Tag: how to

Question of the Day

By readyallrow July 2, 2013

A problem we always ran into with our boat that we stored down low – when we get the boat out, everybody is on the same side at waist and obviously can’t all bring it up to shoulders. Is there an easier way to do it than having the girls run around to the other side before shoulders or is that just how it is?

That’s kinda just how it is. The easiest way to do it is to have everyone lift it up off the racks at waist, side step to the middle of the boat bay, and then have all the ports or all the starboards go under the boat one by one until everyone is on the correct side. Going under vs. going around just saves time because you don’t have to bob and weave around riggers or other people. From there you can take it up to shoulders and walk it out.

For some reason every so often this confuses the hell out of people and no one knows who should be going under so make sure you specify, “Ports go under, starting from the stern … Annie, go. Maddie, go. Rachel, go. Alex, go.” You want this to be a quick process, obviously, because the boat gets heavier when someone lets go and it’s uncomfortable to hold the boat for too long when everyone is on the same side.

Coxing How To Novice Teammates & Coaches

How (NOT) to piss off your rowers

By readyallrow May 28, 2013

Previously: Steer an eight/four || Call a pick drill and reverse pick drill || Avoid getting sick || Make improvement as a novice || Protect your voice || Pass crews during a head race || Be useful during winter training || Train when you’re sick (as a rower) || Train when you’re sick (as a coxswain) || Sit in the boat || Lose vs. how to win || Cox (and coach) novices

About two weeks ago I wrote a lengthy post in response to a question I got that basically asked what rowers do that piss off their coxswains and how they can avoid doing such things in the future. After putting that post together I wanted to give rowers the same opportunity to tell coxswains what they do that pisses them off.

Over the last week I’ve gotten even more feedback than I did for the first post (read into that however you want) and even though a lot of it is really obvious stuff, I think it all bears repeating, especially for novices who might not know to not do these things. The fact that it is so obvious though means that it should be an easy fix.

Keep repeating things that aren’t working

Meaning you’ve been saying “stop rushing” for about 10 minutes and everyone is still rushing. You need to be able to recognize the problem, say how they should fix it (which means you’ve got to have a solid understanding of technique), and what specific changes they need to make to get back on track. Repeating the same thing over and over is lazy, not to mention whatever you’re saying loses its meaning and leads to you getting tuned out.

Aren’t mindful of their weight or of athletes in their boat who are trying to make weight

Obviously no one’s saying that you shouldn’t eat or that you should hide all traces of food when the lightweights are around. What they’re saying is that it’s a real asshole move to stuff your face with food in a “haha I get to eat and you don’t, suckers” kind of way.

In that same vein, another thing that came up, regardless of whether you’re coxing lightweights or heavyweights, is not being aware of your own weight (or straight up not caring). I’ve talked about the issue of coxswains and weight before and the fact of the matter is, we are expected to be as light as possible because we are literally dead weight in the boat. It’s part of the job and a responsibility your teammates will expect you to take seriously (especially if you’re coxing lightweights).

Yell at the rowers for talking in the boat while you carry on an unnecessary conversation with the stroke seat

I talk pretty frequently about how you need to talk to your stroke seat and communicate with them throughout practice – obviously you should keep doing that. What this rower was getting at is that everyone else in the boat gets really irritated when you tell them to stop talking but then you immediately turn around and start talking with your stroke about stuff completely unrelated to practice.

While you’re on the water, try to keep everything focused on whatever you’re doing that day and not on anything that isn’t related to rowing. Along this same line, when you are talking to your stroke (or stern pair, really), don’t talk into the mic, regardless of whether you’re talking about rowing related stuff or not. It’s distracting to everyone else and can sometimes generate a lot of opinions on something that don’t really require everyone’s input. If you’re talking about something that effects the entire crew, talk about it with your stroke first (with the the volume off), determine what needs to happen, and then give the rest of the boat the pertinent information.

No aggression during races or pieces

The rowers feed on your energy and if you’re not engaged in what’s going on, how do you expect them to be? Don’t worry about sounding silly or stupid or whatever. If that’s how you feel about getting louder during pieces you’re probably in the wrong sport.

Getting distracted

You are the eyes and ears for eight other people – you can’t be ogling whatever is happening on shore or pointing out things that have nothing to do with practice. Stay focused and present in your boat.

