Tag: qotd

Coxing High School Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 23, 2013

Hello, I am a male HS senior coxswain who is 5’11”, 132lbs., and currently getting looks from several top level college coaches. Problem is, my HS coach says I am too heavy and I have been getting vibes that I may not be allowed to cox this spring due to my size. Compared to the other coxswains in my boathouse, I by far put my boat in the best position to win even despite my weight. I need to have a sit down conversation with the coaching staff to get things straight. I have a general idea of how to make my case to cox but I would like some more input. How would you suggest I approach this conversation? My boat is going to have our fastest season yet and I would like to spend my last HS year finishing what I started three years ago. Coxing is something I want to continue to do on a competitive level in college, so that makes things even more complicated. Also, as a collegiate coach yourself, and I don’t know if you can speak for the rest of the Cornell coaching staff, what is your philosophy about heavy coxswains? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

You are tall for a coxswain … is getting down to 120lbs even possible for you, let alone healthy? That should be what your coaches are asking you rather than giving you vibes like they’re not gonna let you race.

Truthfully, I don’t think you need to say anything other than what you just said. You and your crew are poised to have your fastest season yet (give reasons why you believe this, don’t just say “we’re gonna be fast!” – how do you know this, what are you basing it on, etc.), you want to finish what you started, you’re being looked at by multiple top collegiate programs, etc. and then list a couple reasons as to why YOU are the coxswain that puts this boat in the best position to win. Remember, it’s not about talking the other coxswains down, it’s about talking yourself up.

In addition to that, emphasize the fact that you’re being recruited by these collegiate programs and let them know how not coxing your last season in high school could hurt that. Obviously you’re going to know where you’re going to school before the season starts (presumably) but that’s beside the point. Getting that practice time, race experience, etc. are all huge factors here.

As frustrating as the whole situation is, try not to let your feelings towards it cloud your judgment when you talk to your coach(es). Listen to what they have to say, stay level-headed when presenting your case, and regardless of what the final decision is remember that you’re still a part of the team and it’s still your responsibility to contribute in whatever way you can. It might not be in the way that you’d hope but there is still a boat that you can help go fast or a coxswain you can mentor. Regardless of how things turn out, put it behind you, and move forward. You’re a senior which means everyone on the team is looking to you (whether you realize it or not) to set the example. Your actions and attitude following their final decision (in your favor or not) will play a huge part in communicating to your teammates what the “standard” is for people on your team. Do you hold yourself to a high enough standard that you can accept the decision and move on or are you going to be that person that bitches, complains, and badmouths the coaches weeks/months after the fact?

I definitely can’t speak for the other coaches but I don’t have a problem with “heavy” coxswains as long as they’re within a “common sense” range above the minimum. By “common sense” I mean just that – knowing that they are physically dead weight and therefore should be the lightest athlete in the boat, coxswains should use their common sense when looking at their weight in relation to their respective minimums if they aren’t naturally under them. 15lbs over it isn’t common sense but 5lbs is. For me, I ‘d say 7-8lbs over the minimum is the upper limit of that range. If you’re coxing lightweights I would say that range shrinks to 3-5lbs because … you’re coxing lightweights. The logic there should be obvious. If the coxswain was toeing the line, I’d casually mention it just to get an idea of what their plan is to get to weight (do they even have a plan?) and ensure that they’re being safe/responsible when it comes to nutrition, exercise, etc.

If a coxswain was over that I’d talk with them, explain my thought process, assess what weight they could reasonably be at relative to the racing minimum (because not everyone can easily be 110lbs or 125lbs), and then come up with a plan with them (and/or put them in contact with the strength coach/team nutritionist) to help them get there within a practical period of time.

