Tag: qotd

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 29, 2014

Hi. So this is my first year being a coxswain and I’m pretty young (not going to specify). We have just started the season for regattas and I was wondering if you have any advice on what to call during a race with a novice crew? When we are just practicing I don’t really call much because our coaches like to come out on speed boats and help. Also what kind of weights do you take in the boat with you because at the last regatta we have had some problems with weights changing before and after the races which meant we got disqualified.

If you’re not talking a lot during practice because the coaches are working with the boat then the (usually unsaid) expectation is that you’re listening to what the coaches are saying to the individuals and boat as a whole so that you can incorporate the things they’re saying once you start coxing the boat more. So ideally, if you’ve been paying attention and not zoning out, you should already have a solid list of things that you could say to your crew.

As far as weights changing, I’m not sure I know what you mean. That would only matter if you’re coxing a lightweight boat but novice lightweight crews are fairly rare. Weight changing after the race doesn’t matter either, the important thing is that you’re at weight when you weigh in a few hours beforehand. After that you can pretty much do whatever you want. Most places will give you a wrist band or a stamp on your hand or something that indicates you’ve made weight too.

The only weight that should go in the boat is if you are below the minimum of 110lbs for women’s crews and 120lbs for men’s crews and you have to bring a sandbag or weight plates out with you to make up the difference (i.e. I weigh 95lbs so I’d have to carry 15lbs if I was coxing women or 25lbs if I was coxing men). Unless you’re going to actual USRowing sanctioned events though it is highly unlikely you’ll ever weigh in. I think I only did maybe three times my entire high school career. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful with this part of your question though. Feel free to clarify in the comments or shoot me an email if what I said up above totally missed the mark.

Check out the posts linked above – they all kind of touch on first races with novice boats, things you can say, etc. Some might be for spring races but nearly everything is applicable regardless of whether you’re doing a head race or a sprint race. There are also links within those posts that might help you out as well.

Coxing How To Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 27, 2014

What’s the best way to steer through a wake?

Just do it. That sounds dismissive but it’s really that simple. I think wake affects the rowers a lot more than it does the coxswains which is why it’s important to tell them that it’s coming and to stay relaxed. It’s almost always coming at you slightly perpendicular to the boat so unless it’s so rough that you’re getting aggressively knocked off keel then you should just be able to row right through it with minimal adjustments to your steering.

If it’s really rough and you’re getting knocked around then just weigh enough until the water is calm and you can pick it back up. Outside of that, the only steering adjustments I make tend to be steering into the wake for a stroke if it’s particularly strong so that my bow stays pointed where I want it to be (since wake coming from your port side can push you towards shore if you follow a normal traffic pattern). Otherwise I just tell the rowers when it’s about to hit us and on what side (“on this next stroke there’ll be a little bit of wake off of port”) so they can adjust accordingly.

College Coxing Novice Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 24, 2014

Hi. This is my first year being a coxswain ever and also my first year rowing for my college team. Our first race is this weekend on the Willamette. Any words of advice for someone who’s never done this before?

I’ll tell you the three things that I just told someone else:

Make sure you get plenty of sleep so that you’re well rested on race day. Fight the urge to lay in bed and scroll through social media on your phone or watch TV because before you know it it’ll be two hours later and your alarm is set to go off in two hours. This is a really bad habit of mine so whenever I know I need to get some sleep but am not feeling tired or would rather be catching up on Twitter/Instagram I’ll put an eye mask on so that it essentially forces me to close my eyes and try to fall asleep.

Pay attention during the coxswains meeting and if there’s something you don’t understand or want/need clarification on, speak up and say something. There’s a good chance that you’re not the only person with that question so you might as well ask it so the race officials can clarify it for everyone. One of the things that really encouraged me to speak up at these pre-race meetings was occasionally having the officials say “oh, that’s a great question” or “I’m glad you brought that up, I almost forgot to mention that” or something along those lines in response to something I’d asked. It might not seem like it’s that big of a deal but hearing that verbal confirmation that you had a good question can do a lot for a coxswain’s confidence (both at that moment and going forward).

Stay calm no matter what happens, both on land and on the water. Head races are always a little hectic, especially for coxswains (and even more especially for novice coxswains) but it’s a great way to test your ability to maintain your composure while executing your race plan and showing off your leadership skills to your coach(es) and teammates.