Messing up the count or sides

Starboard is right, port is left. It’s OK if you accidentally skip a number – as in one – when you’re really into a piece and doing a power ten but that’s about all the leeway you get. I occasionally do it and I know it immediately but the rowers don’t tend to notice it because they’re focused on whatever I’m telling them to do. If you go from 4 to 7 though, that’s an issue.

An even bigger issue with messing up the count that someone brought up is calling “x” number of strokes to the line multiple times. Don’t. Just don’t. Start practicing judging distances while you’re at practice so that when you’re racing you can gauge how far you are from the line and call the final 20 appropriately.

Related: Judging distance

Talking down to the crew

This is the fastest way to lose the respect of your boat. Respect is a two way street and if you’re not willing to give it, you sure as hell can’t expect to receive it. You’re not perfect and as much as we’d like to think we don’t, we make mistakes too.

Being a coxswain requires a lot of self-control too because it’s easy to get an ego when you’re 14 or 15 years old and you’re given the responsibility and power that comes with being a coxswain. We all have shitty practices but it’s never any one person’s fault. It’s not your right or place to act like the quality of practice or a race rests solely on the shoulders of the rowers.

Related: Words

Not giving or withholding info about the race

You have to relay to the crew what is happening during the race, specifically and most importantly where they are, how far in they are, and how many meters are left. They don’t want to feel like they’re rowing an endless race because eventually their minds are going to give out. You have to keep their brains in the game (or race, rather) and tell them what’s happening. Withholding info because you think it’ll bring them down doesn’t help either. If they’re down, tell them. They don’t want to know that they’re not in first, obviously, but at the same time, they do.

Blaming the rowers for your mistakes

“Big mistake. Big. HUGE.” If you make a mistake, who cares? Admit it, learn from it, don’t do it again. There’s never an excuse to blame something you did wrong on someone in your boat.

Have boat meetings to discuss what to call during a race and then not calling what the rowers asked for

There’s a simple way to avoid this: write. everything. down. Try to hold these meetings ahead of time (at least a day or two before the race) so you can start incorporating the calls when you do practice pieces, that way it becomes ingrained into your “muscle memory”. If you can’t do that, write it on a post-it note and tape it beside your cox box. If you ask your rowers to tell you what they want and then you ignore it, that’s going to cause a rift. Saying “oh I forgot” isn’t an excuse either because, like I said, you can easily write it all down and bring it into the boat with you.

Being indecisive

Commit to something. Don’t debate and go back and forth because each time you do it, the confidence your boat has in you goes down exponentially. They want to know that you have control over the situations you’re in and if you’re constantly questioning yourself or what you should be doing, that makes it hard for them to focus on what they should be doing. It’s better to commit to running into a bridge than to debate back and forth and then hit it because you couldn’t decide which side to pass the pier on.

Letting rowers walk all over you

Pretty self-explanatory, I think. You’re expected to act like and be a leader, which means being assertive and, like I said in the post about respect, not inviting contradiction.

Related: RESPECT

Checking the boat to get a point while people are rowing

Whoever sent this, bless you. Seriously though, who taught you this?! If you do this, stop. You have cables attached to a rudder for a reason. Use them to steer and get a point while you’re moving, not the rowers.

“Be pompous assholes.”

The Napoleon-God complex thing is just a joke, guys. Don’t take it literally.

In addition to these things, I would encourage talking with your individual boats and asking them if there’s something you do that they’d prefer you didn’t. Don’t take what they say personally – remember, it’s coming from a helpful place. If your rowers aren’t comfortable saying stuff to your face, talk to your coach about doing regular coxswain evaluations so the rowers can anonymously provide you with some (presumably more honest) feedback.

Image via // @theboatsmancompany

College Coxing High School How To Novice Teammates & Coaches

How a collegiate coxswain earned her crew’s respect

By readyallrow May 15, 2013

After yesterday’s post on respect went up, I got an email yesterday from a coxswain that I wanted to share. I think most of can say “yup, been there…” and relate to what she’s saying. She brings up a lot of excellent points so I hope everyone is able to take something away from reading this and apply it to your own situation.

Related: RESPECT

“Here’s my story on how I gained respect on my team.

I rowed three sprint seasons at an all-girls’ high school prior to becoming a coxswain in college. When I joined the team, they were so short on coxswains that they bumped me right up to varsity – in the men’s boat. Now, I realize that my coxing style is definitely one that works best with men’s teams, but when I joined the team, I was a shy first-year student trying to adjust to life in college who only had experience with women’s rowing and sprint races, and who had clocked in only a few hours in the coxswain’s seat previously. I was terrified, and although I like to think I didn’t show my nervousness to an extreme degree in the boat, I certainly did not sound sure of myself, and that led to a bumpy season with regards to team dynamics.

