Tag: coxswain

Coxing How To Novice Q&A

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It was commented on yesterday that I was ‘too quiet’. I think part of it is because I’m still concentrating so hard on the steering in an 8 (it’s a work in progress) that I forget the speaking part. Also, I’m coxing a boat with people in it who helped teach me to row so I struggle with the idea of ‘correcting’ them! I need to find my ability to motivate them, steer, and not panic about other boats around me. How do you multi-task when coxing? Any advice?

It’s pretty normal for new coxswains to initially be “too quiet” as they try to get the feel of things. I would talk with your boat and explain that you’re still working on your steering and because it’s so important to not hit anything (duh), you don’t want to try and do too many things before you’ve got this one REALLY important thing under control. Little by little each day, try and start talking just a little bit more while they’re rowing. Listen to what the coach is saying and repeat the technical advice he’s giving. Tell them how much time has elapsed on their steady state, what their stroke rate is, timing is looking good, etc.

Once you’re comfortable with all that, let them know that you’re going to start increasing the amount of time you spend talking in the boat but still let them know that you’re main focus is still on steering, at least for right now. If you let them know WHY you’re being quiet, it’s easier for them because they at least know that it’s not because you’re not paying attention or because you’re uninterested in being there. Talk to your stroke too – she’s right there so she can give you some things to say if you can’t think of anything. Bring that up with her one day before or after practice and see what she says.

One of the things I learned when I started coxing my masters 8+ was that even though these women were old enough to be my mother, I can’t be afraid to tell them when they’ve screwed up. Plain and simple. We are there for a reason and that is to tell them not only what they’re doing right, but what they need to improve on. Think of it like this – they taught you to row, right? Assuming they’re good teachers and you learned a lot and became a good rower following their coaching advice, you should have a solid background of things to look for and be aware of regarding the stroke. Without their coaching, you wouldn’t know what nuances to look for had they not taught you. Pointing this stuff out to them shows that you absorbed what was taught to you, which in turn will hopefully show them that you’re invested in this and really committed to helping them get better. If their timing is off or someone is washing out, you have to tell them. It’s a lot harder when the people you’re coxing are older than you but it’s part of the job. They’ll respect you a lot more for it too.

I always get a little nervous when I get near other boats, not because I doubt my abilities, but because I don’t know theirs. I have no idea if their coxswain is paying attention or knows how to steer or anything else. If I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor on the water, every time another boat comes around, you’d see my HR spike. My blood pressure too, probably. I’ve talked to other coxswains who are the same way – it’s our version of being a defensive driver while on the road. (Remember, defensive and aggressive are two different things … don’t confuse them.)

In Grey’s Anatomy there’s a scene where Dr. Sloan is talking to the residents and interns about a patient with an exposed carotid artery and the patient looks at the doctors and says “they look scared.” Dr. Sloan replies “They’re medical professionals. A healthy level of fear is encouraged.” We’re rowing professionals  – a healthy level of fear is encouraged when we’re on the water. Internalize it though. Don’t make it outwardly known that you’re freaking out because the coxswain ahead of you just spun right in the path of your boat while you’re doing a race piece. Just steer around them (or stop if necessary) and move on.

Related: How to steer an eight or four

Multi-tasking while coxing is like having someone (or multiple someones) in the car with you. You’re driving, you’re listening to music, you’re talking, you’re watching the speed limit, you’re watching the cars around you, etc. It’s very similar to being in the boat, especially the “watching out for other cars on the road” part. You get better with practice, but you can’t be afraid TO practice. You’re ALWAYS going to have to be steering and doing something else, so it’s something you have to get used to pretty fast. Steering is also something you want to pick up sooner rather than later so that you can turn your focus to other things. Have your coach critique your steering one day so that you know how you’re doing. Ask your stroke to watch you line for a few strokes while you’re out and see what she says – are you moving directly away from one point or are you drunk steering down the river?

Once I’m used to a particular body of water and know it’s twists, turns, etc., steering becomes an afterthought. I go on autopilot and my focus turns away from my steering and onto the rowers, which is where the majority of our focus should be anyways. As you get more comfortable with the river or lake you’re rowing on, the multi-tasking thing will be a lot easier and eventually you won’t even realize how many different things you’re doing at once.

