Tag: catch

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Hanging the Blade

Coxing Rowing Technique

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Hanging the Blade

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Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin || Run || Lunge || Washing Out || Missing water || Footboard || Check || Ratio || Over compression || Release || Cut the cake

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

The catch.

What does it mean/refer to

The majority of the time when we talk about hang we’re talking about suspension but in this case “hang” means to pause at the catch and let your blade hang in the air before dropping it in the water. You want the blade to be moving down to the water as the wheels are rolling through the last few inches of the slide so that you’re changing direction just as the blade becomes fully buried. When you hang the blade, you basically just get to the front end and stop without the blade changing height relative to the water.

Related: Top 20 terms coxswains should know: Suspension

Relevant calls

This is where you’ll make/hear a lot of “direct to the water” calls. You can/should also remind the rowers that they should be unweighting the hands (not lifting – unweighting) the hands in the top quarter of the recovery so that the moment when the blade enters the water and their slides stop coming forward is the same point in time. One shouldn’t happen before the other. When I’ve coached younger crews, explaining the catch as a motion rather than a position has helped them understand this better and eliminate the pause at the front end (which most of the time they don’t realize they’re doing).

Calls for slide control (coupled with “direct to the water”-esque calls) can also help here because you’ll sometimes see rowers rushing their slides and then hanging out at the catch waiting for everyone else to get there, which usually leads to them having choppy catches or being late.

Related: Top 20 terms coxswains should know: Rush(ing)

What to look for

This is slightly less obvious from the coxswain’s seat than it is from the launch but what you’ll see is a very obvious (but quick) pause in the blade’s movement at the front end. It’s not something I’m always on the lookout for but if I notice a rower is missing water at the catch then I’ll watch to see if I can see them winding up (aka dropping the hands at the catch causing their blade to sky) and then stopping before putting the blade in.

Related: Top 20 terms coxswains should know: Skying the blade

Effect(s) on the boat

Hanging the blade at the catch turns the stroke into a stop and go movement instead of one fluid motion which prevents the crew from establishing a consistent and easy-to-lock-onto rhythm. It also messes with the catch timing (duh – you’re always going to be late), your ability to have a long, complete stroke (since you’ll be missing water at the start of the drive as a result of not getting your blade in before the slide changes direction), and the shell’s ability to achieve its maximum run (because you’re missing water → not generating as much power → not getting as much send at the finish).

Related: Top 20 terms coxswains should know: Missing water

Related posts/questions

Like several of the other terms, this isn’t one I’ve talked about on the blog before so below are two videos that demonstrate the difference between hanging the blade (the first one) and going straight to the water (the second one).

Very start and stop-y and you can see the missed water as they start their drive.

Much more smooth and fluid.

Image via // @ryanjnicholsonphoto
The Four Defaults

Coxing Rowing Technique

The Four Defaults

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When there are so many different things happening in a such a short amount of time it can be tough knowing what exactly to look at or make calls for, particularly if you’re a novice and have’t fully grasped all the technical nuances yet. The four things listed below are the “defaults” that you should always be paying attention to (every day at practice and as necessary during races) since they are what tend to have the biggest impacts on boat speed (slowing it down when adjustments are needed and increasing it when adjustments are made).

Related: So, what did you see?

Timing at the catch and finish

This should be the most obvious. Are the blades going in and coming out together? If you notice that the timing is off at one (or both) end(s) of the stroke then you should immediately be making a call, either to a specific person, pair, or the entire crew, to get them back into rhythm with the stroke and following the cadence they’re setting.

Related: Timing at the catch

Ratio

This should be the second most obvious. Standard ratio is 2:1, meaning the recovery should be twice as long as the drive – 2 (recovery) to 1 (drive). Rush during the second half of the recovery (starting from the bodies over position) can kill boat speed so it’s important to call a ratio-shift when you feel this happening to get the crew back on track. Communication with the stroke can be a big help here since they’re usually more aware of when rush is happening than you are (unless it’s really bad).

Related: Ratio

Blade coverage

There should be no missed water at the catch and no washing out at the finish – the blade stays fully buried all the way through from beginning to end. If you’re coxing novices or less-experienced rowers, make sure that you communicate what the proper depth is (there’s usually tape on the oar shaft down near the blade – they shouldn’t be buried past that point).

Related: An Intro to Rigging, pt. 3: Pitch (Quick note: adjusting the rigging should never be your “go to” solution. Fix your technique first then see if any alterations can be made to the rigging to complement the changes you’ve made with your rowing.)