Since this is your first race as a coxswain it’s unlikely than anyone’s expectations are that high. That’s not to say that basic expectations aren’t there but no one expects you to go out and steer a perfect course or cox a perfect race your first time out. I always look at races like this as a learning experience first and a competition second. Make sure you have a rough plan going into the race and an idea of what things your coach wants you to focus on. Be aware of the traffic pattern (please) and try to focus on one thing at a time while still being aware of what’s going on around you as you make your way to the starting line and the starting chute.

Above all else though, have a good time. Enjoy the experience and be able to move past anything that doesn’t go according to plan.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 22, 2014

Hi, this is my third year rowing and I am currently a freshman. I started rowing in 7th grade and loved it in middle school, but now as I enter the high school team (it is a club team) I am realizing that I am a lot smaller than other girls. I am currently 5’2 and about 105 in weight. I have mentioned to my coach that I want to cox and she shuts me down every time I ask. (My team is really low on coxswains too.) My question is what should I do? Should I finish fall as a rower then start coxing in the spring? Thanks!

I would finish out the fall season as a rower and then revisit things with your coach maybe mid-winter(ish), well in advance of when your team plans to get back on the water (but not immediately as soon as you start winter training because if you’ve already been consistently asking your coach this will just annoy her even further, which won’t help your case).

You’re the perfect size to be a coxswain so hopefully the only reason she’s saying no is because she doesn’t want to make the switch mid-season, which I can understand (although if that is the case I don’t know why she wouldn’t just say that). If your team is already low on coxswains you’d think that they’d jump at the chance to have someone make that transition but they might have a reason for wanting to keep you as a rower so if you haven’t yet, maybe ask your coach why she wants you to keep rowing instead of switching to coxing and see what she says.

After hearing what she says, if you still feel like you want to try coxing I would, like I said, wait awhile before bringing it up again and then talk with her one-on-one about why you want to switch to coxing and why you think it might be a better fit for you than rowing.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 22, 2014

Hi! I’m a high school junior and I’m fairly certain I want to row DIII in college. When does it make sense to fill out recruitment forms? I’m going to visit a college I’m potentially interested in in about a month and I was thinking of filling out their form and maybe sending the coach an email but I’m not sure if I’m serious about the school yet and I don’t want to waste their time. Thank you!

Now would definitely be a great time to fill out the recruiting forms, especially since you’re going to visit some schools soon. I would also send an email to the coaches at the schools you’re looking at, just indicating your interest and that you’ll be on campus, would it be possible to connect while you’re in town, etc. That way you can get some information on the program while looking at the school and save yourself some time down the road (when you’ll likely be busier with school, SATs/ACTs, etc.) if you decide that you actually are interested in applying here. I only applied to a small handful of schools (like, three I think…) but I emailed several coaches beforehand just to get info on their programs so that I could look at all of the athletics and academics at the same time. I did this while I was still considering a larger range of schools and like I said, ultimately it just saved me a lot of time in the end.

It’s not really a waste of anyone’s time unless you’re leading them on by saying you’re interested when you’re really not (that goes for coaches when talking to prospective athletes too). You’re not at that point yet though so there’s nothing wrong with reaching out and introducing yourself, especially since you’re just at the beginning of the wonderful process that is applying to college. If you decide the school’s not for you, that’s cool – as coaches I think we’d all rather you come to that conclusion sooner rather than later anyways (more for your benefit than ours too, to be honest).

College Coxing Novice Q&A Racing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 22, 2014

Hi! I’m a freshman coxswain on my college’s club crew team and I coxed for four years in high school. My team is going to our first race this weekend and it’s a head race. We only have about 1000 meters of water to use when we practice, so we haven’t actually rowed a 5k at practice and my boat has only really had one practice together. How do I go about coxing a head race when my boat hasn’t been together very long and some of the boys in my boat have never even rowed 5000 meters continuously?

There’s a first time for everything, right? Obviously things aren’t going to be perfect because as you said, you haven’t rowed together for very long and where you train doesn’t allow you to actually practice the distance you’ll be racing so one of the things that you could/should do is try to keep the focus on maybe two or three basic things (i.e. the set, the sequencing, and the timing). You know how you cox hard steady state pieces during practice where you’re not racing but there’s still that intensity about the piece and the focus is mainly on the technical aspects of the stroke, having enough power and ratio to get some good run on the recovery, etc.? That’s what I’m talking about. I’d approach it like that while including some hard 10s and 20s as you see fit.