Coxing Ergs Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

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My coach makes coxswains do winter workouts and 2k’s with rowers. Do you think that’s fair? We don’t get a break with the workout, at all. We have to do the same exact thing as rowers.

I think it’s fair that they ask you to work out with your teammates … I don’t think it’s fair if they’re expecting the same exact level of athletic prowess from the coxswains that they do from the rowers. The teams I’ve been a part of, even collegiate teams, gave the coxswains separate workouts to do so that they were still doing SOMETHING while the rowers did their thing. I don’t want to say that coxswains are not athletes, because we are, but in an eight, we aren’t the athletes. The rowers are.

In my experience, some of my friends that have coxed, including myself, have had various health related problems that makes it difficult to be as athletic as we used to be. I dislocated my knee pretty severely when I was in high school and can’t run (unless my life depends on it) because the pain from the cartilage degeneration is so painful. Others have asthma or injuries from other sports that prohibit them from running, lifting, etc. If any of those things apply to you, you need to sit down and talk with your coach. Your health concerns should be just as important to them as the rower’s.

You guys should all know my feelings by now regarding how coxswains are treated by the coaches. Often times we’re ignored and left to fend for ourselves. If you are working out with your team and you are injured or develop an injury, do NOT let your doctor, athletic trainer, coach, physical therapist, etc. brush it off JUST because you are a coxswain. Get checked out immediately and make your coach aware of the situation. Get your parents involved and have them speak to them if you’re unable to.

Most importantly, know your limits. I promise you that your rowers see you working out with them and they do appreciate it, but they want you just as healthy as they want their other teammates. They don’t want you to get injured or overdo it either. They will understand and they hopefully already DO understand that our tiny bodies cannot squat as much as their freakishly tall frames can.

If you feel like the workouts are pushing you to a point that is uncomfortable for you (and this is where knowing the difference between discomfort and pain is crucial), talk to you coach. Compromise and say that you will continue to workout with the team, but you need to do something else – treadmill, stair master, core, elliptical, bike, etc. If they still insist on you doing the workouts at the same level as the rowers, have a conversation with your parents, your trainer, etc.. Coaches need to understand the limits and abilities of their athletes and it is their responsibility to know when they are pushing someone too far.

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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As a cox how do you approach favoritism from coaches? Like, there’s a girl on my team whose dad is an assistant coach at our club (but for novice) and I feel like our varsity coaches favor her because she is the coach’s daughter. What do/can I do? I like her but I still feel like this is unfair.

Growing up, I played softball for about 10 years before I started coxing and I was fortunate enough to have my dad be my coach every year I played. I think a major reason why I’m so unbiased towards people is because he never gave me special treatment – even when I tried to get it. I wasn’t encouraged or scolded any more or less than anyone else on my team. When I got to high school, I was in the marching band (clarinet) and one of the directors had some seriously hardcore favorites that just got treated way better than everyone else. It annoyed me in a “roll my eyes every time I noticed it” kind of way. There wasn’t anything we could do about it and it wasn’t a HUGE deal in the grand scheme of things so we all basically just had to deal with it and ignore it. Since I’ve started coaching I’ve tried to do the same thing that my dad and HS crew coaches did and not have favorites. I’ve found that even though there are people I like infinitely better than others, I have to treat them equally and not let the people I like get away with shit that I wouldn’t let the others get away with.

One of the hardest lessons to learn is that there will ALWAYS be a favorite. It’s an inevitable truth. Why do you think they favor her? I feel like crew is a hard sport to play favorites with but, then again, I’ve never really seen or experienced it with any of my teams. Unless you, for example, pull an infinitely better erg time than she does and she gets boated over you with zero justification, there’s really not much you can do except ignore it. It’s possible that the coaches just know her better than other people on the team if they’re friends with her dad, so general conversations can seem like favoritism if other people don’t experience the same thing with them.