Jump at the catch

This is also referred to as the “impulse”.  It’s a result of getting a strong, committed, and deliberate push off the foot boards as the blade enters the water and the slide changes direction. The further into practice/the race you are, the more likely it’s going to be that you need to make a call for this since it relies heavily on maximum engagement from the legs.

Related: Boat feel

Keep in mind that this is something you can feel more easily than you can see. If the the rowers are missing water at the catch then that’s a visual indication that the “impulse” isn’t happening but if you’re experienced enough to have a good sense of boat feel then the boat feeling sluggish, heavy, etc. should be another indication that you need to spend some time focusing on reigniting that impulse at the front end.

Image via // @j.bluff

Rowing Technique Video of the Week

Video of the Week: USA Men’s 8+ in slow motion

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If you’re looking for a video that puts technique on display then this is definitely one you want to watch. This is from a couple years ago when the USA men’s eight was training in Lucerne before one of the world championships. Check out the blade entry vs. slide movement at the catch – see how the blades are buried before the seats change direction? #GOALS.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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Can you explain the term “rowing it in”?

Sure! When you hear someone say you’re rowing it in, what they mean is that you’re starting your leg drive before you’ve locked the blade on to the water. Starting the leg drive before your blade’s in means that you’ll miss water at the catch, have a shorter stroke, and generate less power on the drive (since your blade isn’t in the water for as long as it should be). Something to remember is that getting to the front of the slide isn’t what signifies that it’s time to change direction, rather it’s the blade catching the water. Lock the blade then go with the legs.

Another thing that can contribute to missing water is diving at the catch. This tends to happen when you fail to set the body angle early enough. By the time you reach half-slide you should have all the body prep you’re going to get otherwise what ends up happening is you get to 3/4 slide and end up throwing your upper body forward to get more reach (or rather, the amount of reach you would have gotten had you set your body angle at the right time). This effects several things within the boat, including where your blade is when you go to start the drive. Throwing the body tends to push the hands down towards your feet, which in turn lifts the blade up. If your blade is higher than it needs to be above the water (i.e. six inches or more…) then you’re going to have difficulty staying on time with everyone else and going straight to the water. If you’re not going straight to the water then you’re missing water.

If you’re a coxswain this can be tough to see from where we’re sitting but the easiest way to tell if someone is missing water is to look  at the angle of the oar shafts. A good catch angle from our perspective is about 45 degrees, give or take. Anything less than that and they’re likely doing one of the two things I described up above. Sometimes I’ll poke my head out of the boat if we’re not doing pieces to see if I can spot the problem but if I can’t I’ll make a couple calls to that individual about going straight to the water, getting it right in at the catch, etc. and then talk to them/the coach about it more whenever we stop.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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Hi! I tried looking online about my “problem” and I couldn’t find much so here I am, looking for some help! My coach always tells me that I “open” the body too early at the catch/drive. I don’t understand what he means because every time I try to correct it, I’m wrong. Do you have any solution that could help me? Thanks a lot.

Sure! So, opening up the back/body too early means that you’re starting your layback before the legs are all the way down (aka before you’ve finished the leg drive). I’ll try and illustrate this below with one of my typically-crude illustrations because I think things like this are easier to understand when you can visualize them. The explanations are in the picture but if something doesn’t make sense, feel free to comment and I’ll clarify.
Coxswains, this is something in particular you can be watching for when the rowers are on the ergs. If you see someone opening their back too early (as illustrated above) or doing the opposite, which would be shooting their tails (when you essentially take the legs completely out of the drive and use only your upper body for power, leading to lots of fun low-back problems), correct them and go through the proper sequence with them once or twice until they get it.

Rowers, if you’re having issues with getting the sequencing down, try doing the reverse pick drill on the erg (or ask your coach if you can add it to your warmup the next time you go out). This will go through the legs-back-arms progression one section at a time starting with legs only (arms and body stay in the “body over” position), followed by the back (legs down, back in the layback position, arms straight out), and then finishing with the arms (legs – back – arms).

How To Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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Tips on how to correct posture while rowing? Apparently I slouch a lot around the catch!

It all starts at the finish. Well, sort of. It’s kind of like the chicken-egg thing … which comes first? Finishes are affected by catches and catches are affected by finishes, but where does the problem actually start?

