Tag: college

College Coxing High School Q&A

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Hello! So I am currently a senior in high school and a coxswain for the varsity girls at my school. I would like to walk onto a team in college but the problem is I’m a little big for a coxswain (5’7″, 120-125 lbs). I know weight matters but is it totally unrealistic for me to cox in college? (I stopped rowing because of serious hip problems that are relatively unfixable.)

I don’t think it’s unrealistic at all to walk on – you’re the perfect size to cox for the men’s team, if your school has one. Their max is 125lbs for coxswains, regardless of whether they’re male or female. Height really isn’t that big of a deal (I feel like most male coxswains I know are in the 5’7″ to 5’10” range) so I wouldn’t really consider that a factor. If it’s something you’re really serious about doing, email the coach sometime in the spring to introduce yourself and say that you’re interested in walking on to the team in the fall. Sometimes they’ll have you come to practices with the recruited athletes right at the start of the season since you’ve already got some experience vs. waiting to start rowing with the novice walk-ons.

College Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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We finished fall season maybe 3 weeks ago and we’ve had 2 weeks off since then. We are starting winter training next week and I just can’t motivate myself. I finished the on-water season with my coach saying I didn’t meet his expectations (I’ve only rowed since this spring and I was in a quad all fall. My teammates rowed for 2-4 years so they are GOOD compared to me.) Anyway, he made me feel like shit and I don’t even want to try anymore because I feel like this is useless and I’m wasting my/his time. I don’t know what to do and as much as I love being on the water, I don’t want to do a sport that make me feel so bad about myself. (His comment made me cry more than I should have). Maybe I’m too weak, IDK, but just the thought of being back at our gym make me want to hide under a blanket forever (haha). I know I don’t really have a question here but just your opinion would be nice. (I only row for a small club at my college.) If you have no idea what to answer, don’t worry haha! Thanks!

I can understand a coach having a conversation with a rower or coxswain at the end of the (spring) season and saying he/she felt they could have done better but to flat out say you didn’t meet their expectations is a little harsh, especially since the fall season doesn’t mean anything. It’s completely unimportant. Also considering you’ve only been rowing for a season at small club, this just seems like a bit of an overreaction by your coach. If you were at a bigger school with a bigger program, I could probably make a better case for saying something like that but at a small club? I don’t really understand it. Regardless, if you’re not enjoying yourself and don’t feel like participating in the sport is a worthwhile use of your time then that’s certainly cause to question whether or not you want to keep doing it.

I don’t think you should quit just because your coach made one potentially unnecessary comment though. It’s possible he had different intentions and just failed to communicate them properly. It is his job to push you to be your best and at times you’ve got to have a thick skin and be able to take the harsher criticisms because ultimately, that’s what is going to make you a better athlete.  I’d talk to him before you start winter training and see if you can get a better feel for what he was saying before – what were his expectations, why didn’t you meet them, what could you have done better/differently, what does he want to see you improve on for the spring, and knowing that you’ve only been rowing for one season, did he feel like his expectations for the fall were realistic. After talking to him and hearing what he has to say about the fall and upcoming spring season, then you can make a decision as to whether or not you want to continue training..

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

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My coach talked to the coach of my top choice university and, even though they had coxswains go on official visits, they might not recruit one this year! He suggested I call them and try and convince them to take me. Any tips on how to go about this phone conversation without seeming pushy or pleading?

I wish more coaches would recruit coxswains, I really do, but I also understand why they don’t. If you’ve already got good coxswains on your team and have enough for all your boats, it does seem redundant to waste a valuable recruiting spot (and $$$) on someone who isn’t contributing any horsepower to the boat. I don’t 100% agree with it but I get it. Having an abundance of coxswains is pointless if you don’t have any rowers for them to cox. Knowing that inevitably you’ll have a walk-on or two that you can turn into a coxswain if you need to also plays a part in it. Them deciding that they might not recruit a coxswain probably says more about their current needs as a program than it does about the quality of people who are trying to be recruited, if that makes sense. Keep that in mind.