I wouldn’t let it bother you unless it comes to a point where people are getting displaced in the boat in favor of those who haven’t earned that seat. If that happens, then I’d bring it up (maturely) with one of the coaches and ask why that person was chosen instead of you or whoever. Don’t be accusatory though. Go to your coaches from the angle of wanting to know what you need to improve on so that next time YOU are the one that’s chosen. If they give you a legitimate answer as to why the other person was put in the lineup, you have to trust that they made the right decision, even if to you it feels like the wrong one.

Coxing Novice Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Hi! I’m a novice rower and asking for advice concerning my coxswain. She doesn’t get really fired up during races and falls back on just correcting our technique when we really need motivation. Anything you know that helps? We’re a girls team btw.

Have you talked to her about this? Does she know that it bothers you guys when she only focus on technique and doesn’t give any motivation? If you haven’t it’s possible that she doesn’t know there’s a problem.

Whenever you go out and do a piece, ask her if she can throw in some more motivational calls and then give her some specifics – tell her exactly what you (and the rest of the boat) want to hear. Explain that technical calls are really helpful at the beginning but as the race goes on, you need more motivation because as you get more tired it starts to feel like you can’t go on and you NEED someone pushing you and telling you that you can. Hopefully she’ll listen to you and try and throw in some more motivational calls – if she does, acknowledge that. At the end of a piece or after practice, say thank you and that you really appreciated her trying to throw in some new calls. Tell her that it really helped and ask if she can keep doing that.

Another thing you could do is have the other girls in your boat write down one or two things they want to hear and then give that list to her so she can read it. It’s possible that she knows what to say but just gets overwhelmed or forgets, so perhaps seeing it right in front of her will help remind her of things to say. You could also find a recording or two that you like (check the “recordings” tag on here and you’ll find some sprinkled through various posts) and then send her a link to it. Say that you came across these and really like how the coxswain does this or that or whatever and could she maybe try something similar the next time you go out. If she’s a novice like you, she’s still learning how to do this whole “steer-cox-think about 90430943 things a minute” thing, so maybe having one of the varsity coxswains talk to her might help. Ask them if they’d mind giving her a couple pointers on things to say during races, specifically relating to motivational calls.

Asking coxswains to do something is a little like herding blind cats sometimes … it can be hard because coxswains are usually stubborn and typically don’t like being told what to do. Be nice when you talk to her. Don’t all come at her at once with pitchforks and accuse her of not listening to you or of sucking as a coxswain. Talk about it one day after practice and see what happens.

Coxing How To Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

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I know coaches are always looking for “team leaders” but there’s this one girl on my team who TRIES to be a leader but is just ignorant & bossy. Inevitably, she only hurts herself by getting on her teammates & even coaches nerves. She’s leaving next year (along with a huge majority of my team) & I want to be an effective leader but I’m afraid of being annoying to underclassmen like this girl is to me. How do I lead w/o being bossy and making people want to straight up slap me in the face?

Ha, I know exactly the kind of person you’re talking about. It’s painful being on a team with someone like that.

Step 1. Think of all the reasons why she is a poor and/or ineffective leader and why it doesn’t work … then do the EXACT opposite of that.

Step 2. I really do believe that being a good leader involves invoking a form of the Golden Rule – lead others as you would like to be led. Do not unnecessarily raise your voice or yell at people (unless they have genuinely done something to deserve it – and if they have, let your coach handle it) and don’t treat them like crap and think you can get away with it because, like you said, inevitably you’re only hurting yourself.

Step 3. Being a team captain or leader is less about telling people what to do and more about leading by example. Think of what you want your team to be or what you want them to become and then start ACTING like that. At the start of the season, hold a team meeting and set goals for the season. Throughout the year, remind your team of what you’ve accomplished so far and remind them of the goals still ahead.

Step 4. Encourage others by pushing yourself – everything you do will be noticed by your teammates so make sure you’re giving 150% one hundred percent of the time.

Step 5. Keep open lines of communication with EVERYONE on the team – not just the people in your boat or just your friends. Let it be known that if anyone is having a problem, rowing related or not, they can come to you. No judgement either. Keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they’re having a rough time. When they’re alone, either before or after practice, let them know that if they need to talk, they know where to find you. Leave it at that and don’t push the issue.