When compared to more legitimate things like actual abilities, yes, it’s still a factor but their weight is at the very bottom of the list of things I look at when giving input on coxswains. If I can see that they’re taking it seriously, working out regularly, and putting the effort in it’s a complete non-issue for me. If they’re not putting the effort in or taking it seriously, then it becomes a bigger thing to consider, although still relatively minor in comparison to everything else.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches Training & Nutrition

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 22, 2013

OK regarding the coxswains working out, I’m a coxswain who typically does abs and stuff on my own at home to stay fit and this season I started doing the ab circuits with the team but I have very strong abs (I used to be a swimmer) so I tend to do all of the stuff correctly without slacking and some of the rowers started giving me dirty looks because it makes them look bad to the coach. What should I do? They feel insulted that I’m doing something better than them. Should I slack a little?

Oh come on. Like, just because the coxswain is the smallest athlete in the boat that automatically means that they should be sub-par at everything just so the “real” athletes can look fitter, stronger, etc? Absolutely not. I played softball for 10 years before I started coxing, in addition to a few other sports here and there. I was in pretty good shape in high school and was frequently able to do the exercises as well as the majority of the rowers and better than some. (By some I mean like, 5 or 6 at most out of 50.) Not once did anyone give me shit for it. Our coach would make good-natured remarks here and there like “guys, are you really going to let a 90lb coxswain do more pushups than you?” and that would end up motivating them to try to do more pushups than me or two of the other coxswains who were also multi-sport athletes. That’s exactly what would happen too – we would essentially challenge them to “get on our level” and they would do it. I can’t speak for the other coxswains but for me, I saw it as just another one of my responsibilities as their coxswain to challenge them just as hard off the water as I did on it. I’m a viciously competitive person but this was never about one-upping them or trying to make them look bad to our coach – all it was was me trying to push them to do better.

Does it make the rowers look bad in the eyes of the coach if someone whose physical fitness contributes nothing towards generating power in the boat is performing better than them at certain exercises? I can’t speak for every coach but for me, it doesn’t necessarily make you look bad but it does make me raise an eyebrow, especially if it’s obvious that you should be performing better than them. There’s no excuse when it comes to doing exercises correctly. I literally cannot comprehend, no matter how hard I try, how some people don’t understand how to properly do a pushup or a crunch or a plank or one of the many other ridiculously simple exercises that we do. If you’re performing them incorrectly after you’ve been show the right way to do them, yea, you can bet your ass I’m judging you for it. This has absolutely nothing with how well the coxswain or anyone else is doing it. If you can’t even do a pushup right, do you honestly think that makes me confident in your abilities to move an oar through the water? No, it doesn’t.

Circling back around to your question, no, you shouldn’t “slack a little” just to make your teammates feel better about themselves. Just writing that pisses me off. The looks they give you are the looks I’m giving them right now. Seriously, if they put half as much effort into doing the circuits correctly and pushing themselves a bit as they do getting pissed at you for doing just that they wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not the coach was comparing them to you because there would be no comparison.

The bottom line is they need to step up and so do you. If I was talking to you as a group I’d be pretty damn stern with the rowers and tell them to either grow the fuck up or leave. I have no patience for stuff like this. With you, I would say that as much as I (as a coach and fellow coxswain) appreciate seeing you workout with the team, in this case I would rather see you standing up at the front of the room leading the workouts and ensuring everyone is doing them correctly and not half-assing anything. That means calling people out when they’re doing something incorrectly or when they’re slacking and pushing them to be at the level your coach (and/or you) expects them to be at. Instead of brushing it off when they give you dirty looks, assert yourself. Be a leader and lead your team instead of blending in with the crowd and letting them settle for anything less than excellence.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 20, 2013

We have a coxswain who always covers his microphone with his hand which he thinks gives him this like gruff thing going on, but the problem is we can’t always understand him and quite frankly, it’s annoying. I don’t get why he needs it when we’re not going into the wind but what should we do? Would it be rude to ask if he could please stop or what?

I know several coxswains that do/did this and they were all guys so it’s funny that you say your coxswain does the same thing. If you can’t understand him (and even if you think it’s annoying) you should just ask him to stop. I can understand trying to hold the mic a little closer to your mouth if the wind is particularly strong but it’s really rare that this is actually necessary. If what he’s saying is muffled then that negates whatever effect he’s going for anyways. As long as you aren’t rude when you say something, asking him to stop messing with the mic wouldn’t be rude at all.

