Just wondering , what do you say to your crew after a training session and they say “Thanks cox”?
Alright, this probably sounds really dumb and I really hope I’m not the only one that has this problem … but I never know how to respond to this! I mean, I typically will just say “no problem, you guys did good today” but there’s definitely a nanosecond period beforehand where I’m like “shit, do I say ‘you’re welcome’, no that sounds douchey, do I say XYZ…” before I just reply with “no prob”. If I’m coxing a new crew then I’ll usually say “no prob, thanks for inviting me out with you guys” or something to that effect but if it’s my usual crew then I just go with what I said before or keep it simple with a smile and a fist bump. I also think it’s good to take that opportunity to talk about something that went well that day (i.e. “no prob … we found our groove on that last piece, it just looked and felt a lot more composed than yesterday…”) so that’s another thing I’ll do. If they say something like “thanks, your calls were on point today” or “nice job managing all that traffic today” then I think it’s good to acknowledge the compliment and say thanks back. If it’s something you’ve been working on, say “thanks, I really appreciate that because I’ve been trying to work on my race calls…”.
What amuses me about this is it’s such a simple exchange but it’s one that you can easily overthink to the point where it’s beyond ridiculous that you’re putting so much effort into thinking about how to reply to someone saying “thank you”. That’s literally the first thing that goes through my head as we’re walking the boat up after practice … like, ” was it really that hard to just say ‘no prob’ or ‘thanks’ in return?”. Ugh…
How do you guys respond when your crews thank you after a race or practice?
Usually, it’s “Thanks–that was some good work out there,” unless I have something more specific to say, or it was an awesome row and I can heap some praise. We’re a masters crew and we take turns coxing; about half of us are comfortable with it. For the other half, appreciation goes a long way.
I feel weirder when someone thanks me for stroking. The lineups are up to the coaches and change all the time. My main job in that seat is to not suck, which is less complicated than steering on our estuary some mornings.
If the crew say thanks, it’s usually been a good outing and I’ve typically enjoyed it as well, so my response is often “Thanks, I really enjoyed the outing”. I think it shows that it’s not just about the coxing but how responsive the crew are to the calls being made.
I normally say ‘thanks for having me’ and then maybe make a positive comment about the session.