Later on in the season, we had a really bad race. The crank that turned my rudder had corroded to a point at which it would not even turn the rudder to port slightly. Pair that with steering that still was at a novice level, and you get a race that left us all, including myself, even more unsure of my abilities as a coxswain (I won’t go into details – but it was hairy).

That was when I talked to my coach, who told me to meet with my stroke seat to come up with a game plan and a list of goals; my coach’s logic was that if you have one of the rowers on your side, the rest are more likely to follow suit, especially if it’s the stroke seat who naturally assumes a leadership role in the boat. There, he told me something that has stuck with me. This particular comment only applies to my situation, but the general sentiment, I think, applies to all crews. My stroke seat didn’t mince words, looked me straight in the eye, and said:

“We are a boat of eight big, cocky guys who all think we’re better than everyone. We’re bigger than you, stronger than you, older than you, and we don’t give a shit that you rowed longer than most of us have. So we’re not going to give you respect; you have to take it from us.”

Let me first say that the guys I coxed that season are not the brand of asshole that you would think after reading that comment. And obviously it wasn’t meant to be – nor was it taken as – an enumeration of my flaws. It was just a glimpse into the mind of a college men’s crew. But it was exactly what I needed.I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that within a week of having that conversation with my stroke seat, my coxing did a total one-eighty turn. I started as a timid little freshman and ended as a coxswain who would kick her crew’s ass and push them to their limits. And, more importantly, I finally understood something really important about coxing that I think all novice coxswains have to realize, one way or another: you have to know who you’re coxing. It’s obvious, and you say that on your blog all the time, but that was when I learned it, and it made all the difference in learning how to deserve and earn the respect I wanted.

In my case, I had to (for lack of a better term) sack the fuck up and be willing to get a little mean, because I was coxing men who respond best to (constructive, not over-the-top) aggressiveness and a no-bullshit coxing style. In cases like yours, it might be figuring out how to bridge the age-gap, if a coxswain is much younger than his or her crew. In all cases, it’s a matter of being flexible and letting WHO you’re coxing inform you HOW to cox them. For me, I gained respect by yanking it away from them and claiming it as my own, making it absolutely clear that I am not to be messed with. For someone else, it might be totally different. But the underlying principle is the same no matter what: respect has to be earned, not just given, not because “ree-rah I have the microphone so what I say goes” and not because of some divine right thereto.”

Image via // NBC Olympics

College Coxing High School How To Novice Teammates & Coaches

RESPECT

By readyallrow May 14, 2013

I get emails and questions from coxswains all. the. time. that read like lyrics from an Aretha Franklin song.

“All I’m askin’ … is for a little respect.”

They want to know how to get their boat, their coaches, the team, etc. to respect them because they are coxswain, hear them roar. I applaud the tenacity and enthusiasm but there are some things you’ve gotta understand first, starting with the fact that wanting, earning, getting, and deserving respect are four completely different things. You might want respect and feel like you deserve it but you have to earn it before you get it.

I’m not going to say this is a foolproof guide to gaining respect but it’s a start.

Respect is a two-way street

You have to give respect to get it in return. You’re in charge of the rowers but you’re not and they have to obey your commands but at the same time they don’t. It’s a respect and safety thing. It starts out as pure safety and then as you spend more time on the water together it blends to a mix of the two. This is really where it all begins. You get thrown in the boat as a novice after hearing from your coach that the rowers have to listen to you because you’re the coxswain, it’s your job to be in charge, etc. and we instantly develop this Napoleon complex and think we’re the shit because we get to boss people who are bigger than us around. Nope nope nope. If you get in the boat thinking that the rowers are your minions out to do your bidding, you’re setting yourself up for apocalyptic failure.

Related: Words

In the beginning they have to listen to you because they don’t know what they’re doing and by being in your position it’s assumed you do (even when you don’t either). Someone has to tell them what to do and they have to listen because…they just do. As you start coming together as a boat — as a crew — they start listening to you not out of necessity but because they trust you and your judgement (on everything…). In order for this to happen, you have to gain their trust and in order to do that, you have to afford your crew the same level of respect that you desire in return.

