Tag: qotd

Coxing Q&A Training & Nutrition

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What do you eat before you row? Why do you prefer coxing?

Some good stuff to eat before practice is food that has a good balance of carbs and protein – a bagel with peanut butter or a PB sandwich, yogurt, a bar of some kind, a banana, etc. If you’re eating RIGHT before practice (like 30 minutes or less), stick to fruits and vegetables, stuff that is easily digestible. 2-3 hours beforehand (i.e. around lunch time) you can eat PB+breads … that stuff takes longer to digest so you don’t want it sitting in your stomach right when you get on the water. The carbs and stuff from that will give you a good energy boost when you get out there though.

Once you’re off the water make sure you drink some water, chocolate milk (it helps with muscle recovery), etc. After you finish rowing, if it’s been a hard workout and you’re like, physically dead, you’ll need to eat something high in carbs to replenish the glycogen in your system. You’ll also need to replenish the electrolytes you lost through sweating. If eating solid food makes you sick, try Gatorade or another high-card drink. You shouldn’t wait to eat after you get off the water. A few hours after you get off, try and eat a solid meal that’s fairly high in carbs so you can continue to replenish your system. Orange juice, pasta, raisins, bananas, and bagels are all good post-workout choices. Don’t forget about the protein too…chicken is a good addition to your post-workout dinners. Peanuts are a good snack for right when you get off too.

Part 2 of your question … why do I prefer coxing. Coxing to me is just as intense as rowing is but instead of it being physical, it’s mental. I love strategizing and coming up with race plans. I love all the pressure there is on the coxswains to execute everything perfectly. Rowers only have to worry about one thing – getting from point A to B as fast as possible. Coxswains are responsible for getting out on the water on time, going through warmups, making sure the boat understands the race plan, making sure they know what this call means and what that call means, getting to the line on time, getting the best point possible so you have to do minimal adjusting when the race starts, steering a straight course, etc. There’s SO much mentally that goes into coxing and that is what I love about it.

As much of a team sport as rowing an eight is, I really think of coxing as being an individual sport in itself. When I cox, I’m hypersensitive to everything that’s going on around me but at the same time, I’m in my own little bubble, almost inside my own head. In that split second before I make a call to adjust the rate, start the sprint, take a 10, etc. I go through 10 different scenarios in my head as to how it could play out, is this the right spot to do this, what if it doesn’t work, are our catches together, is this going to mess with our timing, can they pull this sprint off and walk from 2nd to 1st, etc. There’s SO much that I love about coxing but the mental aspect of it is definitely one of the greatest parts of being a coxswain.

How To Q&A

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Hey, I was wondering if you have any advice on oar painting. In the past all our team has done is just use regular spray paint over the old cracked paint job (obviously a mistake), but our coach has put me in charge of the repainting this year and I want to do it right. I’ve stared working on sanding down the blades but am unsure how to go about painting. Should we just use regular spray paint with a protective finish? I’ve read that some people use automotive paint.

It’s been awhile since I last painted any oars myself but I have a general idea of how it’s done so hopefully this helps. For paint, automotive paint is definitely the way to go. You can also use marine paint but automotive paint has more color choices.

1. Start with a low-grit sandpaper (180 is good) and sand the oars until ALL the shine is gone. Rinse the oar off and let it dry.

2. Prime the oars with a lacquer or enamel primer (lacquer works best but enamel is fine too) 2-3 times, letting it fully dry each time between coats.

3. After you’ve applied the last coat and let it dry, go over the oar with a high-grit sandpaper (400 is good), rinse, and let it dry. This will help the top coat adhere to the primer and create a stronger bond between the paints.

4. Once it’s dried, begin applying the topcoat. Make sure you use the same type of paint for the topcoat that you used for the primer – i.e. if the primer was lacquer, use a lacquer top coat. Add 3-5 layers of topcoat and make sure you let it dry fully in between each coat. After the final coat, let the oar dry for at least 8 hours (or overnight) before you start adding any designs.

5. Use painters tape and/or stencils to add your team’s design to the oar. Before you paint the design, lightly sand the area that you’ll be painting with the 400 grit sandpaper. If you’re adding multiple colors/layers to the design, let each layer dry before moving on to the next one.

6. Once you’ve completely finished painting, use a clear coat to seal in the color and design. This will also help protect the oar as well as give them a nice shine. Add 2-3 coats, letting each one dry in between.