Step 6. Embrace the leadership role. Don’t act like it’s a burden but don’t do what this girl is doing by trying to force the role upon herself. If people see that you’re dedicated to the team and you’re committed to becoming a good leader, people will be more open to accepting you as their captain. Try not to channel Napoleon and develop a complex.

Step 7. Don’t wait to become a leader – do it now! You don’t have to wait until this girl is gone to start leading your team. Don’t incite a power struggle whenever you’re around her, just start doing the things that a leader should do. It’s up to you to determine what your team needs. Talk with your coaches and explain that you’re not trying to cause drama or anything like that, but you’d like to see someone take a more effective leadership role on the team. Since you’ll be a senior (I’m assuming) next year, you felt that it would be good to begin gaining that experience now. Ask if there is anything you can help with or anything specific they would like you to do and then go from there.

Talk to this other girl and ask if there’s anything you can help her with. If she says “OMG yes, nobody ever listens to me when I try and do … (whatever)”, take that opportunity to say “OK, I’ll see what I can do” and then go do it. If she says “nope, I’m good” say “OK, well, if you need anything or get overwhelmed with (whatever), feel free to let me know” and leave it at that. Don’t make it blatantly obvious to her that she sucks as a leader and you think you can do better. Let her come to you. In the mean time, find little things you can do to start building up your rapport with the coaches and your teammates.

Coxing How To Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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I am in my 3rd year coxing and I’m fighting for the JV boat with another girl who is in the same grade as me. I was really, really bad my novice year and wasn’t really good until now. I really want to beat her so I asked some rowers what I could do better and they said that people respect her more, and that she is more authoritative. But the thing is when I try to be authoritative people just think I’m a bitch because I’m normally really friendly and nice. How do I earn their respect?

Instead of focusing on “beating” the other coxswain, focus on improving your skills. OBSERVE HER. Ask her for advice. Yes, it’s a little “keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer” BUT seeing you swallow some humble pie will in fact help your rowers begin respecting you more. What about her demeanor, attitude, personality, etc. makes people respect her? When she’s coxing or leading the team, how does she do it? You don’t have to emulate everything she does, but if something is working for her and that same something is something you need to improve on, there’s nothing wrong with adopting the same techniques she uses.

As far as gaining respect in general, think about your parents. Most of the time, I think we can all agree that our parents are fairly chill – maybe a little uncool, but chill nonetheless. When we screw up and they get pissed at us, that’s where the learning opportunity arises. If your parents get mad and yell and scream at you, what are you more likely to do? Listen to them and do exactly what they say or ignore them, roll your eyes, and walk away? For most of us, we’d ignore them. When they get pissed and talk to you in a stern but eerily calm voice, that is when most of us are like “shit, ok, I’ll do what you want.” Tone of voice means everything. If you are less likely to listen to someone who is erractic while trying to be authoritative, what makes you think your rowers are going to listen to you if you exhibit the same behavior? Part of being an effective leader is self-control. You have to stay calm in the face of chaos and not fly off the handle at little things. Use the “stern parent” voice instead of the “she needs some mood stabilizers” voice.

Being friendly and nice is a great thing when you’re off the water but when you’re on the water you have to separate the friendly person from the in-control coxswain. You are in charge, so you must act like you’re in charge. Look to people you see every day that are in leadership roles – teachers, your coach, your boss, etc. – and see how they conduct themselves.

Your rowers also need to understand that when you’re on the water, your friendship is still on land. It cannot come in the boat with you. If they get pissed every time you tell them to do something just because it’s not something they’re used to hearing, life is going to be pretty hard for them. Explain to them that you aren’t trying to be a bitch and apologize if it comes off like that, but you’re trying to be more authoritative and it’s hard to do when they a) don’t take you seriously, b) don’t listen, and/or c) take it personally every time you say something to them. Tell them to respectfully and maturely tell you (after practice or in private) if/when they think you’re being a bitch so that you know exactly what situations they’re referring to and can work on improving or adjusting how you do things. Ask them why it comes off like that and what you can do to NOT come off like that in the future.