Coxing Novice Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 19, 2013

Hi! I just started coxing this fall, and towards the end of the season my rowers told me that the calls I was making during our race pieces were good but that I should work on being more controlled with my voice. I think it’s because I’m nervous about being silent for too long so I rush everything out but then I also run out of things to say. I also think I need to work on being less repetitive and have a little more intensity to my calls. However, we went off the water right after that. Is there any way I can work on this over the winter? I really want to work on these things and I’m bummed I won’t really have a good opportunity the whole winter. I cox the guys on the ergs but it’s very different than being in the boat. Right now I’m just listening to tapes when I have spare time and taking notes, but is there any way to actually practice this before spring?

One thing you can do in the winter to increase the variety of your calls is get together with some other coxswains, listen to some recordings (including each others), and start creating a list of calls for … everything. Catches, finishes, drive, recovery, making a move, sprinting, etc. Everything. Google Sheets is a good way to keep it all organized. With each call you write down, make sure you understand where it should be called (meaning where during the stroke and if necessary, where during a race or piece), what its purpose is, and how it should be said (tone of voice, intonation, etc.) – all good things to write down next to each call.

Another thing you can do is get some video of crews on YouTube (or your own crew, if you have some) and watch it with no sound while practicing your calls. The coxswain’s view of races would be a good way to practice this. This allows you to practice making the calls at the correct spot in the stroke, as well as work on your intensity, tone, control, etc. during the more “frantic” parts of the race. It’ll also help you work on your pacing so you don’t use all your calls up right at the start of the race. I’d recommend doing this with the other coxswains so that you can critique each other and get feedback on everything.

When you’re coxing the guys on the erg, make sure you’re coxing everyone and not each individual, if that makes sense. Normally when you think of coxing people on the erg you think about standing behind them giving them power 10s. What I’m talking about is talking to the entire group of rowers and making calls similarly to how you would in the boat. Make individual calls if/when necessary but the majority of what you’re saying should be directed towards everyone. Forget about the 5s, 10s, etc. and focus more on making general reminders about the bodies and helping them visualize being on the water with an oar in their hand. Take calls from the list you’ve been creating and try to incorporate 3-5 into your vernacular every few days until they become a regular part of your vocabulary.

It’s great that you’re going into the next few months knowing exactly what you need to work on. It can be tough working on the audible part of coxing in the winter but it’s definitely possible if you get creative.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 16, 2013

Hey! So I’m a coxswain in high school and we (all the coxswains) want a coxswain evaluation/ranking from the rowers. Some coxswains feel like they should be in a different boat and we all want feedback from the rowers. How do we go about asking our coach about it?

I would advise against a “ranking” from the rowers. That would only cause … problems. Leave that kind of stuff to your coaches.

I’d talk to your coach and say that you and the other coxswains are looking for some more in-depth feedback from the rowers so that you can get an idea of the things you need to focus on improving over the winter. Ask them if it’d be possible to do a coxswain evaluation at the start or end of practice one day. If it is, ask them if you can make a list of things that everyone wants feedback on and give it to them for final approval within a day or two. Some coaches will want to create the evaluations themselves but others might be OK with you guys coming up with the questions (or some of them) yourselves as long as they get to see what they are first.

If they’re OK with you writing some of them, sit down with the other coxswains and come up with a list of 8-12 things that you think are the most important things for you to be evaluated on. If you need help coming up with ideas, check out the “coxswain evaluation” tag. Also make sure to note whether you want feedback in the form of short answers or a 1-2-3-4-5 system where “5” is very proficient or whatever you want to say and “1” is the opposite. Personally I’m a fan of short answers but the amount of time you have usually dictates whether or not doing that is an option.

Also, when you propose the idea to your coach, leave the part about being in different boats out because that’s not something the rowers have any control over – the coach(es) make those decisions and they’ll have their own reasons as to why you’re in the boats you are. If you or anyone want to know specifically why you were in this boat instead of that one, you should go directly to your coach and ask.

Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 15, 2013

Hi! I know you’ve addressed this situation already but I need a little more advice in this case. You talk about how a coxswain (me, sophomore) dating a rower (junior) is a bad idea but it’s already happening and has been for almost a year. The new recruit freshmen don’t know about it yet because we are trying to keep it as low-key and off-the-water as possible. I guess I’m looking for damage control tips. We have a lot of boat switch-ups through the season so we aren’t often in the same boat. If I have favoritism at all it’s for the rowers in my class year because I’ve worked so hard with them. How can I continue to show the team that this won’t negatively affect them? We generally just don’t talk about it.

If you don’t talk about it and are keeping it low key and off the water, why do you need to do damage control? I think I’m either missing something or you’re making a bigger deal out this than it is. You’re not required to tell them you’re dating. Granted, they probably already know because people talk but if they haven’t said anything they probably don’t care. They probably wouldn’t care even if you did tell them. The only time stuff like this becomes an issue is when it starts to show up at practice – you’re ignoring your responsibilities in favor of hanging out with them at practice, you’re showing unnecessary favoritism towards them, you start being overly passive aggressive towards each other if things start going poorly, etc. If none of this is happening, again, I’m not sure why damage control is necessary.

Is dating one of your rowers a good idea? Not usually. Is it possible if people are mature about it? Definitely. This is more often the case in college than it is in high school (because people are generally more mature in general) but it is possible.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 15, 2013

Hey! How do you record yourself during a piece etc. if you can’t buy a GOPRO or a recorder? I don’t want to take my phone on board but I still want either race footage or just sound recordings. Thank you!

That’s kinda like asking how to film a movie without any kind of camera – your options are kinda limited. I really recommend investing in a recorder – you can easily find good quality ones under $30 but most new ones shouldn’t cost more than $50 anyways. (You can see some of the ones I recommend in the post linked below.) If you can’t do that you could always ask your coach if your team would reimburse you for whatever recorder you buy but the catch is that it would belong to the team and any coxswain could use it, not just you. If you went this route I’d see if you could buy a couple of them, that way they could be rotated between the coxswains throughout the coxswains.

The only other option I can think of is to just use your phone. I don’t recommend taking it out if it’s unprotected (obviously) but if you get one of those waterproof pouches (I recommend something like this one) you should be fine. You can wear it around your neck and still use it without having to take it out of the bag. I’ve never had issues with the sound when I’ve done this either so it’s a good solution if you have no other alternative. The $10 – $12ish expense to get one though is worth it when you consider how much it would cost to replace a water-damaged phone.

College Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 14, 2013

We finished fall season maybe 3 weeks ago and we’ve had 2 weeks off since then. We are starting winter training next week and I just can’t motivate myself. I finished the on-water season with my coach saying I didn’t meet his expectations (I’ve only rowed since this spring and I was in a quad all fall. My teammates rowed for 2-4 years so they are GOOD compared to me.) Anyway, he made me feel like shit and I don’t even want to try anymore because I feel like this is useless and I’m wasting my/his time. I don’t know what to do and as much as I love being on the water, I don’t want to do a sport that make me feel so bad about myself. (His comment made me cry more than I should have). Maybe I’m too weak, IDK, but just the thought of being back at our gym make me want to hide under a blanket forever (haha). I know I don’t really have a question here but just your opinion would be nice. (I only row for a small club at my college.) If you have no idea what to answer, don’t worry haha! Thanks!

I can understand a coach having a conversation with a rower or coxswain at the end of the (spring) season and saying he/she felt they could have done better but to flat out say you didn’t meet their expectations is a little harsh, especially since the fall season doesn’t mean anything. It’s completely unimportant. Also considering you’ve only been rowing for a season at small club, this just seems like a bit of an overreaction by your coach. If you were at a bigger school with a bigger program, I could probably make a better case for saying something like that but at a small club? I don’t really understand it. Regardless, if you’re not enjoying yourself and don’t feel like participating in the sport is a worthwhile use of your time then that’s certainly cause to question whether or not you want to keep doing it.