Coxing Q&A Teammates & Coaches

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Advice from a coxes perspective would be great. I’ve been lucky enough to have the same cox for 2 years & he used to be amazing. Recently, it’s felt very much like he’s lost interest. He’s just in the boat, not part of the crew. He’s going through the motions. It makes it very hard to stay motivated, given everything else that’s crappy. He’s also coxing the elite men, maybe he sees them as his chance to win & we’re just the disorganized cranky old women he coxes sometimes. Should I call him on the change?

Ah, I know this feeling. Sometimes I recognize it right away and other times I don’t realize it until after the fact. It’s possible that you’re right – he identifies more strongly with the men and recognizes their competitiveness as a chance to really exercise his coxing muscles so that’s where he’s shifted his focus. I get that because I’ve been in similar situations.. If your crew really is the “disorganized cranky old women he coxes sometimes” then that’s most likely what’s going on. Guys coxing women is tough to begin with but the one consistency I’ve noticed with the few guys I’ve discussed it with is that when the rowers start typical “girl” drama, they get disinterested pretty fast.

I completely understand why it’s hard to stay motivated when your coxswain makes it obvious, either intentionally or unintentionally, that they don’t want to be there. As a crew, I think it’s well within your right to sit down and talk with him. I would hope you’d do the same for any rower displaying the same attitude. Ask him if he’s free for a boat meeting one day (ideally after practice or on a day when you’re not going on the water) and then make a short list of what you want to talk about. I find that boat meetings are much more effective when there’s a set agenda. Explain to him that you’ve noticed over the last few weeks/months that something has changed and he doesn’t seem as into the boat as he used to be. Avoid directly accusing him of liking the elite men better since you don’t actually know that’s the issue. First ask him if everything is ok – maybe school or work has been really hectic lately and he’s just been low on energy. Everybody’s been there so hopefully the crew can understand this. If he says everything is fine, then you can broach the subject of the elite men.

Explain that you’ve noticed that since he started coxing the elite men, he seems less interested in coxing your boat. Again, don’t be accusatory – state what you’ve seen and let him explain from there. Tell him that if that’s the case then it might be best for him to take some time and decide if he wants to continue coxing you guys. Explain that you’re happy that he’s coxing a crew that has such high potential but your focus is your boat and you need a coxswain who is just as invested in this crew as the rowers are. If he says he’s become disinterested or less motivated, ask him why. Be prepared that he might say it’s because of the crew, for whatever reason. Don’t be offended or defensive – take what he’s saying as an opportunity to improve and make some changes.

For me, I tend to lose interest really fast when I’m working with people who aren’t as invested, motivated, or “into” whatever it is we’re doing. If I can see that I’m putting in all this effort but they aren’t, why should I continue doing what I’m doing if I’m the only one doing it? Having coached a couple teams at the same time over the last few months, I’ve also noticed that when one team is at a 3 and another team is at an 8, my excitement, enthusiasm, and effort is naturally going to go to the team at an 8. I tend to notice this after the fact but now that it’s something I know, it’s helped me prepare for future coaching situations.

Like I said, I wouldn’t just look at him being a flake … look at the team and see if the attitudes of the rowers or the crew as a whole could have played a factor in his declining levels of interest. Coxswains need to feel motivated and inspired too so when it doesn’t feel like the rowers are giving 100% coxswains can interpret their role on the team as being pointless, which makes it really hard to get into practice.

Q&A Training & Nutrition

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Hi, I can’t erg due to feet injuries, so I was wondering what I should do for upper body/core workouts? I find stuff online but I can never stick with it.

It depends on the extent of your injuries. If you can’t erg I’m assuming putting any kind of pressure on your feet is out of the question. If you can handle doing planks and stuff like that then core routines are a perfect go-to. Have you tried something like the Nike Training Club app? If you can’t do anything with your feet, check out the arms, back, shoulders, and ab/core workouts. Gotta commit though – find something you like and stick with it.

College Q&A Recruiting

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I know a coxswain who just applied and got into UCLA. I heard that all she had to do on her application essays was write “athlete”. Does this ever happen? Or is it just like huge colleges if they really, really want you…

This sounds … unlikely. Admissions offices don’t care if you’re an athlete – yes, your coach can speak on your behalf and give his/her input on what you can bring to the team and to the university, but if the people reviewing your application don’t think that you’re a good fit academically, you won’t be accepted. I’m sure there are athletes that can get away with doing this but rowing is the last sport that I think it would happen in … and like I said, even if it does happen it’s gotta be a rare occurrence.