I don’t think you should try to convince them to take you because that alone will sound desperate. There’s a big difference between “convincing” and “making a case”. You want to make a case for yourself while keeping in mind that there are a lot of things that go into recruiting an athlete that the athlete is typically unaware of (because they have nothing to do with them).  I think you should give the recruiting coordinator/assistant coach a call and say that you’d heard through your coach that they might not be recruiting coxswains this year so you just wanted to call and reiterate your interest in the school/program, give them one or two reasons why you think you’d be a positive contribution to the team, and finish it up by asking if they do decide to forgo recruiting a coxswain and you do end up going to this school, what are the options for walking on to the team.

I don’t know what other coaches/programs are like but I know that I would probably give a bit more consideration to an athlete who asks what the options are for joining the team if they aren’t one of the “chosen ones” because it gives me the impression that they are really in it for the rowing and the team, not just the financial aid or being able to say “I was recruited”. Someone who decides “oh I’m not going to go here now if you’re not going to recruit me” strikes me as someone who isn’t a team player and also as someone who probably wasn’t that interested in the school to begin with. I’m not trying to discount being a recruited athlete because it is pretty great but it’s also overrated.

Anyways, back to the phone call. Keep it short, no longer than 10 minutes or so if you can manage it. Be concise, make your point, reiterate your interest in the school, and thank them again for inviting you on an official visit (if you went on one).

College Coxing Novice Q&A Recruiting

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Do colleges ever recruit novice coxswains? By the time recruiting happens I won’t have done any races so is it still possible to get recruited?

Nooo. Being recruited is something that only those who have been at it for at least 3-4 years should consider. Two, maybe, if your erg scores are off the charts but for coxswains, definitely 3-4. It is very, very unlikely that those with two years or less of experience will be recruited, although there are some anomalies (pretty much all of whom are rowers). No coach though is going to consider someone that doesn’t have race experience, since that’s obviously one of the best, easiest, and most available ways to gauge someone’s skill level. Plus, coxing at the collegiate level is tough – way tougher than high school. You really need those three or four years of learning about the sport and gaining the technical knowledge and leadership experience in order to get off on the right foot in college. There’s a lot of pressure because the coaches have extremely high expectations of you, especially and even more so if you’re a recruit. They’re not unattainable, just very high. It’s rare enough for coxswains to be recruited as it is because the coaches want to save the scholarship money they have for the rowers.

If coxing in college is something you’re thinking about, you should consider walking on, which anyone can do. Typically walk-ons make up at least half of the overall team and can be people who rowed/coxed in high school but didn’t go through the recruiting process or people who had never touched an oar before coming to college. Once you’ve been accepted and everything you can email the coach and say you’ve been coxing for a year or however long it’s been and that you’re interested in joining the team once you get to campus. They’ll give you some information and let you know when to show up at the boathouse.

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 13

College Coxing Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 13

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Purdue University 2012 SIRAS Women’s Varsity 8+

The race starts around 2:40. Right off the bat, the only thing I noticed when I was actually watching the video (vs. just listening to it) is how the stroke seat is looking a solid 90 degrees to her left the entire race. Her rowing is pretty unimpressive too – she’s missing a ton of water at the catch because she’s rowing it in nearly every stroke. Even though the coxing was pretty good, I just couldn’t get past this. You have to be paying attention to the bladework and call the rowers out on that (especially when it’s your stroke/stern pair). She does say something at 4:41 about getting the heads in the boat but a couple strokes later the stroke is looking out of the boat again.

At 6:20, I liked how she started the second ten of that twenty with “10 to start off the third 500”. Since that’s usually the hardest part of the race, phrasing it that way kinda gives you a renewed sense of focus and motivation to make those strokes good.

Make sure when you’re saying finish/recovery calls, you’re not calling them at the catch (and vice-versa). She did this with the “send it” call at 6:45. It’s fine to say something like “send it now” with the “send it” part at the catch and the “now” emphasized at the finish but just saying “send it” at the catch is incorrect.