Be in control of every situation by staying calm and composed

The strongest leaders are the ones who can silence a crowd without raising their voice. Yelling or being loud just to be loud doesn’t mean you’re taking charge — it means you’re straining your vocal cords for no reason.

Show up

Show up physically (never on time or late, always early), emotionally (what happens outside of crew stays outside of crew, don’t start or perpetuate unnecessary drama, etc.), mentally (be ready to do work and get shit done), and spiritually. If you’ve rowed long enough, or maybe if you’ve only rowed for one season, you know what I mean by “spiritually”. It’s that feeling you have when you show up at the boathouse and get on the water that can’t be explained to anyone who’s never experienced it. This quality must be infectious in you — when your crew isn’t feeling it one day, they should be able to look at you and feed off your energy.

Experience “the dark place”

Have you ever seen a rower doing a 2k or looked into your stroke’s eyes during an all out, balls to the wall piece, and been able to see hell in their eyes?That is the place I’m talking about. Soldiers won’t follow a general into battle if the general has never been in their shoes before. It’s not about pulling a certain split or getting a certain time; if your 2:04 split makes you feel the same way your rower feels when pulling a 1:39, so be it. The numbers don’t matter. It’s about the toll being put on your mind and body.

One of the biggest ways to gain the respect of your crew is to never ask them to give more than you could give yourself. Don’t say “I know you’re hurting” if you’ve never experienced what they’re going through. Wherever and whatever the dark place is for you, go there every once in awhile to remind yourself of just how strong your teammates are. Every time you finish I guarantee that you’ll be newly enlightened with an even greater sense of admiration for what they put their bodies through. (Don’t make the fatal mistake of confusing hero worship and respect though.) Remind yourself of that “wow, these guys” feeling every time you call for a power ten or the build into your sprint or “everything you got, put it on the line, right here“.

No matter what the situation is, its never “you” and “them”, it’s “us” and “we”

This can not be emphasized enough. You are not eight rowers and one coxswain. There is not an invisible divide between the stroke seat and the ninth seat. You are ONE crew. That subtle change in linguistics says a lot and it’s something I really pay attention to as a coach. You want your teammates to consider you as part of the crew?Act like one. When talking about your boat, it’s never “they’re doing this”, it’s “we’re doing this”. “They” didn’t row poorly, “we” rowed poorly. “You” don’t want this, “we” want this.

When you say “they”, it’s as though you’re excluding yourself from whatever follows. “They” had a bad race. “They” had a great day on the water. Don’t you think you played a part in that? If you only include yourself in the positive and not the negative, what do you think that says to your teammates? That you only want to be involved in their success but never their failure. On the flip side, if you never include yourself in the positive it gives off the impression that you’re not considering your own contributions, which opens the door for the rowers to not consider them either. I’ll say it again — you are not eight rowers and one coxswain. You are ONE crew.

Always learn from your experiences, positive and negative, on the water and off

Every opportunity is a chance to learn something new or reinforce something you’ve learned previously. You should be soaking it in every chance you get. You can’t do that if you consider yourself anything less than a sponge at any given moment during practice. That glazed over, “kill me now” look in your eyes during winter training? Yea, stop that. Your coach is talking to 3-seat on the water about keeping his inside shoulder relaxed and you’re staring at the group of people picnicking on shore? Yea, stop that too. You can read about technique all you want but reading is only going to take you so far. It’s a book sense vs. street sense kind of thing. You need to be in the boat, in the launch, watching video, etc. Your rowers notice when you’re taking advantages of these opportunities and your coaches absolutely notice when they hear you make a call based off of something they said individually to a rower (or even to the crew as a whole). It shows that you’re invested, engaged, and doing your part to make the boat go fast.

Rowers add meters to their stroke by erging, lifting, etc. You add meters to all of their strokes by filling your brain with useful information that you’ve attained through every avenue possible, not just from reading a blog online (although that’s a good start, if I do say so myself), and then delivering it in the most effective way(s) possible. In a similar vein, don’t coach beyond your level of experience. If you’re a novice coxswain, don’t try to cox like you’ve been doing it for ten years. I understand the intentions but more often times than not it comes off as obnoxious and your coxing ends up being just plain bad. Don’t cox what you don’t understand.

Reaction time is crucial

One of the first things I was taught as a novice was that you have to be able to experience, analyze, and react to situations no less than five seconds before they happen. You have to anticipate everything and anything. Ten different scenarios have to be going through your head at any given time and you’ve got to have a plan for every single one. Something that hurts novice rowers in the earning respect department is having horrible reaction times to what’s happening on the water. This usually occurs more when they’re coxing experienced crews but novice crews can also tell when their coxswain is showing up to the party late (and not in a fashionable way).

