Tag: eastern sprints

College Racing Video of the Week

Video of the Week: Eastern Sprints 2017 – Harvard vs. Yale

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If you caught my Instagram story yesterday then you saw the last 50m or so of this race from the beach where we were all watching from. That sprint by Harvard was fantastic and they should definitely be proud of that race. Congrats to Yale – can’t wait to see them throw down at IRAs.

I was talking to someone who said they thought the Harvard coxswain didn’t celebrate, rather the splash at the end was from him throwing his cox box in the water because it didn’t work during the race. “Big if true”, as they say. But seriously though, that sucks if that was the case but let that be a cautionary reminder to everybody – check your cox boxes before you launch and always have a spare on hand).

Coxswain recordings, pt. 18

College Coxing Racing Recordings

Coxswain recordings, pt. 18

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Australia 2011 Rowing World Championships A-Final Lightweight M8+

This is a style of coxing that is so completely unlike what I’m used to that I don’t think I can give a good critique of it. The calls are a lot choppier than the “American” style and he’s so much more silent during the actual race, primarily during the first 500. There’s definitely a time and place to be quiet but I don’t think during a 2k is it. You can hear his tone and energy ramp up as the race goes on, although he does get a little shout-y as they come into the last 250m. You can justify that to an extent because they’re so tight with the Italians but that serves as a good reminder that even in the high-energy parts of the race, it’s important to maintain your composure.

Other calls I liked:

“Breathe in our rhythm…”

“Transition legs to bodies … this one, now…”

MIT Lightweight 8+ 1997 Eastern Sprints Heat

They start polling the crews around 3:00 into this recording. Instead of saying “Attention, go!” like we’re used to though they do the countdown start and follow it up with “Are you ready? Go!”, which I’ve never actually heard at the start before.

This is probably one of the most straightforward races I’ve ever listened to. It’s a good example of the whole “do everything right, no one will notice, do something wrong, everyone will notice” thing that is one the main tenets of coxing. Nothing really stands out because he just does his job and says/does everything he needs to do … which honestly, is exactly what you want. We always listen to these recordings and point out the great, the good, the meh, the bad, etc. and I’d say this definitely falls under “good” but in the most unobtrusive way, which is totally fine. Basically what I’m saying is that not every recording has to have some amazing call or move or thing that we point to and use as the defining feature of what makes that audio good. Sometimes they can just be “good” because the coxswain executed the race plan for the full 2000 meters with good energy, good tone, and good awareness of what was happening around him.

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

Coxswain recordings, pt. 17

College Coxing Racing Recordings

Coxswain recordings, pt. 17

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Dartmouth University 2011 Eastern Sprints Lightweight 8+ Heat

One early takeaway from this recording is how quickly and seamlessly he gives their position on the crews around there – “half a length up on Cornell, holding our margin on Princeton”. The easiest way to make communicating that information to your crew as effortless as he did is to know who’s in your race (duh/obviously) but if you’re a novice coxswain who isn’t used to racing six crews across, a simple hack is to write the crews (in lane # order) on a piece of electrical tape (with a Sharpie) and tape it above your foot.

Around 4:20ish you can see that Princeton’s already taken the rate up and Dartmouth … hasn’t. Their coxswain called that lengthen 10 and then the “big focus 5” (personally I think those should have been switched) and seemed to completely miss Princeton taking it up until they were already a few strokes into their sprint and had started to full even. They still won the heat and obviously that’s the most important thing but you’ve gotta make sure that you’re not so focused on calling moves that you forget to look at what’s happening around you, especially in the last 500 (or 300, in this case).

Other calls I liked:

“That’s it Dartmouth…”

“Grip and breathe…“

“Keep your focus internal, they’re not taking seats any time soon.”

Dartmouth University 2011 Eastern Sprints Lightweight 8+ Grand Final

Following the previous recording, this is the grand final from Sunday afternoon.

His intensity is great and like all good coxswains, it’s not about what he says but how he says it. His calls are sharp and concise and the tonal changes in his voice really emphasize what he wants his crew to do. That is the ultimate takeaway from this recording. He also tells them exactly where they are on the other big players in the race, as well as how far into the race they are time-wise. As they’re walking through Yale during the sprint you can feel the energy he’s bringing through his calls and that’s what you want at the end of the race – gun to your head, if you’ve gotta pick one spot in the race to pour your energy into, it’s right there in the last 500.

At 1:30 they’re through the 500 and practically four boats across when you hear him say “swing it and go, pry those puddles, take one seat…”. Take one seat. This is a great move because it’s a small, achievable goal for the crew and when the crews are that tight, walking up or back one seat on the field can be a huge difference maker.

Other calls I liked:

“There’s blood in the water, you’re hungry for this win…”

“Stomp on them, go…“

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