Simply writing “athlete” on your essays is a really gross display of arrogance in my opinion. Your grades matter, as does your ability to put pen to paper and demonstrate your critical thinking skills. Admissions essays are how the university gets to know you – it’s like an interview. It’s your opportunity to say “this is who I am and this is why you should accept me.” Would you walk into a place of business with a job application that just has the job title you want scrawled on it? I certainly hope not. Colleges “really, really want” students who are going to succeed in the classroom, get a degree, and go on to become successful citizens who make the university look good. Yes, they might be really excited that a 5-star recruit is applying there but they won’t be accepted simply on their athletic skills alone. Does it happen? On rare occasions, of course it does. Does that make it right? No.

I know this might sound like a naive plug for college but I promise it’s not. It’s coming from experience as someone who participated in D1 sports and as someone who worked with one of the countries most well-known D1 football teams (aka the exact type of people who you would think would just have to write “athlete” on their applications). Education matters and simply writing “athlete” undermines every person, athlete or not, who has ever taken the time to put down a thoughtful response.

Q&A Rowing

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Hey, as a coach you might be able to tell me, in a quad how do you decide who goes where? And the same for an eight? Where you’re placed in the boat, should this tell you anything about where you “sit” compared to the rest of the crew?

I assume where people go is decided the same way it is for an eight or any other boat. I’ve seen coaches get super methodical about it and put lineups together based on tried and true methods and I’ve seen others put them together based on … nothing. Not every coach follows what I’ve written here but it’s what I’ve seen the coaches I’ve been with do so it’s what I know to be the most effective method of putting together a crew.

Regardless of the boat class these tend to hold true for each seat across the board.

The most basic determination of a lineup is based on weight. Lighter rowers are in stern and bow pair and the heavier rowers are in the middle four. This has a lot to do with boat physics. When selecting sides, some coaches will ask the rowers which is their dominant hand to help them determine whether they should row port or starboard. If you think about it, it makes sense. Feathering requires a lot of muscle control and that motion is made easier if the dominant hand, which has a more developed sense of fine motor control, is the inside hand.

With the exception of the coxswain’s seat, bow pair is where your smallest rowers (height and weight wise) will be. The hull is at it’s narrowest back there, so having a smaller rower there ensures that they won’t be impeded by the sides of the boat while trying to row. The main job of bow pair is to stabilize the boat, ignoring the fact that they sit in a very unstable part of the shell. Because of this, their technique needs to be pretty good. Movements and adjustments are felt more strongly back there and tend to have a greater effect on the boat compared to similar adjustments made by rowers in other seats. Thus, these rowers need to be precise. Even though no one is following bow pair, the ability to mirror the movements of the stern pair is critical. The farther towards bow you get, the worse the rushing becomes, so it’s important that they be able to zone in on stern pair’s blades and follow them closely. In boats without a coxswain, the bowman takes on an additional responsibility of being the pseudo-coxswain. They steer the boat with their toes (hence the phrase “toeing the quad”), so their sense of precision has to be heightened. They’re also in charge of making calls for shifts in stroke rate, power, etc. so it’s imperative that they have a good understanding of how the boat moves and be able to assess the situation like a coxswain would.

Seats 3, 4, 5, and 6 are known as the “engine room”. Their only job is to produce power. They sit in the widest, most stable part of the boat, so any movements or adjustments they make have little effect on the rest of the boat. (Don’t read that and think “oh, well, I don’t have to make adjustments then if no one else is going to notice”. WRONG-O!!) These rowers are typically the tallest and heaviest, meaning they naturally have the ability to produce more power. Since that is their focus, they aren’t always the most technically sound members of the crew. If you read that and assume you can get away with shitty technique, you’re 0-2…technique is still extremely critical to making a boat fast. These rowers simply have a slightly different role in the boat than everyone else. Lineups are usually built around seats 5 and 6, where the strongest of all eight rowers are usually placed. Like the stroke, they need to be consistent, although instead of with stroke rate it’s with their power production.