Your rowers shouldn’t have to take control of the boat because YOU should already have it under control. If rowers are calling for something to happen or telling you to do/call something, that’s a problem because you should have already done or called it. You earn respect from your rowers by demonstrating an unwavering capability to take control of a situation if and, most especially, when the situation warrants. This also relates to what I said at the beginning — calm and composed, never freaking out. For clarification/elaboration, reaction times doesn’t apply only to a situation that could be considered dangerous. It also applies to you calling for the starboards to lift their hands immediately after the boat goes offset, telling the crew exactly what needs to happen in order to recover from a crab and get back into the piece, etc.

Stand up for yourself and always be confident in your calls, decisions, and actions

Your teammates, including other coxswains, are only going to be assholes to you if you let them. If they think they can get away with it, nothing’s going to stop them from telling you to shut up, stop being such a goody two-shoes, or to straight up fuck off. You are in a position on the team that invites a lot of criticism and you have to have a thick layer of skin to deal with it. Confidence is non-negotiable. If you question yourself every time you do something or you let people walk all over you, no one is going to respect you because you don’t respect yourself.

Something I heard a college coach tell a novice coxswain a few weeks ago was “don’t invite contradiction”. I’ve heard that phrase many times in many different situations over the years and have always liked it. A coach I worked with this year said that he’d rather have a coxswain steer directly into a bridge than debate about what to do to avoid it in the five seconds before they hit it. Sticking to your convictions, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad, is important. Being able to defend why you did something is better than doing something and not having a reason for why you did it.

How To Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 29, 2013

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.

Coxing Novice Racing Video of the Week

Video of the Week: “Knuckleheads”

By readyallrow April 22, 2013

People in the comments here were saying the announcer was way too harsh on this crew – they are novices after all. Um, no. No, no, no. Being a novice does not exclude you from being shit on for making straight up illogical decisions. Novice or not, you should know via common sense to NOT go onto the race course before a race has passed you. Why? Because these guys are barreling down the course and novices move at the rate of an elderly turtle.

If you can see three crews coming at you and/or you can hear people yelling “MOVE OFF THE COURSE”, get your ass in gear and move. I understand the “deer in the headlights” moment because I’ve been there but you’ve got to get over it and get out of the way. Not only are you in a position to impact someone else’s race but you could cause a serious collision that could result in very serious injuries.

So, in a situation like this what should you do?

For starters, don’t put yourself in a situation like this. Ever.

Know the traffic pattern before you launch. When in doubt draw it out on a piece of paper and take it in the boat with you. Also make sure you are actually supposed to cross the course at any given point. If you are there will likely be an official waiting in a launch to tell you when it’s safe to do so.

If a race is coming down the course, stop and wait for them to pass you before crossing to the other side. NEVER cross in front of a race. If the race is at the starting line and hasn’t gone off yet, do. not. go. unless a race official has specifically told you to cross. They’ll usually say something like “Belmont Hill, you’re clear to cross. Row it over all eight.” If something like this is necessary the officials will have told you about it in the coaches and coxswains meeting. If they didn’t bring it up, don’t do it.

Assuming you ignore everything I just said and you find yourself in the middle of the course with some heavyweight men’s 8s coming straight toward you, do. not. stop. rowing. Also do not row by pairs if you’re in a four or 4s if you’re in an eight. Row by all four or all eight and get out of the way. Row as far over as you can get to ensure that you are completely off the course. If for some reason you need to turn the boat, turn with everyone on whatever side you have rowing, not just one or two people. The goal is to move quickly.

Give clear, concise, and direct instructions. This is not the time to lose your head and be stammering, stuttering, and fumbling with your words.

Rowers: shut UP. You talking, yelling, etc. does not help and only makes things worse. I hesitate to say what to do if your coxswain isn’t giving you instructions because I don’t want to be responsible for widespread mutinies against coxswains but I can tell you that you should not be doing what the other three rowers are doing from 1:50-1:57 (i.e. just sitting there like it’s a totally normal day at practice and letting one person turn the entire damn boat).