I don’t think you should quit just because your coach made one potentially unnecessary comment though. It’s possible he had different intentions and just failed to communicate them properly. It is his job to push you to be your best and at times you’ve got to have a thick skin and be able to take the harsher criticisms because ultimately, that’s what is going to make you a better athlete. I’d talk to him before you start winter training and see if you can get a better feel for what he was saying before – what were his expectations, why didn’t you meet them, what could you have done better/differently, what does he want to see you improve on for the spring, and knowing that you’ve only been rowing for one season, did he feel like his expectations for the fall were realistic. After talking to him and hearing what he has to say about the fall and upcoming spring season, then you can make a decision as to whether or not you want to continue training..

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 13, 2013

Hey! So my novice team has about 5 boats with coxswains and 2 cox boxes. The novice girls have 5 boats and 5 cox boxes and the varsity all have enough also. It is really annoying when we go on the water and three coxswains don’t have cox boxes or are stuck with a cox box mini (we have one) or cox box (also only one). The coxswains on the team all really want functioning cox boxes, so how do you think we should go about asking our coach about it (or rather if we even should ask)?

You should definitely ask for several reasons but the biggest reason is for safety. For some reason this always gets overlooked and I cannot for the life of me understand why since everyone always says it’s their number one priority. If you don’t have a cox box, everything you say (or yell, rather) is only going as far as 7-seat, maybe. If you’re in a bow loader, your bow man is probably the only person who hears you (as long as there’s a headwind). That’s annoying when you’re trying to make calls, especially to novices, but it’s a HUGE problem if you get into a dangerous situation and need to have everyone’s attention. If you’re in bad weather and it’s raining and really windy, there’s no way anyone can hear what you’re saying which makes it difficult if you’re trying to get your point, rowing in a strong current, trying to dock, etc.

I would bring this up to your coach(es), in addition to any other issues you’ve encountered by not having one. My one caution though would be to not say you want one just because everyone else has one. If your coach really needs to be convinced, ask them how well a boat would function if you only had 5 oars instead of eight or if only half of the seats were slid back and forth. That’s similar to the disadvantage your boat is at when the coxswain doesn’t have their one crucial piece of equipment.

Cox boxes are expensive though so I guess if you want to look for a reason to justify why not every coxswain has their own, this is that reason. Between the cox box, mic, charger, and case it totals something like $680. Multiply that by three and that’s over $2000 (which is ridiculous given how limited the cox boxes are…). Coaches, parent/executive boards, etc. see that and say “no way” because they’d rather spend the money on riggers, oars, boats, travel, etc.

When you talk to your coaches, go in knowing how much the three cox boxes would cost your team and a plan for how you plan on raising the money to purchase them and/or a plan to search for and acquire used cox boxes from other teams. Linked below is a post on fundraising that you can use for inspiration if you need some ideas.

If you’re interested in buying them used, I’d suggest posting an ad on row2k in their classifieds section under “Accessories Wanted”. You could also post it under “Oars and Equipment Wanted” for additional exposure. Make sure you list the contact info of whoever is in charge of the search (even if you’re doing the work, I’d put a parent or coach as the contact person) and the price you’re willing to pay (make sure it’s fair and reasonable!).

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By readyallrow November 13, 2013

What do you think about coxswain – coxswain romantic relationships?

The same as any other crew relationship – probably not the smartest idea (especially if you’re on the same team) but if you’re mature about it, obviously I’m sure you can make it work.

Related: Relationships tag

The same drama that comes up with other relationships can arise if things end poorly and in the end, it’s a distraction that no one wants to deal with. It’s even tougher with coxswains because we’ve gotta be able to work together and communicate on/off the water – if something inhibits that then it effects everyone else on the team. Plus, if you’re on the same team and competing for the same boats, that can also cause unnecessary tension. It’s your call obviously but whatever you decide to do, maturity has to win out over everything else.