Tag: height

Question of the Day

By readyallrow March 9, 2017

Hi! I am currently a junior in high school and it is my third year of coxing girls. As a junior I am looking into different colleges and I know that i want to continue coxing. In March, I am going to ID camp to try out for the Junior National Selection Team. Because of my birthday, I just miss the cutoff for trying out for HP, so having to trying out for the most competitive spot on the team is really nerve racking. Obviously I really want to make the team, so I wanted to know if there are any tips for becoming an even better coxswain and fully preparing myself for ID camp. I know that making this team can really help me be recruited into really good D1 colleges, and I have to grades for many highly competitive academic schools, so making this team is really important for me. Also, if you know anything that happens at ID Camp besides what they said on the website, please let me know because that would be much appreciated! Weight wise I am fine, luckily I was blessed with a good metabolism because I pretty much eat what I want and I float between 105-107lbs. Also, another thing that I am concerned about is my height. While I am 5’7″, as I mentioned before I am very tiny, but I’m scared they will discriminate against my height. Thank you so much!

Communication should be your biggest priority. You’re gonna be at a new boathouse, on a new body of water, with rowers, coxswains, and coaches that you’re unfamiliar with which means you’ve gotta figure out and internalize the plan and procedures ASAP. I assume the coaches will meet with the coxswains early in the day to go over stuff so you should look at it like any other coxswain’s meeting – if you have a question that isn’t answered, speak up and ask because it might have a big impact on how you do something later in the day. In situations like this I usually try to jot down a short list of questions that I know I’ll have, that way I can just tick them off as they get answered and then actually ask whatever’s leftover. (Did that for all my interviews with Columbia and it made things so much less stressful. Highly recommend doing it – it takes like, 5 minutes to do.)

A coach I worked with last summer who also coached with the HP/dev teams said that a big thing for the coaches was having the coxswains call everything “in two”, rather than “on this one”, just saying “weigh enough” on its own, etc. I’ve heard other coxswains mention that too so that’d be something to get clarified before you go on the water. It’s also a good reminder that you’ll probably need to adapt your normal way of doing things to fit their way of doing things. Your ability to do that without issue will most likely be something they look for, not only because adaptability is an important trait/skill for a coxswain but it’s also gonna indicate to them what your practice management skills are like. You’ll be out with a variety of people from a variety of programs who probably all do things a little differently – you’ve gotta be the one who standardizes it for everyone and says “OK guys, all my calls today are going to be preceded with “in two”…” so they

Obviously keep working on whatever you’ve been working on lately but don’t try to teach yourself new tricks before the camp. Do what works and do it well. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve said this but moving up the ladder as a coxswain is all about excelling at executing the basics. The better you are at that, the more opportunities you’re gonna have.

Coxswains, feel free to leave a comment about what you did at the camp but as far as I know, it’s just helping collect times from the 2k and then going out on the water for a row. Depending on the number of coxswains there you might row the whole time or you might get switched in halfway if there’s someone in the launch.

As far as your height, no one cares as long as you’re at racing weight (110lbs).

College Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 17, 2015

Firstly thank you for writing your blog its been really helpful to me!! Secondly I had a question about heavyweight/lightweight in college. I’m a lightweight junior and I’m 5’4”. I would love to row D1 in college and it seems that there’s a possibility my erg score will become competitive enough to get some attention from openweight programs. What do you think the pros and cons would be of being a smaller person on an openweight team?

If you’re a lightweight with times that can get an openweight coach’s attention I’d say you’re probably in a pretty good position to make an immediate impact on the team. That right there is a huge pro, not just for you but for the coaches too. The two other pros/cons that immediately come to mind though are…

Pro: More opportunities/wider range of choices since there are more openweight programs than there are lightweight ones. If you’re interested in the schools that have top lightweight teams (Stanford, Harvard, Wisco, Princeton, BU…) then I definitely wouldn’t rule them out but because there are fewer schools that offer lightweight rowing, you’d be limiting yourself if you only looked at those schools.

Another pro is that since lightweight rowers have to rely a lot more on technique to move boats than heavyweight rowers do (who can get by with raw power and mediocre technique), this could give you an advantage when it comes time to make lineups.

Con: Maybe slightly contradictory to my last point but getting into the top boats will probably be harder if you’re competing with women who are 20+ pounds heavier (and 10, 15, 20+ seconds faster) than you. That’s not to say it’s impossible but I think it’d be an uphill battle to say the least.

Another issue that I hadn’t considered until recently has to do with body image/eating disorders. I was emailing with someone over the summer who said she had a really hard time last year (her freshman year) dealing with the amount of the muscle/weight she gained from training after going from a pretty thin lightweight in high school to openweight in college. I think it was a conflicting issue for her because she was doing really well on the team, had great times, was in good boats, etc. but just seeing her body change from the increased amount of lifting, fueling, etc. was difficult for her to process. There were some unhealthy decisions that cropped up that led to her seeing a counselor on campus and is something that, as of the last time we talked, she’s still dealing with (although in a healthier/smarter way than before).