Related: All about Power 10s

Having your expectations adjusted accordingly lets you (and your crew) shift your focus to things that can actually help you get better in the long run. Rowing 5,000 meters for the first time, both individually and as a crew, might not be easy but if you go into saying “here are our goals, this is what we’re going to focus on” then you can come off the water hopefully being able to say that you worked on them and felt them get better over the course of the race, in which case you could say that you had a successful race … vs. going into it with the sole goal of getting from Point A to Point B as fast as possible and only making calls about walking on other crews, “power 10!”, etc., all while knowing that none of those things are realistic for your crew to be trying to do right now. Hopefully that makes sense too.

The pressure of being in a race situation is obviously something they need to experience and learn to manage but your biggest responsibility will be to keep them focused on whatever goals you or your coach gives them (set, sequencing, timing, etc.) and not let everything fall apart once they start realizing how difficult it is to row full pressure at 30+ SPM over the course of 5,000 meters. Pacing will be important, especially at the beginning when they’re like “huh, this isn’t that bad… *tries to row full pressure at 38spm with no semblance of timing, set, or technique*”. As an experienced coxswain this is definitely something that you’re capable of doing so those would be my suggestions for how to cox them. Make sure you talk with the rowers and coach sometime in the next couple of days to figure out what they feel the current strengths and weaknesses are so you can start planning your calls accordingly. Good luck!

Coxing How To Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 7, 2014

How do you beach launch? It’s going to be my first regatta and I haven’t beach launched yet. My coach isn’t showing any signs of teaching me. Is it similar to regular launching off the dock? Thanks!

Beach launching, also known as wet launching, is when you walk the boat into the water (usually until the water between mid-thigh and knee deep) and roll the boat into the water like you would on a dock … except when you roll it to waist the water is right there instead of you having to bend down to put it in. The great thing for coxswains is that if you ask reeeeally nicely and your boat reeeeally likes you, they’ll carry you in and out of the boat so you don’t get wet.

When you’re going out, you want to walk the boat in deep enough that the fin isn’t going to hit the bottom and then have four people grab oars and four people get the seats/oarlocks like you would on land. To avoid people having to walk all the way around the boat to get their pair partner’s oarlocks undone (which can be a pain since you’re walking through water and that’s not usually a quick process…), we usually work it out so, for example, 2-seat and 3-seat get oars for bow four and bow get’s their and 3-seat’s oarlocks (since they’re on the same side) and 4-seat gets their and 2-seat’s oarlocks (since they are on the same side). Same goes for stern four. Not only does that keep people on the boat to prevent it from moving around (due to wind, wake, etc.) but it’s just always been the faster way to do it in my experience.

During this whole “getting the oars and putting them in” process the coxswain should still be standing on shore. When you’re ready to get in the boat someone will (hopefully) carry you out and put you in your seat. It’s hilarious and adorable – embrace it, particularly now since it’s not exactly warm out in many places outside of Southern California. During the late spring and summer it’s not as big of a deal to walk in on your own. From there, all the rowers should be standing on one side of the boat. The best way to have them get in is by pairs, starting with bow pair and working your way forward. I personally like starting with bow pair because it’s adds some stability to the back of the boat since I’m already in it up front and keeps the boat from getting pointed into shore as people get into the stern and inevitably swing that end out. When it’s time for the stern pair to get in they’ll usually walk the boat out another step or two before getting in (sort of like a push and shove kind of thing) and then once they’re in I’ll have bow four start rowing us out. Another benefit of starting with bow pair is that the stern rowers can hold the boat relatively straight so that the stern doesn’t get pushed into shore and the fin get bent or broken. I’ve also done it where we go bow pair, stern pair, 3+4, and finish with 5+6. (It’s really up to you how you do it so don’t feel like there’s a right or wrong way to go about it.) When the rowers get in, all they’ve gotta do is lift their leg up over the side of the boat and hoist themselves in (it’s not hard to do at all).

One quick thing, before you walk the boat into the water you’ll want to stop and have everyone take off their sandals and give them to whoever is carrying them back to your tent/trailer for you. Make sure they’re wearing something that’s easy to get off (no tennis shoes or anything like that) and that they’re careful when they walk in the water so they don’t cut themselves or anything else.