You can’t it personally either, even though that is easier said than done. Having a mature conversation with your rowers when situations like this come up will show them that you really are trying to improve your communication skills so that you can become a better leader, which will in turn continue building more respect between the two of you.

Also talk to your coach(es). Explain to them that you want to cox the JV boat too and want to know what they are specifically looking for in a JV coxswain. Having good rapport with the rowers is important but having the trust of your coach is CRITICAL. If they don’t think you can handle the boat in ANY situation, there’s no chance you’ll cox it. Ask them to spend some time critiquing you one day at practice and pointing out things you need to improve, but also some of the things you’re doing well (so you can continue doing them). Your coach’s feedback is just as important as your rowers so again, be mature and take any constructive criticism that you get as an opportunity to get better. You asked a great question which to me shows that you DO want to get better, so make that obvious to your coaches and rowers as well.

A huge part of becoming an all around better coxswain is force-feeding yourself multiple servings of humble pie. Improving not only our technical skills but our personal skills as well requires us to take a step back and reevaluate how we handle various situations. A true sign of maturing as a coxswain is when you can freely admit that you messed up or you could have handled a situation better, and then be able to figure out ON YOUR OWN how to do it right or better the next time.

For a few practices, focus on yourself more than you focus on “winning” the JV boat or “beating” this other coxswain. Make a list of things you think you can improve on and then work on them. Talk with this other coxswain and try not to make it blatantly obvious to everyone on the team that you are hell bent on getting this JV boat over her. Maturity, remember? Competitiveness between coxswains is fine but when one coxswain is super competitive and the other one is effortlessly just doing her thing and ROCKING IT, people will notice that and it tends to work out better for the calmer coxswain.

How to Steer an Eight or Four

Coxing How To Novice

How to Steer an Eight or Four

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Steering is a crucial skill that coxswains need to master quickly. How you steer a race can mean the difference between winning and losing and it’s something that rowers think about when determining who they trust as their coxswain. Rowers don’t want to put all that effort into a 2k only to end up 3rd because their coxswain was drunk steering or playing ping pong with the buoy lines down the course.

Steering is by far the toughest technical aspect of coxing – a 53′ long fiberglass shell is no easy piece of equipment to maneuver, especially when you first start out, but the coaches and rowers are relying on you to steer the boat safely down the river. Steering is, above anything else, a safety issue. If you’re not paying attention or over steering or whatever, there is the potential for you to hit something or someone, causing injury to the boat, the crew, or someone else on the water.

The problem with being thrown into the coxswain’s seat as a novice is that coaches give you two pieces of advice before sending you on your way – “don’t hit anything and steer straight”. The thing they forget to do is tell you how to steer straight. Below are some basic pieces of advice that will hopefully help you decode the steering process and improve your own steering abilities. It’s a simple and complex process all in one but if you’re diligent about practicing, you’ll pick if up in no time.

Pick a point and steer towards it. Make SMALL adjustments when necessary to stay on that point. Every so often during practice (NEVER during a race) look behind you and see the path you’ve taken – you should be able to see it in the water. If for the most part it’s pretty straight, good job. If it looks like the kind of zig zag you’d see on an 80s t-shirt, lay off the strings a little.

When the rudder isn’t straight it can throw off the set, which distracts the rowers and takes their focus away from what they’re supposed to be doing. Don’t make them work any harder than they already have to. Turning the rudder also adds a bit of drag to the boat and will slow it down (something to be aware of if you need to make adjustments during races).

Keep your body centered in the seat, try not to shift from side to side. This can throw off both the set of the boat and your point, since you’re adding more weight to one side. Lean when necessary but keep such movements to a minimum. If you’re moving around a lot AND telling the rowers to adjust the set, they’re never going to know if it was their handle heights that fixed the boat or you re-centering your weight. If you’re trying to see around the rowers, sit up on the back of the coxswain’s seat for a stroke or two. This keeps you fairly centered in the boat and causes minimal movement from side to side. Never, EVER do this during a race – only during practice.

There’s a delay between when you adjust the rudder and when the boat actually turns. Depending on how fast you’re going it could be half a stroke or two strokes. Don’t over adjust thinking that the boat isn’t turning…give it time. The time it takes for your boat to respond depends on many factors, including how old the boat is. The older it is, the longer it typically takes to respond. Pay attention when you get in a new boat to how long it takes so you know ahead of time how long it takes for your boat to start turning.