When she calls paddle at the end I was nervous because from it doesn’t look like their bow ball was through the line yet. Even if you hear the horn you should always, always, always row through the line, meaning you don’t call paddle until YOU, the coxswain, are through the line. It’s extra security, just in case.

Other calls I liked:

“Move this boat…”, with regards to keeping the heads in the boat

Purdue University 2013 Men’s Lightweight 8+ vs. Notre Dame JV8+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zEIWL8p280E&NR=1

This coxswain actually emailed me this video a couple months ago to listen to so below is some of what I sent her.

“Overall, this was really good. Your aggression was good but I could see what you meant about it not being as intense had you been in a closer race. When I first started coxing and had leads like that with my boats, I let my intensity come down a little too. After a couple of races I shifted how I did things and instead of “cruising” the rest of the way I completely stopped paying attention to the other boats and focused solely on my crew. Even though you’re beating the other boats handedly doesn’t mean any of the intensity has to go away. If anything, you almost want to get more intense to keep the rowers in it. They can CLEARLY see they’re beating the other crews so it’s easy for them to start to power down but it’s up to you to make sure they stay at 100%.

It’s not so much about “proving” you can win, it’s more about the psychological mindset that it puts the rowers (and us, to an extent) in. If they know that all they have to do is get ahead before you ease off of them, that is what they’ll start to look forward to each race. If you can keep the intensity and aggression in your voice for the whole 2000m they’ll continue to push for the whole 2000m. It’s all psychological. When it comes down to that one race where you have a crew that’s pushing you down the entire course, you’ll be better prepared to fight them off if you can mentally go 2000m instead of 750m or 1500m. Make sense? Obviously there are exceptions, like if you’re in a qualifying race and all you’ve got to do is place to advance. At that point  you want to conserve some energy so you can go all out during the final. If you’ve got a lead on a crew like you did during this race, it’s OK to back off a little as long as you don’t completely turn the gas off and let the other crew(s) come back on you. When that happens it turns into a frantic situation that results in the rowers expending more energy than they otherwise would have needed to.”

At 1:23 they take a 10 after the start, which is an odd/unnecessary move (literally and figuratively). If you notice you’re even with another crew and you want to make a move, use the settle to walk. After the start (high stroke rate and settle) you want to give the rowers a chance to get into their rhythm. If you go straight from the start into a power 10, especially one that doesn’t have a direct end goal, it makes things slightly frantic again and doesn’t give them a chance to actually settle into the rhythm they just tried to establish.

When she tells them at 1:58 that Notre Dame had moved over a lane, that would have been a good point to take a 10 or 20 to capitalize on their coxswain’s steering error. Coxing is the ultimate form of psychological warfare – when another coxswain gives you the opportunity to take advantage of their mistakes, take it.

Jumping ahead to the end of the race, when she says “last few strokes” they actually took 17 before they crossed the line. If you say “last few” they’re most likely going to assume that means 5 or less. Try and be specific. If you don’t know how many strokes are left, guess, but don’t say something general like “last few”.

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

What to wear: Official visits

College Recruiting

What to wear: Official visits

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When dressing for a college visit, you don’t have to get all dressed up like you’re going to a job interview but you shouldn’t look like you’re running to Wal-Mart either. You are here to make an impression, after all. It’s obviously not going to be the most important thing people care about but you would be surprised how often it gets brought up.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is to dress appropriately for the weather. I can’t even begin to tell you how hard we’ve been judging some of these recruits that show up in chinos, t-shirts, sandals, and a windbreaker and then spend the entire practice on the launch freezing their asses off because shocker they didn’t check the weather before they left home and didn’t know that temps were only supposed to be in the 50s. Factor in the fact that it’s cooler on the water, plus wind, rain, etc. and you’re setting yourself up to be pretty miserable. Of course the coaches will offer you survival suits and jackets but don’t expect that to do much for you if you aren’t wearing the appropriate clothes to begin with.

When packing, choose casual, nice clothes that you can wear around campus since you’ll likely be going to a few classes and to practice but avoid wearing stuff that’s going to be out of place, like a dress or jacket and tie.