When you’re coming in to dock, you’ll want to take note of the wind, current, wake, etc. to determine how far out you need to position yourself. You should never come in with more than one pair rowing though (stern or bow pair is usually fine). Do what you’ve gotta do to get yourself parallel to the shoreline and then have your bow man hop out and pull you in closer, if necessary. Don’t stop so far out though that when they get out they’re up to their shoulders (or more) in the water. I’ve seen that happen so many times where some poor rower will get their legs over the gunnel and then slide out only to end up with water two or three inches over their head. They never expect it either, which is the worst. Anyways, if they need to pull you in closer to shore then can walk the bow in and then as everyone else gets out they can pull the boat in more as needed. Before they start taking the oars out make sure you get out too – you don’t want to be in the boat with no oars to stabilize it otherwise you’ll roll right over. Once you’re on land and they’re getting the oars out you can either have everyone get their own oar+oarlock or do it the way you did when they put them in and have four people do one thing and four people do another. Usually if we’re pressed for time I’ll do that, otherwise everyone will just take care of their own stuff.

When you’re ready to roll it up it may be a little trickier (particularly for novices) since the boat is already at waist level and it can be tough to roll it up over heads with just your arms but most of the time it’s not that difficult. I usually skip the “up to waists” call and go straight to “roll it up and over heads, ready up“. From there it’s “split to shoulders and walk it up” as usual. Once everyone is out of the water, stop for a sec and let them slip their shoes on before walking it up, particularly if you’ve got to walk a ways to get to wherever your boats are. Bonus points if you’ve got a towel that they can quickly wipe their feet dry with too. Walking all that distance without shoes is just asking for someone to step on something and cut themselves so I wouldn’t recommend doing it unless your boats are literally directly across from where you’re launching.

Overall, wet launching is an easy process. It only becomes tricky if it’s really windy and even then it’s really not that bad. Below are a couple videos that should give you an idea of what it looks like … although don’t do what this first coxswain did and get in the boat before the oars are in. Trust me, one clumsy knock of the boat and you’re gonna roll over.

College Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 7, 2014

I have decided not to go through the recruiting process but am going to a college that has a D1 team. What would they think of a walk on with rowing experience?

If you’re a good rower and have decent erg scores they’ll probably love you, to be honest. Experienced walk-ons are great. If you know you aren’t going to go through the recruiting process you can still email the coach(es) and say that you’re interested in rowing at the school and are planning on walking on in the fall. Most, if not all, places will invite you to start at the beginning of the year when all the other recruits start instead of waiting until walk-on tryouts to join the team.

There are a lot more experienced walk-ons than you think too so it’s possible you won’t be the only one on your team. Some people don’t want to go through the recruiting process because of the time/effort it takes (which is understandable), some don’t want to make the commitment just yet, and others get to college not planning on rowing and then realize they actually miss it so they start up again.

Nobody’s going to think you’re lame for not trying to get recruited. Being recruited is cool but it borders on being overrated. If you want to row, email the coaches and get some info from them on how being an experienced walk-on will work. Walking on actually gives you a bit more flexibility to decide in the first semester if this is something you really want to commit to for the next however many years so you might as well take advantage of that and just go for it.

Q&A Racing Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 6, 2014

Hey, I was wondering if you could explain the difference between seat racing and matrixes? Thanks!

Someone recently shared this PDF with me that opens to a chapter on crew selection written by Kris Korzeniowski. I’d recommend reading through the first six pages because it explains the entire process of seat racing much better and way more thoroughly than I could. This PDF also explains it well.

Here is another (simpler, I think) explanation that I saved from a Reddit post a couple months ago.

“Say the coach wants to compare rower A to rower B. Rower A starts in boat A and rower B starts in boat B. They race. boat B and boat A tie. Rowers A and B switch. They race again. Now Boat A, with rower B in it, wins by open water. Rower B won the seat race. The only thing that changed was the switch between rowers A and B. When rower B switched into boat A they went faster than boat B and won. Clearly, rower B can make the boat go faster than rower A.”

With the stroke rate and four of the five people in a crew staying constant, the strength and technique of the rowers who are switched (the variables in the equation) will pretty much always tell you who is the faster one of the two because the better the rower’s strength and technique, the more distance they’ll be able to cover.

The “pros” of seat racing are that they simulate race situations fairly well and are easily repeatable. The “con” is that the races can take a lot of time if you have a lot of switches to make in addition to making sure you have equal and adequate amounts of rest time between pieces, the pieces themselves, etc.

Related: Words

A pairs matrix is pretty similar to seat racing except all your rowers are in pairs (hence, the name), are paired up similar to what’s in that table to the right, and there’s more data to work with in the end (which may or may not be a good thing depending on how much you like math). They also take for-freaking-ever. The one time I did this we had like … I donno, maybe five pairs, and it took well over four hours.