At the finish you’ve got to make sure you’re laying back while sitting up tall. The next most important thing after that is swinging while maintaining a straight back. Keep the core solid, almost as if you’re preparing to be punched at any second, without hunching the shoulders or stiffening the upper body. Make sure that you’re moving in the proper sequence – arms, back, legs – and not letting your butt slide under your shoulders. This is a huge reason why a lot of people slouch at the finish. Your shoulders should always be ahead of your butt. If you get to half slide and stop moving your shoulders but continue to move your butt, your body is going to go from being at a 55(ish) degree angle to being at 90 degrees, which you obviously don’t want and will cause you to curve your lower back, sink into your hips, and open your back early on the ensuing catch. Your stroke will also be very short. Focus on keeping your head and chin up and level – memorize every intricate detail of the back of the person’s head in front of you. This also tends to help with keeping your back straight because if your eyes are down, everything else tends to follow, but if your eyes are up, everything tends to stay up and supported (including the handle).

If your core isn’t well developed, sitting up tall and avoiding the slouch will probably be difficult for you. Having abs or any kind of 6 pack doesn’t count as having a strong core so don’t let your hot rower’s bod fool you into thinking your core is strong just because you’re ripped. Planks and side-planks are great core developers so if you find you’re still having issues sitting up at the catch after you’ve worked on the basic technique stuff I’d definitely recommend adding some planks into your pre-row warmup/on-land workouts.

College Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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I’m a collegiate rower. I have excellent technique except for one thing – I don’t catch quickly enough. I am in time with the rest of the boat, but it’s the issue of going straight to the water and burying my blade completely before driving with my legs. Most of our boat has this issue. I’ve tried asking coaches how to remedy my issue, but they haven’t given me anything very effective yet. Do you have any advice? Please and thank you! I appreciate it.

The first thing that comes to mind is something as simple as just unweighting the handle. (This may be something your coaches have talked about in the past.) One of the biggest reasons why people are late at the catch isn’t because they’re doing anything wrong on the slide, it’s because they’re lifting the blade in rather than taking the weight off the handle and letting gravity do the work. Gravity will put the blade in at the speed it needs to go in at … anything we do to try make it go in faster is doing just the opposite.

You can’t have a good catch without having good body prep on the recovery, so make sure you’re really focusing on finishing clean, relaxing the upper body, getting the hands away at boat speed, bringing the body over smoothly, and coming up the slide controlled and determined. When you get to the catch don’t think about it – just do it. The more you think the more it messes with your head and the more likely you are to make a silly mistake. Ask your coach(es) and/or coxswains to pay particular attention to your catch timing one day at practice and then ask them for feedback afterwards. Make mental notes of what you did differently compared to before, why you made those changes, and how you think they helped you so you can go over all of that with your coach.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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I have this bad habit of shortening up my stroke and basically just not compressing enough. I never really notice when I start to do it, I feel as if I’m at full slide but my coach tells me that I’m getting short. How do I force myself to lengthen out when I hardly notice I’m doing it? I’ve also been told it might be flexibility, if so what on earth do I stretch to help that problem?

Row2k actually posted a hack yesterday that I think could help you out. They wrote this with the use of an erg in mind but I think you could definitely try doing this in the boat if you used a piece of tape or something on the tracks. Basically what you do is you take a bungee cord or a piece of tape and wrap it around the erg at the point where your body should be fully compressed when at the catch. Then when you row, you’ll know if you’re hitting that spot because the slide will either stop completely (if you’re using a bungee) or you’ll feel the slide hit a “speed bump” (if you use tape). Based on those feelings, you can train yourself to inherently recognize where your full compression should be.

Another trick you can do for when you’re in the boat is take a regular drinking straw and tape it to the side of the boat to mark where your catch should be. When you’re fully compressed and reaching out towards your rigger, you should be able to touch the straw with your finger tips. If you can’t, you’re not going far enough up the slide. If you’re hands go past it, you’re going too far (or didn’t tape it to the right spot).

Like you said, your flexibility could be an issue as well. Where it’s lacking is most likely in your low back down through your hamstrings, so those, in addition to your IT band (which runs along the side of your upper leg), would be the muscles you’d want to focus on. Guys typically have tighter hamstrings than girls, so if you’re a guy, that could be contributing to the problem (girls can have tight hamstrings too, but it’s more common in guys).

Coxing Drills Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

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Hi there!! I’m a fellow coxswain for my university’s junior varsity team but I’m fairly new at being a cox. My rowers tend to be sloppy with their catches and releases, they also skip their oars on the water when they feather, and start losing energy during their 6th out of 8th 13 stroke cycle. Do you have any advice I can use? I really want to help them but they’re just so stubborn sometimes, argh! Thanks for any help!