So, what should you wear? Just keep it simple – jeans, a casual shirt or sweater, and close-toed shoes. Sperry’s are a universally good choice, regardless of the season. Avoid sandals if you’re going to a morning practice and/or it’s after mid-September otherwise your feet will freeze. Top wise, a sweater or pullover of some kind would be good because it’s always cooler on the water, so you’ll definitely want the extra layer of warmth. Even if you don’t wear it the whole time, having it available to throw on while you’re on the launch would be advisable. In addition to all of that, you can never go wrong with a hat or sunglasses. Don’t forget other obvious stuff like coats, rain jackets, gloves, etc. if necessary.

As far as what to wear when you’re not at practice or on campus, you’ll most likely be spending the rest of your time at the house of the athlete(s) you’re staying with so that’s up to you.

Image via //Men’s Journal

College Q&A Recruiting

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Can a coxswain back out of a verbal commitment? I want to tell a very good D1 school that I will commit to go there but my coach said I should wait until after HOCR because I might be able to go to a better school if I do well. What should I do? Can you still go on an official to another school if you verbally commit?

The NCAA’s definition of a verbal commitment is this: “A college-bound student-athlete’s commitment to a school before he or she signs (or is able to sign) a National Letter of Intent. The college-bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at any time. This commitment is NOT binding for either the college-bound student-athlete or the school. Only the signing of the National Letter of Intent accompanied by a financial aid agreement is binding of both parties.”

Verbal commitments are a tricky thing. They’re not binding but you’re expected to honor your word. It’s one of those unspoken, common sense things. If you say to a coach that you’re coming to XYZ University, they’re assuming that you are indeed coming to XYZ university, committing yourself to the team, and forgoing any other offers or applications. Depending on how big of a score you are for the program, the coach(es) might end up pulling verbal offers that they have made to other athletes. There are definitely repercussions but I think it’s more on their end than it is on yours because they could potentially lose out on more athletes than just you if you de-commit. It would also put you in an awkward situation because they’ve spent all this time, effort, money, etc. on recruiting you and you respond by changing your mind after previously saying “yes” to them. I wouldn’t blame them for being pissed.

Related: Official vs. unofficial visits

That’s not to say that de-commiting is the wrong thing to do though. It might be the right thing for you because you realize, for whatever reason, that the school or team isn’t the right fit for you. That’s fine and completely understandable, but the reasons that prompted you to come to that conclusion are all things you should have thought about way ahead of time. I can’t think of too many things that would suddenly pop up this far into the process that would cause you to back out of a commitment.

Unless you’ve signed an NIL, been accepted by the university, and have said “yes” to the coach, no one’s going to say you can’t go on another visit. This is actually called a “soft commitment”, which means you say yes but keep going on officials. I’ll warn you though, the other coaches will ask you where else you’re looking, where else you’ve gone or are planning to go on officials, and how interested you are in those other schools/programs. This isn’t to pressure you into saying that the school you’re at is your favorite but it is to gauge your level of interest across the board. If it’s obvious that you’re leaning towards another school, they’re probably going to back off and move on to the recruits who are still very much interested in their program. If you say you’ve already verbally committed to another program (they’ll find out anyways so it’s not worth lying about) they’ll, again, probably be annoyed that you’re kinda leading them on and wasting their resources by being there when they could have brought someone in that really wants to go there and hasn’t already said yes to someone else.

The best analogy I can think of is that it’s like you’re engaged to someone but are still going on dates with other people just to make sure you’re actually with the right person. The person you’re engaged to is probably thinking “WTF, seriously? After all this time, you’re still not sure?” and the people you’re going on dates with are thinking “Why did I just buy you an expensive dinner when you’re not even available?”

With regards to Head of the Charles … I get what your coach is saying but going to college still comes back to academics first, athletics second. Sure, the crew team might be better at Washington than at Cal but Cal might have the better academic program. You have to think long term and not just about the immediate future. I guess in theory if you do well enough then you might make yourself look like a better prospect to the higher end programs you’re looking at but I don’t think it would ultimately make that much of a difference. Regatta results, let alone results at one race, are only a small piece of the puzzle. Unless you’ve applied early decision to the school you want to commit to and have been accepted (which I don’t think any schools have even announced yet…), I wouldn’t give anyone a verbal, regardless of how well you do at HOCR.

