haven’t done a particular drill before, ask for it to be explained to you before you get on the water. Make sure you have an understanding of it’s purpose and how it’s carried out. A good way to test your understanding is to repeat it back to the coach or to another coxswain, that way if something is incorrect you can be corrected on it before you tell it to the rowers. It’s important that you understand how the drills are done so that time isn’t wasted doing it multiples times because it was done incorrectly the first time. The amount of time we have on the water is limited, so coaches rely on coxswains to use that time as efficiently as possible.

The winter is a good time for coaches to begin getting a sense of how well coxswains can execute practices or pieces without the pressure of being on the water, which is why I strongly encourage you to not waste these few months by sitting around and just “watching”. Make yourself useful by offering to call the shifts during erg pieces or leading a core circuit. If you’re a novice, don’t be intimidated and assume you can’t do it – if you’ve seen other coxswains do it, you should already have an idea of how it’s done. You’ll have to lead a group of people eventually, so your best opportunity to “practice” is in a low-stress, low-pressure environment. Conveniently, winter training provides just that.

STEERING – 28.6%

Steering is one of the hardest skills for a coxswain to learn. Like rowing, it’s something we pick up quickly but then spend years perfecting. I’ve been coxing for ten years and I still make it a point to practice my steering every time I go out on the water. The most obvious reason why coaches look for coxswains to have good steering skills is because NOT having them is a huge safety issue. If a coxswain is bouncing off either side of the river bank, they are endangering not only their crew but also any other crews that are on the water. It also wastes a significant amount of practice time if the coach constantly has to be telling the coxswain to get on the correct side of the river. Traffic patterns are there for a reason and it is your responsibility as the leader of your crew to know what they are and abide by them.

Prior to the start of the season, varsity coxswains should take it upon themselves to familiarize novice coxswains with the body of water you’re rowing on and explain what the traffic patterns are so that they are aware of them before they get on the water. Spend some time also explaining how to steer and how the boat responds to touches on the rudder. Not all boats are the same and some have different steering mechanisms than others (namely Vespoli’s handle steering in bow-loaded fours vs. the standard string steering).

Another reason why coaches (and rowers) expect coxswains to have good steering skills is because it can win you races. It can also lose races if those skills are not up to par. During a sprint race, a straight line is CRUCIAL and truly can make the difference between first and second place in a tight race. One of the reasons why coaches often have binoculars during these races is not just so they can see the action from far away – it’s to watch their coxswain’s line coming down the course. The worst thing you can do is bounce off the buoys for 2000m. The phrase “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line” is something all coxswains should have at the forefront of their mind during the spring season. Bouncing off the buoys adds meters to your race which in turn adds seconds to your time.

With regards to head races, knowing what the best line is for a particular course and knowing how to take it can eliminate several seconds from your overall time. Since it’s hard to practice steering for head races, studying the course ahead of time will help you determine what the best line is. Rowers appreciate a coxswain who fights for the inside of the buoys because it shortens the course and eliminates any question that they’re exerting more effort than they have to, which is what happens when coxswains take a bad line.

MOTIVATION – 20.4%

I don’t particularly like the term “motivation” because I think it gives the wrong impression of what a coxswain’s duties are. I’m a firm believer that rowers need to have some kind of motivation already in them before they get in the boat, otherwise how can a coxswain be expected to push them if they can’t even push themselves? But, for the sake of “lack of a better term”, motivation is what we say.

When the rowers are in the pain cave during a race and can’t focus on anything but the burning feeling in their legs, what can you say that pulls them out of their heads and back into the boat? One of a coxswain’s most respected skills is the ability to reach in and pull something out of a rower that they didn’t know they had. It’s a coxswain’s responsibility to talk with their rowers and figure out what they want/need to hear and then use that to help them make their calls during a race. A coxswain that is fired up and pushes his/her rowers to do “the impossible” gains far more points with the coaches than one who is a simply a cheerleader.

COACHING – 11.2%

On the rowing totem pole, coxswains are second in command after the coaches. (Rowers are at the bottom — they have minimal authority. Shh, don’t tell them.) When we’re on the water, we are in charge of the crew and are expected to act as the liaison between the rowers and the coach, in addition to our other responsibilities. Think about what your coach does — they provide guidance, leadership, technical advice, and are considered highly knowledgeable with respect to the sport. Now think about yourself … aren’t your responsibilities similar, if not the same?