It might seem out-of-the-box and like I said, it’s not something that would have even crossed my mind if you’d asked the same question in the spring but now that it’s been brought up I do think it’s something you have to at least think about. You know yourself better than anyone else so you’d have to consider how you would fare in a similar situation. Obviously it’s not a make-or-break issue for most people (at least in my experience with the handful of lightweights I know that have rowed on openweight teams) but it’s worth pausing to think about.

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 5, 2014

Hi Kayleigh! I’m a sophomore rower and at the moment I’m 5’7″ and around 130 pounds. I know I’m on the tall side, but I think that I could get to 120/125 pounds and still be healthy. While I do love rowing, my real interest and passion is in coxing, so I was wondering if you think coxing men in college is a viable option for me, and if it is, what I can do to get there. Thanks!

Check out the post linked below. That person was also a sophomore and I think what I said to her would also apply to you – at 15/16 years old, you’ve gotta assume you’re not done growing yet so it’s tough to say whether you’ll be the same size or not by the time you get to college.

My gut feeling is to say stick with rowing and then when you get to college, reevaluate and go from there if doing crew is still something you’re interested in pursuing. The school you go to will also dictate the likelihood of you being able to cox – the schools that are super competitive tend to be very strict about their coxswains being as close to racing weight as possible and two years from now it may or may not be viable for you to lose 5-10lbs and still be healthy. Your height isn’t as big of a deal even though you might feel kinda cramped at times depending on what brand of boat you’re in. Every body is different though so that’s something you would have to judge on your own. Club programs and the like are usually less strict about people having the natural rower or coxswain build so I would say if you really wanted to cox, you’d probably have a better shot with a program like that.

If you do eventually decide that’s what you want to do, you’ve got two options – show up whenever they have walk on tryouts and say you want to be a coxswain or email the coach before you arrive on campus and say you’ve got X number of years of rowing experience but you’re interested in walking on as a coxswain, at [height]/[weight] what’s the likelihood that you would be a good fit (literally and figuratively) for their program?

College Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 28, 2014

Hi. I’ve been coxing for my high school rowing team for about a year now and unfortunately I’m 5’8″ and 134lb but I fit in the coxing area easily. I’m very scared though because I really love coxing and I want to continue to do it in college but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get very far with it due to my weight and height. I’m a sophomore in high school and I just want to know if there was a way I could still competitively cox in college or should I give up because my size stops me?

Honest answer? I don’t think you’re going to be able to cox in college when you’re already about the same size as a lightweight rower. Plus you’ve got to assume you’re not done growing yet either. If doing crew in college is really something you’re interested in pursuing then I’d say you should probably start rowing this summer or next year so you’ll have at least two years under your belt before you graduate.

College Coxing High School Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 3, 2013

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.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 16, 2013

I’m 5’9″ but weigh just a pound more than a boy’s coxswain. I’ve been asked several times if I cox guys and it’s sort of started making me think about making a switch which is utterly ridiculous cause of my height but coxing looks soooo interesting but at the same time … ROWING! Do you see my problem?

I do see what might be a problem but it’s actually not one at all. Are coxswains stereotypically short? Yes. Being short isn’t technically a requirement of coxing although it does make sitting in that tiny seat a lot more comfortable. The main requirement is your weight and how close you are to racing weight. We’re dead weight no matter how you look at it and obviously you want to have as little “dead weight” in the boat as possible.

Zach Vlahos (third from the right) is the current coxswain of the USA Men’s 8+ and he’s 5’9″ and 121lbs, which is the international racing weight for men. In college if you cox men the minimum is 125lbs so if you’re under that or up to 128-130ish, making the switch wouldn’t be that ridiculous.

If it’s something you want to try, talk to your coach about it. If you end up not liking it at least you can say you tried. If you end up liking it and wanting to switch over, who’s to say you can’t still row? Your coaches might tell you to pick one for the season, which is understandable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still do the other. If you’ve got a local rowing club near you that hosts learn to row or adult recreational leagues, you could get your feet wet with coxing there and use the rest of the summer and fall season to get your bearings, learn the how-to’s, etc. and then transition to coxing full-time with your team in the spring.

Novice Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow June 13, 2013

So I’ve been rowing for a year and a lot of people underestimate me because I’m young and short but I’ve been doing a lot better than people taller and those who’ve been there longer than me. The problem is the coaches look over me (I’m 5’5″) and automatically chose this girl for boats who’s a bit taller than me, even though my times are better and I’m a better rower. How do I get them to look at us equally?

Ask for a seat race. State your case as to why you think you deserve to be in whichever boat you’re going for and why you think you’re the best choice. What can you bring to the boat that will make it go fast? The key to getting your coach(es) to take you seriously is to talk yourself up instead of talking the other person down. Seat races, when done correctly, can be a really good indication as to who can move boats, so I think asking for one of them will be your best bet. Whatever the final decision though, you’ve got to respect it. Talk to your coaches one-on-one and and tell them that you feel like you’re progressing well with your rowing and really want to be considered as a contender for the top boats – what, in their opinion, should you work on so you can be considered for those lineups?