Stern pair is where you want your most consistent (and ideally, technically sound) rowers. They must also be some of the most physically fit members of the crew. Their job is to set and maintain the pace of the boat – they think for the rest of the crew in a way the coxswain can’t. The stroke must have good communication skills in order to be able to relay feedback to the coxswain so they can make the necessary calls. 7-seat acts as a buffer between the stroke and the rest of the crew. Their role in stern pair is to maintain the stroke rate and rhythm set by the stroke and to “pass it back” to the rest of the boat. While the technique of these rowers is usually very good, particularly the stroke’s, it can be affected by focusing too much on the rest of the boat. As stroke, you’re not focused on just one thing like the engine room or bow pair is. This is most often why coaches will put the stroke in 6-seat for a practice or two. If this happens, don’t freak out. It’s not a demotion or indication that you’re not up to par. It’s a good thing because it gives you a chance to row without worrying about the seven other people who are looking to you to set the rhythm. It gives you the opportunity to focus on and clean up your technique before moving back up.

In smaller boats, the responsibilities of each person in a given seat is still the same with the exception of the middle pair in 4s. They have to take on the characteristics of not only the engine room but also those of bow pair and stern pair.

Q&A Rowing Teammates & Coaches

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I row for school, I am not in their boat but I have two good friends in one boat and they are always laughing and talking and not listening. It’s really annoying when the rest of the squad is taking it seriously! Should I say anything or just leave it for the coaches?

Since they aren’t in your boat, I wouldn’t say anything since it’s (hopefully) not directly affecting you or your boat. If they do the same stuff on land that they do in the boat, you could try having a conversation off to the side with them and explain that it’s distracting and frustrating to everyone around them when they see two teammates not taking the practice seriously. Leave it at that. They’ll either get the message or they won’t.

In general though, it’s up to the coaches and coxswains to handle stuff like this. Their coxswain needs to tell them to stop talking and pay attention when you’re on the water and the coach who’s out with them also needs to tell them to stop or get out of the boat. Unless you’re a team captain or something, I think it’d be out of place for you to say something since you’re not all in the same boat.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

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I’m a junior in high school and I’m 5’11”. What kind of erg times should I strive for to be recruited by colleges? I’ve heard mix things like sub 8 and sub 7:30 – is there a lot of variation among schools and divisions? I’m one of the better rowers on my team but I don’t know what kinds of times other kids have from around the country. I just started rowing a little less than a year ago and my last 2k was an 8:10. Would I realistically be able to get my time down before college?

I think generally coaches from the top openweight programs are looking for times that are sub-7:30ish. Lightweight women should shoot for times that are sub-7:40 to 7:50ish.

It’s definitely possible to get your time down before college but you’ll have to work for it. It’s not all about erging harder either. In order to go harder, you’ve got to be stronger, which means lifting, doing cardio, core, etc. The seconds aren’t going to come off as quickly as they did when you first started rowing. It’s like trying to lose weight … at first it comes off fast, but the longer you workout, the amount of weight you lose decreases as your body becomes more fit. Ideally if you are looking to be recruited, you would have already started the process of researching programs and contacting coaches in the fall. When you do talk with them, keep open lines of communication throughout the year and update them on any PRs you may achieve between now and this time next year.

There is some variation between divisions due mostly to the differing levels of competitiveness. D1 schools are going to be a lot more strict about erg times whereas D3 schools might be more lenient. Most D3 programs are clubs, not varsity (and the ones that are varsity can’t offer athletes scholarships anyways), so the majority of people on the team don’t start rowing until they join. I think on the club team I coach now there is only one rower (of 35-40ish) who rowed in high school. There are most likely some subtle differences between what individual universities are looking for as far as erg times though but to find out what they are, you’d have to reach out to the coaches and ask. The Ivies, Washington, Cal, Stanford, etc. are all very strong programs that tend to attract rowers with exceptional times.

In terms of finding out times of other people in the country, there are a few ways to find out, all involving a decent amount of research on your end. The first is to ask. Talk with your current coach or any alumni rowers from your program who row(ed) in college. Your coach should have a general idea of what previous rowers in your program had if you can’t actually talk with any of them. Second, ask people on Reddit. The rowing community is pretty vast on there and most people are willing to share their times if/when asked (although this question gets asked a lot so search the sub before starting a new thread).

Related: Hey I’m currently a sophomore & I’m interested in rowing in college. An older teammate suggested I make a beRecruited account. What are your thoughts on the website? Is it helpful? If so, what are your suggestions about keeping it updated? I feel weird writing about myself! Should I list any regatta my boat has placed in or just major races?

Third, go through sites like CollegeConfidential and beRecruited.com. CollegeConfidential isn’t limited to rowing, so you’ll have to search “rowing”, “erg times”, etc. in the forum to bring up specific results, but there are a lot of great questions and even more great answers on there. The vast amount of information can be overwhelming though. beRecruited.com is something you should consider looking into if you’re serious about being recruited.