The “pros” to doing a pairs matrix is that if you row well technically in a pair then you’re probably going to row well in the eight. Rowing in a pair has a tendency to highlight and sometimes exaggerate your technical ability, for better or worse, so you’re able to look at that a bit more closely than you’d otherwise be able to in a four or eight. The “cons” are the amount of time it takes (did I mention it’s forever…) and that it can favor smaller/lighter rowers who can in turn get crushed in the big boats because the other guys are stronger, heavier, etc. Some people just work better in different boat classes. You have the same issue with seat racing too (which tends to favor the heavier guys) so this isn’t something that’s exclusive to pair matrices, it’s just that it’s a bit more visible.

Related: How to cox a seat race

Hopefully all that makes sense. We did some seat racing this morning and I think I actually have a much better understanding of it now than I did previously (and before I started answering this question). I’d say if it’s something you’re confused by or don’t really understand, see if you can go out on the launch with your coach and record the times. Carefully looking at the numbers and talking it through with the other assistant coach that I went out with (and basically making him explain it to me like I’m 5…) finally cleared up the one part of the process that was confusing me.

Coxing Q&A Rowing Technique

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 2, 2014

Calls to control rush? There’s only so many ways to say “control the recovery” and “slow the slides.” Thanks!! 🙂

I’m a big fan of “patience”, “looong“, “relax”, “feel the recovery”, etc. When we’re paddling I’ll usually say something like “Guys, there’s not a lot of slide control right now and it’s causing us to [do X and Y]. We need to focus a bit more on [doing A and B] and [staying patient] on the recovery as we come into the catch.” Usually whatever call I plan on using (usually one of the ones I said at the beginning) I’ll say where it says [staying patient], that way they hear me saying it and understand what I’m referencing vs. me just randomly saying “patience!” during a piece with zero context whatsoever.

From there I’ll combine that call with whatever “A” and “B” was and get a more combined call that addresses all the issues instead of just part of the problem, if that makes sense. So, if the lack of slide control was causing a few people to row it in because they weren’t giving themselves enough time to get the bodies set, I’d say something about body prep, control coming up, and locking on for probably two or three strokes to help them get the rhythm and ratio back. Starting at the release and as the hands come away, “pivot”, as they start the roll, “patience”, as they lift the hands into the catch, “lock”, and then finish it out with a powerful “send” before repeating that again for another stroke or two. “Pivot, paaatience, lock, send…“.

Obviously this is a little easier to do at steady state rates (18-22ish, maaaybe up to 24) and less so at the higher rates but if you can work calls like this into your warmups, steady state pieces, etc. (both when there is and isn’t a rush problem, just to reinforce the message) then if you experience rush at the higher rates you can simplify the call to something that won’t take as much time to say, like “patience, send” or whatever. As long as you’re consistent with the terminology you use, breaking it down into a shorter call like this can/will still get the message across because they’ll be able to reference the longer call you made before. Sometimes at higher rates when I do this (during practices, not so much races…) I’ll say “Starting to feel a little rushed, let’s get that rhythm back we had the other day. Pivot here … pivot here. Now relaaax into the catch, loose in the legs, LOCK and send … LOCK send…“. It’s spread out over the course of 3-4ish strokes (I try not go more than five, max) and that one long call is broken down into two shorter ones.

Does that make sense? Basically what I’m getting at is that it’s easier to maintain a rhythm with how you should be saying the first call at lower rates than it is at higher rates. If you try to say “pivot, patience, lock, send” right now it’s going to sound more controlled when you say it slowly, which is what you want if you’re trying to get the rowers to exert more control on the slides. Trying to say all of that in the space of however much time a stroke at 30spm takes (…I guess that’d be about two seconds, wouldn’t it…) is a little harder because you won’t have as much control and rhythm in your voice because you’re trying to get out a lot of words in a really short period of time, which in turn is going to negate, in a sense, what you’re trying to communicate to the rowers about being more patient and relaxed. So, at the end of the second paragraph, even though I’m saying more words than I was before, the actual calls that I’m making are shorter so that I can still say them with the proper inflection and rhythm.

Hopefully that wasn’t too convoluted and you can kinda see what I’m getting at. It’d probably make a lot more sense to hear me say it than to read it so whenever I’m out next I’ll try to record myself so you can hear what I mean. Also, check out the posts in the “rush” tag, you might some ideas for what to say in there too.