Assuming you’re only a freshman or sophomore, you are going to grow more (do as I say, not as I do – pretty sure I stopped growing in like, 8th grade). 5’5″ isn’t that short – the majority of junior women I know who row now, in addition to the girls I rowed with in high school, are all in the 5’5″ to 5’7″ range. Even if that is the reason your coaches aren’t boating you, don’t use it as a crutch. A rower’s height is only part of what makes them an efficient rower. Do everything you can to improve the other parts so that when your coaches look at you, they think about your technique, how coachable you are, what kind of teammate you are, etc. before the thought of your height even crosses their mind.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow May 24, 2013

I am a novice lightweight rower who started rowing about a year and ago. I absolutely love crew, only problem is that I tore my rotator cuff earlier this year and had to have surgery. It is going to be a while before I can start rowing and even with all the rehab who knows if I will be any good. My mom suggested that I perhaps take up coxing and I have been reading up a lot about coxing and listening to recordings, the only problem is that I am about 5’7″. Am I too tall to be a coxswain? I really love rowing and I would love to stay involved in crew any way I can. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks.

Theoretically yes, the coxswain’s seat is typically reserved for those of us not as vertically gifted as yourself but tall coxswains do exist and have coxed just as well as their shorter teammates. If it’s something you’re interested in doing talk to your coaches about it, particularly the men’s coach(es). If you’re a girl, you can usually get away with being a little taller if you cox men vs. the women. If you have any clubs near you that offer learn to row camps over the summer, I’d go to one and get some experience coxing. You’ll start out on the same level as every one else and the atmosphere is relaxed enough that there’s no pressure to actually be good. You’ll want to get a feel for the steering first and then worry about the calls and stuff later.

Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 11, 2013

This week I seat raced four times- I’ve been in the 2V, so they seat raced me twice for the 1V. I lost, which is okay, I was happy with the 2V. Then I got seat raced and lost the 2V, and now I’m not boated for this weekend’s race, and probably for the rest of the season. I’m 5’4″, a heavyweight with top 8 time on my team, and my coaches say my biggest problem is that everyone else is just longer than I am. Do you know of ways to improve length? I’m starting to think I’ll never be a decent rower.

This may or may not be adding insult to injury, but I think that’s your coach’s polite way of saying that they’re taller than you and that’s where the advantage comes from. On one hand, strength and flexibility plays a major part in your length but it also comes from how tall you are. You want your reach, catch, and stroke to be as long as possible, which is why you see a lot of insanely tall men and women on the national teams. The biggest thing that will help you in the long run is working on your overall strength (if your team has a lifting program, start doing it) and flexibility (stretch, stretch, stretch, roll out on foam rollers, etc.). The strength part is most likely going to happen before the flexibility does (there’s not much you can really do about that either), but the two together will really help you out. Your height, limb length, torso length, etc. are all things you can’t change so even though they play a big part, it’s not worth worrying about because you can’t do anything about them.

Your hips and shoulders have to work together when you’re trying to achieve good length. Rowers like you who aren’t able to get or be as long as their teammates can make up for that by getting your hips deeper into the catch (not too much though), which brings your upper body forward a little more and allows you to grab a couple extra inches of water. What will allow you to do that is to work on the flexibility of your hips and increasing their overall range of motion.

Once you’ve worked on all of that (fast-forwarding to the fall season) and you know that your technique is good, your strength and flexibility have improved, etc. and you’re still not getting as much length as your coach would like, then he might look at the rigging on your seat. There’s a compromise to this though – changing the rigging, in this case the height and/or angle of your foot stretchers, increases your length but decreases your power output. Your coach would have to weigh the options and decide what he wants from there. Would he rather you be at a uniform length with the other seven rowers or be a little short but still able to get your maximum power output on every stroke? You’ve got one of the top eight erg times though so I don’t know how willing he’d be to compromise that power.

I’m sure you already are a decent rower. It doesn’t take much to be decent but it takes a lot of work (at least on the teams I’ve been a part of…) to be able to seat race for the first varsity boat. Your coach could have told you worse things, like your technique is terrible, you’re a poor sport, etc. but he didn’t. As long as you’re willing to do the work off the water, you’ll be back in a lineup in no time. Like I tell everybody else, don’t let this discourage you – instead, let it motivate you to work harder.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow March 16, 2013

At 5’5″ and 115lbs I’m a coxswain and I love it! I feel so much bigger than the other coxes and the same size as the lightweight girls. My coach wants me to row again but I really love coxing, what should I do?

If your coach is asking you to row because your team doesn’t have enough to people to fill the boat I’d probably consider it, especially if you have the experience to fill in. I wouldn’t let being the same size as the lightweights make you think that you have to switch though. It helps if you do decide to switch back to rowing but you’re definitely not too big to be a coxswain by any means.