When you make any steering adjustments is really up to you and what you find works best. The most common rule of thumb is that you should steer when the blades are in the water since that is when the boat is most stable and is less likely to be thrown off balance by the rudder movements. For me, I’ve found that I get a better (and smoother) response from the rudder if I steer when the rowers are on the recovery. This might differ depending on your shell, the rowers, etc. but you should find what works and is most effective for you and then stick with it. When you’re on the rudder make sure you tell the rowers since it can/will mess with the set a bit, particularly if you’re going around a long turn. All you need to say is “I’m on the rudder” and what they need to do to compensate to balance the set (lift/lower the hands). On small adjustments though this is unnecessary since one tap of the rudder is unlikely to throw the shell that far off balance.

To turn left (port), push your left hand forward. To turn right (starboard), push your right hand forward. Once you’ve made your adjustment, bring your hands back to their original position. The best way to know when your rudder is straight is to get some brightly colored electrical or duct tape and mark the center of the string (above your cox box). Do this when the boat is on land that you can move the rudder to it’s straight position before marking the string.

If you’re using the rowers to turn or point you, make sure you only use as many rowers/as much pressure as necessary. If you use more of either, you’re going to be pointed in the opposite direction that you want to go. Specify exactly who you want to row and how much pressure (ie “bow and 3, take three 3/4 pressure strokes”). Know when to have them stop rowing too. If you have them row until you’re perfectly straight, you’re going to end up over-adjusted. Row until you’re about 90% pointed and then use the rudder to adjust the last 10%. If it’s windy or there’s a strong current, you’ll need to adjust for that too.

When sitting easy in the water, use bow and 2 to get your point. For large adjustments have them take a full 1/2 pressure stroke and for small adjustments have them take an arms only stroke. (Remind them that half-pressure means half-pressure, not zero-pressure.)

Anticipate turns and bends in advance and make your adjustments as necessary. Don’t wait until the last minute – by then, it’s too late (think Titanic…). The pivot of the boat is usually somewhere around 3 seat, so the turn the boat takes might not be what you expect. Think about the trajectory of the boat ahead of time.

Always keep your hands on the strings. Never take them off unless you’re sitting easy and not moving. If there isn’t some kind of tension on the balls while the boat is moving, the water current will move the rudder around, which will cause your steering to be all over the place.

I often find that when I have both hands on the strings, I over steer. To force myself to only steer as much as necessary, I only steer with one hand. 90% of the time it’s my right, since I’m right handed, but if I’m making a particularly large turn, I’ll switch to my left. I hate wearing the mic so I always hold it in my left hand (during practice only, never races), which means I only have one hand available to steer anyways. If your coach is OK with you doing this, try it during practice one day and see if it makes a difference. It has REALLY helped me combat my over-steering, which has always been my biggest issue.

For more tips on steering, check out the “steering” tag.

Image via // Hear the Boat Sing

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

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I’m a guy who almost exclusively coxes women at the moment. However, I rowed for an entire year up to this October and I’m pretty naturally athletic. I still run and cycle pretty quickly. When we do land training, I feel like if I got on an erg and joined in I wouldn’t be helping as I’d be faster than most of them – and your cox being quicker than you would be pretty demoralizing. The only time I’ve joined in was when we did a 5k run and I agreed to be a backmarker and make sure nobody got left behind the pack by encouraging them to keep running and not give up. Do you think I’m right that it would be demoralizing for the girls if I joined in or do you think joining in would have a “leading from the front” aspect which would be beneficial for the squad?

I definitely agree that your cox being faster than you might not make you feel too good about your own abilities. I think you’re in a unique situation though where your rowers would understand the physiological differences between men and women that come into play here. You should make clear that you’re not trying to one up them, you’re simply trying to workout with the team. I’d make sure that you stick to that too … don’t take someone’s 5k time as a challenge and try and beat them. That’s not your job. I like what you said about being the person at the back of the pack … that’s what I would expect any coxswain to do when you go on a run. Unless there are two coxswains out running (where one can be at the front of the pack and one can be at the back), I think sticking to the back and making sure everyone makes it through is the best thing you can do.