When you notice the strokes starting to get sloppy, pay closer attention and see if you can figure out when it starts. Are they sloppy all the time on a consistent basis or is it only during the last 20 or 30 strokes of a long piece that they start to get sluggish? Ask your coach what he/she sees and make note of it. Ask the boat when they start to notice it. When do you notice it? This can help you with the calls you make to correct it. If they’re being sloppy right from the get-go then it’s usually a focus thing but if they’re getting sloppy towards the end of a piece, they’re usually tired and that’s why their technique is starting to falter.

You want to get the catches in at the longest part of the stroke – do they know where their longest point is? A good trick to helping them get that length is to have them sit in the boat (while you’re on the dock) fully compressed at the catch. Then take a regular drinking straw and tape it to the gunnel. It gives them a point to aim for on every stroke so that they know when they hit that straw, they’ve reached their catch, so all they need to do is lift the hands and drop the blades in. I’ve also had coaches put tape on the tracks so that when the rowers feel their seat hit that bump, they’ll know they’ve reached their full compression/max length.

Catch placement drills are great for working on the timing of catches. Basically, you call the catch, usually starting from the finish, and the rowers go to the catch, the goal being to all enter the water at the same time. They do NOT take a full stroke…they only go to the catch. Once they’ve gone to the catch you can say “Ok, back to the finish” and they’ll pull their blades out of the water and go back to the finish. This drill is stationary, so you should not be moving. When you do this drill, listen for that “plop” sound when the oars enter the water. That’s going to tell you more about what the timing is like than just watching the blades. Have the rowers listen for it too.

Here’s an example of how its done.

Another thing is to make sure they’re not starting the legs before their blades are in the water. If the blades aren’t in before the legs go down, not only are you missing a ton of water but you’re also going to have a really sloppy entry. Call the catches for five to ten strokes (going off your stroke’s oar) and then start transitioning the call to “lock, sssend” or “push, sssend” where the “lock” or “push” is that point when they all enter the water and the “sssend” is on the recovery after they’ve taken the stroke.

To clean up the releases, remind them to squeeze into the finish, meaning to keep pressure on the drive through the WHOLE stroke. Releases get sloppy when the pressure comes off coming into the finish. Calling for an acceleration into the finish (starting the catch at 50% pressure, finishing at full pressure or something along those lines) forces them to get good layback and work on clean extractions. Also remind them to tap the handle down. I don’t know why so many rowers forget to do this and then complain about not being able to get their oars out of the water. If you’re not tapping down, the boat’s going to go off set and you’re going to have a harder time getting it out because you’re trying to move the handle away at the same height you’re drawing it in. It doesn’t work like that.

Going off of that, the set will effect the cleanliness of the catches and finishes too. Remind them where their handle heights need to be and where they need to pull into (typically when laying back properly, the belly button is where they should be pulling into).

If their blades are dragging on the water this is almost entirely a handle heights issue because it means the oar handle is being carried too high. Tell them on the next stroke to get their HANDS down (make sure they know the difference between their hands and the blades – you have no idea how many people don’t recognize the difference) and lift the blades off the water.

On strokes where the boat is set and all the blades are off the water, point that out and say “Yea guys, that’s it … did you feel how smooth and clean that stroke was? THAT is what we’re going for.” If you show enthusiasm when they do something right it shows them that you’re paying attention, you’re invested, and you see the changes they’re making. They’re much more likely to respond to excitement like this vs. negative comments like “Come on guys, this looks terrible. Get the hands down and stop dragging the blades.” It’s easy to get frustrated but you have to quell that frustration in order to help the boat get better.Challenge them – “How many strokes can we go with the hands down and blades up? Let’s go for 5 strokes.” If you can get five strokes, great – next time go for seven. If you present them with a challenge, most likely they’ll accept it.

Remind them of the simple physics of rowing – every time their blade drags across the water, they’re slowing the boat down. The reason you feather the blades and keep them off the water is because it slices through the air and helps the boat maintain the speed you just created on the drive. If your blades are on the water, you’re creating a lot of unnecessary drag and the energy you just put into the drive to build the speed up is partially wasted if you’re just going to slow the boat down on the recovery.

Losing energy towards the end of long/hard workouts isn’t uncommon but they just have to stay focused and not just go through the motions when they get tired. The more steady state you do the more your endurance will improve but that’s only gonna take you so far. The focus and intent has to be there too. They can’t be stubborn – remind them of that. If they truly are committed to the sport, to individual improvement, and to helping the boat get faster, they’ll put their stubbornness aside and listen to you and your coach. Humility goes a long way in the sport of rowing. Talk to the rowers and find out from their perspective what is happening in the boat. Have your coach video you one day and then spend some time going over it with your crew. Point out different things to them so they can see what they’re doing. They might not realize that they’re doing something wrong until they actually see it.