When someone tells you to row, don’t all just start rowing whenever the hell you want. You don’t do that any other time so why would you do it now? If anything, in situations like this is when you need to be the most coordinated in order to get out of there quickly and safely. There most likely isn’t going to be time for the coxswain to say “sit ready, ready, row” so just go with your stroke. Follow them from the beginning. Stroke seats everywhere, do not start rowing from half slide or whatever random position you’re sitting in. Have this worked out with your crew ahead of time that you’ll all start at the catch or the finish, whichever one you choose if you need to abruptly start rowing, that way everyone starts together and you don’t look ridiculous like this crew does.

Remain calm. You can freak out and be pissed at each other when you get back on land.

Novice Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 3, 2013

I’m being forced to bow a quad in an upcoming practice. I’ve been sculling for a week and I feel a little intimidated. I don’t even know which oar I have to put pressure on to turn the boat in my desired direction. The only time I’ve had any experience was when I was in a double with a varsity member. I didn’t learn the basics, but from being in that position I learned how to sound confident. Do you have any tips?

Take your time. If you’re not sure what to do, ask. That is always preferable to guessing, even if it takes a few seconds out of practice. Try and figure out what you’re doing during practice before you get on the water so that you have a chance to go over the practice plan with your coach and can get an idea of what you need to say. Assuming your coach is going out with you, it might be better to just let him tell the crew what to do so you can focus on rowing and steering. That’s how it normally works with novice coxswains.

If you want to turn the boat to starboard (your left), you’ll need to row with your right oar. If you want to turn the boat to port (your right), you’ll need to row with your left oar. Basically whichever way you want to turn, row with the opposite oar.

Coxing How To Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow April 2, 2013

Is there a ‘right way’ to sit in the coxswain seat? My left foot always gets super numb during practice!

You should make sure your low back is pressed against the back of the seat and your feet are pressed into the footboard on either side of your cox box (if you have it in your boat – some boats, like Resolutes, don’t). This will help you feel the boat but it might not always be the most comfortable.

Sometimes my foot goes numb too or I’ll get an epic cramp in my hip but I attribute it mostly to sitting for a long period of time with my muscles tenser than they should be. I often have to remind myself to relax because I can feel when a cramp in my leg is coming on and those things hurt. Usually when we stop rowing I’ll stretch my legs out in front of me or stand up and stretch for a second to loosen everything back up.

How To Racing

How to pack for a regatta or training trip

By readyallrow March 28, 2013

Traveling to regattas has always been one my favorite parts of crew. My team in high school always traveled outside the state of Ohio to race, which meant we were traveling a minimum of 200+ miles one way, so Fridays would be our travel days and we’d race on Saturdays and Sundays. This meant at least two nights in a hotel every week from the beginning of April to the end of May.

After several years of this, I’ve become pretty adept at packing for the bus, hotel, and race site. If you’re traveling this spring, especially to regattas that require overnight stays, here are some of the basic essentials that I always make sure to pack.

Charging cables and an external battery can be lifesavers when you’re traveling, especially if you’re stuck on a plane or bus that doesn’t have outlets. Your phone’s charger can also be an easy thing to forget so I like to keep a couple of spares in my backpack, that way I don’t have to run around my apartment collecting up all my chargers to bring with me.

Now that most of our work, notes, etc. are stored in the cloud, keeping up with homework while traveling is a lot easier. My laptop is a must-have if we’re going on a long trip or I have a lot to do but to save space on shorter trips I’ll just bring my iPad. I can still answer emails and get some writing done if I need to but I primarily use it to relax and catch up on some reading.

Before you leave (or start packing), make sure you also check the weather so you know what the conditions will be like at the race site. In most cases you’ll be spending all day there so you’ll want to have extra clothes on hand to keep you warm and/or dry.

Image via // @rowingcelebration

Coxing How To Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow March 23, 2013

Do you have any advice on coxing starts without calling out the fractions or counting out every stroke? They happen so quick that it’s hard for me to squeeze in useful calls for my rowers.

The whole start (starting four or five, high strokes, and settle) takes about a minute (ish) to get through. After that you can make all the calls you want but until that point, executing the start is more important than whatever else you might say. Rather than saying “1/2, 1/2, 3/4, full” and trying to cram words in between each one, pick one or the other to do. Either call the fractions or say something like “pry send, complete, complete, lengthen, full…” but don’t do both. If/when you make calls, they should be short, monosyllabic words that are quick and easy to say. It’s easy to trip yourself up if you try to say too much so just focus on keeping it simple.

If you need some inspiration, listen to the recordings I’ve posted and hear how those coxswains do their starting calls. That should give you an idea of how you might do it.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31