I would talk with them and just explain that you’re trying to be a leader by participating in the workouts with them and then get their opinions. Do you think it bothers them when you work out with them? If you’ve gotten the impression that it’s not helping the crew, I’d talk to them and your coach to figure out an alternative way that you can be of use to them while they’re doing land training. If it turns out it’s not a big deal, I’d keep doing what you’re doing and work out with them. I would however, let your stroke seat or the team captains set the standards as far as how hard/fast/etc. the rowers should be pulling and you just fall in line with that, if that makes sense.

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting

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Hi, I was wondering what GPA and SAT scores Ivy league colleges and D1 schools look for when recruiting coxswains and if they give scholarships to coxswains. Thanks!

The majority of the time, coxswains don’t receive scholarships as freshman, if at all. Sometimes they can be given one after their freshman year (an example being someone I coxed with at Syracuse who got one our sophomore year), but the coaches tend to save their scholarships for the rowers. If you’re looking at Ivy League universities be aware that they do not give athletic scholarships AT ALL, to anyone. It’s a conference rule.

As far as GPA and SAT scores go, it varies between universities, so it’s hard to say specifically. You can do your own research to figure that out. Obviously though, Ivy League schools are going to have much higher standards than non-Ivy schools. Several things I’ve read have said that 1800-2000 on the SAT will get you solid looks pretty much anywhere, but it REALLY depends on the school since each one has different requirements and expectations of their applicants. The people that I personally know that rowed or currently row in college (both at Ivy League and non-Ivy D1 programs) all had GPAs at or above a 3.5 (unweighted) and SAT scores of 1700+. Rowing is traditionally a “smart person” sport, so the grades, GPAs, and standardized testing scores are usually indicative of that.

Your academics matter the most and that is what is going to get you admitted but your recordings, rowing resume, etc. that you give to the coach will also be of benefit to you. Coaches go into meetings with the admissions offices and basically say “this is what this person can bring to my team, this is why I think they’re a good fit, this is what I think they can offer the university.” They then weigh that against your academics, extracurricular activities, etc. Your coxing skills won’t get you in but they can help. Make your interest well known to the universities you apply to. Sit down with the coaches and go over your academic resume. If you can explain why you have a poor grade on your report card or why you consistently perform poorly in one class compared to all your others, that will help them a lot when they talk to the admissions counselors. (This was something I had to do because I’m awful at math and the C’s/D’s I’d get in my math classes contrasted pretty sharply with the A’s I got in all my other ones.) Do your research on each school though and see what their requirements are regarding SATs and GPAs. Give yourself maybe 100 points of wiggle room on the SAT and 0.2ish points on your GPA.

College Coxing Novice Q&A Training & Nutrition

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I’m currently a novice coxswain at my school’s club team. I weigh about 125ish. I’m thinking about transferring schools but I still want to do crew. One of the schools I was looking at was D3 and they said that coxswains should weigh less than 115. Do you think they would let me cox because I have already been doing that or would I need to lose weight? I try to work out. I’m planning on doing winter training but I’m not a good runner and I don’t have much erg experience so I don’t know if it would pay off.

If you have the option you could cox for men where the minimum for coxswains is 125lbs. I think you should talk with them and explain that you’ve been coxing for X number of seasons and would like to continue but be prepared for them to reiterate that they want their coxswains at 115lbs or under. (It’s not an unreasonable request either, especially when racing weight for women is 110lbs.)

If you’re not a good runner, that’s OK. You can always walk on the treadmill (put the speed at higher than normal walking pace but lower than jogging and/or put it on an incline), do the stair stepper, or hop on the bike. You should learn how to properly erg and try doing short pieces so you can develop the muscle memory. One of the things that really bothers me with coxswains is those who tell rowers what to do in terms of the stroke, body positions, etc. but don’t know how to at least erg themselves. There are plenty of ways to workout though beyond running and erging – find something you like and that you’ll stick with and just commit to doing it.