Ideally, a good coxswain should be able to go out and run a practice with minimal input from the coach. They understand the technical intricacies of the stroke and can make the call for the necessary corrections, they have a thorough understanding of the drills (why we do them, how they’re done, what the focus is on, etc.), and they are able to effectively communicate with and provide feedback to everyone in the boat.

A coxswain who can truly function like a mini-coach is rare, which is why “coaching” isn’t a skill that coaches particularly look for since they tend to take that entire responsibility upon themselves. If a coxswain does possess this skill though, it makes them a HUGE asset to the team.

WEIGHT – 2.0%

I was happy to see that this was last on the list of things coaches look for but I was also irritated that it was on the list at all. The weight of a coxswain is as sensitive of a topic as it is with lightweights. We’re expected to be petite twigs so as to not add any additional dead weight to the boat, which is understandable, but coaches often take it too far when discussing it with their athletes. I have another post centered on this topic that I’m working on so I’ll keep this brief. The rowers are already moving several hundred pounds down the race course and despite our importance to the crew, we are dead weight from a physics standpoint. Any additional weight we add to the boat has the potential to slow it down (although by how much is a hotly debated topic).

The best advice I have regarding this is to always be mindful of your weight. Some coxswains, like myself, are naturally under the weight minimum and don’t need to worry about it. Others are above the minimum and frequently stress about it. I think you can safely get away with being 3-5lbs over racing weight before it becomes worthy of discussion. The more important issue is that of your health. We’re expected to set an example for the boat and it’s hard to not be considered a hypocrite if we are pushing the rowers to be healthy while partaking in an unhealthy lifestyle ourselves. Bottom line is this – there is a written weight minimum and an unwritten weight maximum. They’re there for a reason and should be acknowledged.

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 17, 2012

Advice from a coxes perspective would be great. I’ve been lucky enough to have the same cox for 2 years & he used to be amazing. Recently, it’s felt very much like he’s lost interest. He’s just in the boat, not part of the crew. He’s going through the motions. It makes it very hard to stay motivated, given everything else that’s crappy. He’s also coxing the elite men, maybe he sees them as his chance to win & we’re just the disorganized cranky old women he coxes sometimes. Should I call him on the change?

Ah, I know this feeling. Sometimes I recognize it right away and other times I don’t realize it until after the fact. It’s possible that you’re right – he identifies more strongly with the men and recognizes their competitiveness as a chance to really exercise his coxing muscles so that’s where he’s shifted his focus. I get that because I’ve been in similar situations.. If your crew really is the “disorganized cranky old women he coxes sometimes” then that’s most likely what’s going on. Guys coxing women is tough to begin with but the one consistency I’ve noticed with the few guys I’ve discussed it with is that when the rowers start typical “girl” drama, they get disinterested pretty fast.

I completely understand why it’s hard to stay motivated when your coxswain makes it obvious, either intentionally or unintentionally, that they don’t want to be there. As a crew, I think it’s well within your right to sit down and talk with him. I would hope you’d do the same for any rower displaying the same attitude. Ask him if he’s free for a boat meeting one day (ideally after practice or on a day when you’re not going on the water) and then make a short list of what you want to talk about. I find that boat meetings are much more effective when there’s a set agenda. Explain to him that you’ve noticed over the last few weeks/months that something has changed and he doesn’t seem as into the boat as he used to be. Avoid directly accusing him of liking the elite men better since you don’t actually know that’s the issue. First ask him if everything is ok – maybe school or work has been really hectic lately and he’s just been low on energy. Everybody’s been there so hopefully the crew can understand this. If he says everything is fine, then you can broach the subject of the elite men.

Explain that you’ve noticed that since he started coxing the elite men, he seems less interested in coxing your boat. Again, don’t be accusatory – state what you’ve seen and let him explain from there. Tell him that if that’s the case then it might be best for him to take some time and decide if he wants to continue coxing you guys. Explain that you’re happy that he’s coxing a crew that has such high potential but your focus is your boat and you need a coxswain who is just as invested in this crew as the rowers are. If he says he’s become disinterested or less motivated, ask him why. Be prepared that he might say it’s because of the crew, for whatever reason. Don’t be offended or defensive – take what he’s saying as an opportunity to improve and make some changes.

