If I am 5’5 and 115lbs but bound to keep growing because I am a freshman in high school, is it worth it to keep coxing girls? I have coxed for a couple months and I absolutely loved it. I was thinking I could keep coxing girls for a couple years and then maybe switch to boys if I get too tall/heavy. Would it be better to row? I really really love coxing, especially for races, but I would like to do something that I can continue through high school and I don’t know if coxing is it.
Every coach is different and they want different things when it comes to their coxswains (here’s an example from a question I posted last night…) so your best option is to talk with your coach and see what they think. You could probably cox men or women at this point but if you have a good rapport with your coach and like coxing your current team then I’d stick with them. If you decide as you get closer to making college plans that you want to keep coxing after high school then look into coxing on a men’s team.
Hey! If this helps. I’m a cox, I’m about 5’5 / 5’6 and weigh in 120’s (under 130). I’m a cox at CRI on girls varsity. I was a rower and chose to change before coxing men in college. So far I have not had any trouble, at least at this level the coaches don’t care much about my weight. As long as I work hard and am good at what I do. I currently have the 1V8+ so it’s going well! I’m definitely switching to boys for college though, I think the weight and height matters more in college. (Also depending on strength of program). I try to eat well and am trying to lose some weight, but not too concerned or making myself sick about it. I hope this helps or you at least feel someone is in the same boat as you (haha).
Definitely agree with weight mattering more in college and it also being dependent on the program. More competitive schools (Sprints league for men especially) are sticklers about their coxswains being as close to weight as possible.