Hey! So I’m a coxswain, and my coach always puts me in the top two boats with another coxswain. We are very alike coxing wise. Our rowers like us equally and so do the coaches. I’m sure they are having a hard time choosing who to boat higher, but I think they are leaning towards him, so I am wondering: would it be OK to go up to him and tell him “I want this boat and I think I can beat this other coxswain for it. What do you think I should do?” (or something like that). Thank you Kayleigh!
I’ll tell you a secret: coaches love when their athletes make it hard for them to make a decision because it shows that everyone is doing what the need to do. If the decision is easy … man, you done messed up. This quote sums it up nicely:
In the end, the coaches aren’t the ones who made the decision on what boat you would be in this season. You did. You made the decision on whether or not you were going to that optional practice, or whether or not you were going on that run, or giving everything you had on that piece. YOU made the decision. YOU picked your split. You decided your limit and either you passed it or you let it ruin you. Remember that the next time you see the line-up.
If you have a good relationship with your coaches, which it sounds like you do, I would talk to them privately before or after practice one day and say “I know you’re in the process of making the decision as to who’s going to go the varsity boat and I just wanted to reiterate that I really want to cox this boat and think that I could accomplish a lot with them.” Give one or two serious, well-thought out examples of why you should be the one they choose and then leave it at that. Don’t even mention the other coxswain because it really has nothing to do with them. When I hear coxswains say they think they can beat the other coxswain, even though I know what you’re saying, a tiny part of me questions if they want the boat because they really think they deserve it or because they just want to prove that they can cox them better. I’d rather you not even mention them and instead tell me about why you deserve it, what you can bring to the crew, how you can make them better, and how coxing them is going to make you better.
It’s unlikely that you’re going to say anything that’s going to make them completely question their decision but you might end up making a point that they hadn’t fully considered or considered at all. At the very least you’ll remind them why you’re in contention for the boat in the first place and that is never a bad thing.