For me, I tend to lose interest really fast when I’m working with people who aren’t as invested, motivated, or “into” whatever it is we’re doing. If I can see that I’m putting in all this effort but they aren’t, why should I continue doing what I’m doing if I’m the only one doing it? Having coached a couple teams at the same time over the last few months, I’ve also noticed that when one team is at a 3 and another team is at an 8, my excitement, enthusiasm, and effort is naturally going to go to the team at an 8. I tend to notice this after the fact but now that it’s something I know, it’s helped me prepare for future coaching situations.

Like I said, I wouldn’t just look at him being a flake … look at the team and see if the attitudes of the rowers or the crew as a whole could have played a factor in his declining levels of interest. Coxswains need to feel motivated and inspired too so when it doesn’t feel like the rowers are giving 100% coxswains can interpret their role on the team as being pointless, which makes it really hard to get into practice.

Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 17, 2012

I row for school, I am not in their boat but I have two good friends in one boat and they are always laughing and talking and not listening. It’s really annoying when the rest of the squad is taking it seriously! Should I say anything or just leave it for the coaches?

Since they aren’t in your boat, I wouldn’t say anything since it’s (hopefully) not directly affecting you or your boat. If they do the same stuff on land that they do in the boat, you could try having a conversation off to the side with them and explain that it’s distracting and frustrating to everyone around them when they see two teammates not taking the practice seriously. Leave it at that. They’ll either get the message or they won’t.

In general though, it’s up to the coaches and coxswains to handle stuff like this. Their coxswain needs to tell them to stop talking and pay attention when you’re on the water and the coach who’s out with them also needs to tell them to stop or get out of the boat. Unless you’re a team captain or something, I think it’d be out of place for you to say something since you’re not all in the same boat.

Ergs Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 13, 2012

How do you stop competition over erg times from ruining a friendship?

Just … don’t?

The only real suggestion I can offer is that someone in has to be the bigger person and remove themselves from the situation entirely. Make it clear to the other person that erg times are separate from the friendship and wanting to pulling a better time than someone isn’t indicative of anything other than dedication to the team and motivation towards getting in the best boat possible. I would say that if these people were really friends they would be encouraging each other to get the best times they can instead of letting something silly tear them apart. In the grand scheme of things, i.e. life, erg scores aren’t important. It’s really not worth ruining a friendship over something so trivial.

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 11, 2012

Winter training has caused all of the rowers at my club to become insanely competitive. Our junior team is now completely broken into cliques and honestly everyone (including me) is completely on edge. Only some of us train twice a day based on if we have morning spares for school and the people that go to that suddenly think they’re more elite than anyone else. Do you think there’s anything we could do? Also it doesn’t help that half the team is in a relationship with someone else on the team, so there’s tension there.

Yikes. Not the best situation to be in during the cabin fever months of winter training. My first thought was “team meeting”. The captains (or coxswains, if you don’t have captains) need to recognize and assess the situation, then hold a team meeting to tell everybody to basically get their shit together. I can kind of understand the cliques thing because during the season each boat kind of becomes it’s own little clique, but if it’s getting to the point of people being in cliques à la Mean Girls, that has to stop. Captains and/or coxswains need to take responsibility and get that under control. A divided team during winter training does not bode well for a happy, collective team during racing season.

Training twice a day does not make you better than people who train once a day. You can go to the gym thirty times a day and it doesn’t make you any more dedicated than someone who goes once. The beauty of winter training is that things can be done on one’s own schedule, so if some people have the time to go twice a day, then great, but not everyone does. Winter training is also the one time during the year where if people need a break, they can take one. Unless you specifically know that people aren’t working out because they don’t care, don’t want to, or some other illegitimate reason, those rowers have no right to think they’re more “elite” than anyone else. The way you said that also made it seem (to me, at least) that the only reason they go twice a day is to say they’re going twice a day and to hold it over other people’s heads, which in turn makes me question how hard they’re actually working out.