Keep in mind that the potential for something to come up that causes you or the coach to change your/their mind is always there and you don’t want to get stuck in a bad spot because you’ve turned down other schools or didn’t apply anywhere else because you were set on going to this school. Just like you can rescind your verbal, so too can the coaches. Most people tend to forget that and then experience premature aging when they realize they don’t have a Plan B. Until you’ve been accepted by the university (the most important thing) and have signed on the dotted line, nothing is official.

College Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Hi, I am a college freshman, and am in an uncomfortable situation with one of my assistant coaches. I like her and think she is a good coach however other girls have said she’s a bitch. At first I thought they just didn’t like her being a hardass (even though I didn’t even see her as that) but then the other day I found her a walk-on and she said I was her favorite freshman. She also said it to everyone else at practice. At first I was thinking she was joking around but I also see the way she acts around all the other freshmen and she can be pretty mean to them, especially our cox. She also came up to me while we were erg testing and was saying what our top freshman split was and how I was under it and that she wanted me to beat it. She didn’t say much to anyone else. The others have noticed the favoritism and personally I don’t think it’s fair to them because they work just as hard as me. Any advice on handling this situation?

Yikes.

She’s definitely in the wrong here for making it blatantly obvious that she’s playing favorites. My best advice would be to talk with your head coach about this and explain that it’s making you uncomfortable and putting you in an awkward situation with your teammates because it seems like your assistant coach is giving you preferential treatment while being overly-harsh with everyone else. If you’re comfortable saying that to your assistant coach, go for it, but I think it would be better to let the head coach deal with it since I think it’s something they’re better suited to handle. Since they have more authority than a freshman rower, it’s more likely (I would hope) that she’ll listen to them and take things a bit more seriously than if you said something.

College Q&A Rowing Training & Nutrition

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What are the differences between rowing programs for DI, DII, and DIII schools? I know only DI and DII can offer scholarships but other than that what’s the difference as far as intensity and daily routine go?

Each program at each division is as intense as they want to be. I think it’s assumed, and in most cases subsequently shown, that D1 programs operate at a higher level of intensity than other programs, mainly because the expectations (from the athletic department, alumni, overall history/legacy of the team, etc.) are so high.

Related: What differences are there between being a collegiate coxswain versus a coxswain for a high school level team? What would a typical practice session look like?

In terms of daily routine, that’s also going to differ between programs. The two D1 programs I’ve been a part of had/have two practices a day, at least four days a week, and then one long Saturday morning practice. Lifting was typically done twice a week but that changes based on the season. These are done as a team whereas at the D3 level lifts are done on your own, which gives you the flexibility to work around your schedule and fit it in when you can. The number of hours you can practice with a coach present differs between division 1/2 and division 3 with D3 getting less time than D1/2 (hence why they only practice together once a day).

The hardest core workout you’ll ever do

College Training & Nutrition

The hardest core workout you’ll ever do

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If you follow me on Instagram then you probably saw my post about the plank progression the guys did at practice today. I definitely recommend trying it and seeing how far you can make it through the progression. It’s a great way to build core strength, which as we all know is crucial to having a good stroke. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though … it hurts.

8 seconds middle plank – 8 seconds left side plank – 8 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

16 seconds middle plank – 16 seconds left side plank – 16 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

32 seconds middle plank – 32 seconds left side plank – 32 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

64 seconds middle plank – 64 seconds left side plank – 64 seconds right side plank

5 seconds rest

2:08 middle plank

5 seconds rest

4:16 middle plank

5 seconds rest

8:32 middle plank

In total that comes to about 21 minutes of planking if you manage to make it all the way to the end. A good way to gauge whether or not you’re doing the planks right is if you’re shaking and having a hard time breathing … good luck!

Image via // @mitmensrowing