When did being a coxswain really and truly click for you?
I’d say within the first month or so of being on the water as a novice I had the general hang of everything but as far as the specifics (like practice management, executing a race plan, etc.), I think they really clicked at various times over the next year or two. Steering was always my Achilles heel and was the skill that took me the longest to get fully comfortable with but with practice I improved a lot.
As far as making calls and stuff, I picked that up right away – all my coaches remarked that I’d picked it up faster than any coxswain they’d ever coached before. I spent an unusual amount of time talking to the varsity coxswains, researching everything I could about what calls to make, what everything means, etc. so that I’d be prepared when I went out, so I think that definitely played a part. Once I had the hang of the basics (steering, making calls, basic technique, etc.) then I spent the next few years really working on it. It’s just like school – you start off with basic addition that you learn pretty quickly so that eventually you can work your way up to trig and calculus. Everything about coxing just fits me and my personality though, which is another reason why I think it clicked so fast.