Relationships within the team is a messy situation all around. People know the risks of dating someone else on the team and if they don’t … they’re potentially in for a rude awakening. The tension that comes with that unfortunately can’t be avoided in most cases unless those involved take action to ensure such tension does not exist. You can’t really make a rule saying “members of the crew team can’t date each other” (well…technically, I guess you could), so you’ve just got to deal with the effects of it as they come along.

It sounds like your team needs to do some serious bonding. One of the main reasons why collegiate teams go on training trips far, far away from campus is because it helps the rowers get to know one another and thus, everyone is closer as spring season draws near. Read #4 on this post and this post. They say practically the same thing but there might be one or two ideas that are different. The biggest thing that needs to happen though is a team meeting of some kind where those in charge put an end to the petty crap. If it’s serious enough to get the coach involved, do it. You could even talk to him/her and explain the situation and what advice can they give you on how to handle it? Then the captains/coxswains can take it from there. If that doesn’t work, you’ve got to step back and let your coach handle it. Hopefully though everyone on the team can see the effect that this is having and they’ll all be willing to make some changes so that it doesn’t continue.

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 11, 2012

At the moment I have been doing quite well within my squad, I have been in the A boat (quad). I row for school and next term part way through the season we have a new rower joining us as one left. She is really tall and said her older brothers were quite good rowers. Today was her first time in a boat and she has never been on an erg. Is it possible that she could take “my” spot? This is my second season rowing and I am not very tall, 5’3. I am really worried she will!!

I’d say probably not. The thing about rowing is that no matter what, everyone sucks when they first start rowing. I think you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who immediately hopped in a boat or on an erg and didn’t suck. You can pick up the sport fairly quickly, but you’ll spend the next 30 years perfecting every inch of the stroke. If you’ve been rowing in the top boat for awhile and she is just now joining the sport, I would think that your spot it safe. Don’t worry about things that don’t matter like whether her brothers were good or how tall she is. Technique, strength, focus, dedication, determination, and commitment matter 100x more than any of that stuff.

Instead of worrying about whether she’s going to take your seat, focus on YOUR training and making sure that your coach has no reason to take you out of the boat. Don’t give them a reason to think that she deserves it more than you when she has less experience. Focus on your training, your technique, your erg times, etc. and let your coaches worry about teaching the new girl. I assume since you’re in the A boat, there’s a B and C boat? She’ll probably start off in one of those and then as she improves, maybe she’ll be put into the A boat. If she is, set the example for how “A boat” rowers do things. Until that point comes though, don’t worry about hypotheticals.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 11, 2012

As a coxswain I do all the workouts (to keep weight down and to encourage/have respect from rowers) but none of the other coxswains do. Do you think I should ask them to join? I just feel when we are concentrating to do 50 push-ups and they are laughing they kinda bugs me / gets me off track, I don’t want them to sacrifice our rowers work outs. I know the rowers are quite annoyed also … should I tell them to leave join, stop, etc?

If you’re a varsity coxswain and they’re younger than you, you can definitely tell them to either take it seriously or go away but if you’re younger or the same age as them, they might not take you seriously and think that you’re just being a jerk or sucking up or whatever. In that situation, I would talk with your coach and explain how you and the rowers feel like they’re undermining the workouts, the team, etc. by being distracting and doing whatever they do. Hopefully they can talk with them and handle it from there.

I wouldn’t ask them to join because if they’re screwing around just watching, the chances that they take it seriously when they actually have to do it is slim to none. This ties back to coxswains half-assing it and pissing the rowers off. Coxswains should never not be doing something when they’re at practice. Whether they’re working out with their boat, coxing people on the erg, taking times down, watching video, helping the coaches, etc. there’s always something to do.

In this situation, you are the more mature one. Regardless of the pecking order, find a solution to your problem and be OK with how you handled the situation. Ask your coach for advice on what to do and go from there. If he says he’ll handle it, leave it at that. If he tells you to tell them to join in or leave, do it. Be confident in how you say it and make them understand that in this moment, they are not being valuable members of the team and no one appreciates their attitudes or apparent lack of interest. Situations like this suck, but they happen. How you handle it says a lot and really helps the rowers get a feel for the kind of leader and coxswain you are.