Coxing High School Q&A

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I’m in 10th grade. I’m 5’5″ and don’t have very good erg times. I feel like it would be best if I tried to be a coxswain if I want to make it into college, but I’m also afraid I’d be too heavy. How much should a 5’5″ cox weigh and how should I talk to my coach about letting me cox sometime? I feel like it’s the way to go for me, but I don’t think my coach would let me when we have a bunch of perfectly good 5’0″ girls.

Well, the minimum for a coxswain on a women’s team is 110lbs and 120lbs for a men’s team. Weight can be an uncomfortable and tricky topic to discuss when it comes to coxswains, so I’ll just say this: you want to be as close to the minimum as you can be while still being healthy. The school you go to will dictate how rigidly you need to stick to these minimums. Division 1 schools are strict about it because it is the highest level of competition – it’s to be expected. Division 3 is much less strict because it’s typically a club sport not ruled by NCAA, so you don’t have to have the “stereotypical” coxswain’s body. The varsity D3 programs though are gonna approach it the same way as D1 though – you should be as close to racing weight as possible.

It’s hard to say what you should weigh, but if I had to give a vague, overarching answer, I would say that if you are 15+ lbs OVER the minimum, you might consider adjusting your diet and making time in your schedule for exercise. That doesn’t mean though that you should strive to be 110lbs. That isn’t normal or healthy for everyone and it can’t be expected that every coxswain be the same weight. For you specifically, since I don’t know what you currently weigh, I would say you should try and maintain a 3-5lb range over the minimum. That’s based PURELY on your height and nothing else, since that’s all I know about you.

If you’re interested in coxing, just say so! Before you do though, think about your reasons for wanting to cox. Are they based purely on poor erg times or do you genuinely think that you could perform the duties of a coxswain at the level your team (and a collegiate team) requires? Can you be a leader and motivator for your team? Can you be your coach’s right hand man? Can you authoritatively run a practice and get things done? Do you have the skills to be able to point out what the rowers are doing wrong and what they need to do to fix it? If you can confidently answer all of those questions with a “yes”, talk to your coach. I’m not going to say that height and weight don’t matter because they do, but if your coach thinks that you can handle those responsibilities as well as your vertically challenged counterparts, I don’t see why he wouldn’t give you a shot. Ask if you can try running a workout or a practice over the winter. When you get back on the water (if you’re already off), ask to go out with the novice crews. Everyone will be on the same footing in a novice boat, so there won’t be as much pressure on you.

Be prepared though for him to say “Thanks for your interest, but we already have more than enough coxswains. I’d really like to see you stick with being a rower.” If he says that, don’t take it personally. It’s purely a logistical thing and not a reflection on you. If that’s what he says, say “OK, I understand. I’m still discouraged about my erg times though and know that I need to improve. What can I do to work towards bringing my times down?”. Ask for their advice on what you can do to improve and then go from there. A couple people have asked me similar questions on here. If you search the “ergs” tag or the “Q&A” tag you’ll come across them (eventually).

Part of being a coxswain is being confident. If you go into a conversation with your coach thinking he won’t let you cox since you already have a bunch of “perfectly good 5’0″ girls”, you’re already failing the first step towards becoming a great coxswain. If it’s something you want, be confident, recognize your potential, and GO FOR IT.

How To Q&A Rowing

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How do you fight off the stress of rowing? I can’t just stop because it helps me ease school stuff but at the same time it makes everything pile up and I can’t hold everything in anymore.

I’ve been there. I’ve realized though that my stress from rowing is/was never actually coming from rowing – it was from everything else. When I was in college, I was majorly and unhealthily stressed over school issues, which led to a lot of late nights that turned into early mornings. I’d get maybe an hour or two of sleep before I’d have to get up for practice. I didn’t really hang out with (or like) anyone on the team because we had nothing in common, so I wasn’t particularly thrilled to have to spend my mornings and evenings with them six days a week. I didn’t feel like the coaches were giving me any opportunities to improve or do anything “legitimate”, so I started becoming disinterested – painfully and obviously disinterested.

What was actually happening was I was getting burned out, hard and fast. Even though I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore, the time I was on the water was the only time in the 24 hour span of a day that I was somewhat at peace. I wasn’t thinking about anything – it was like I was in a fog, just floating along. My interest was still waning hard and I was furious that I had committed myself to coxing when it seemed to indirectly be the root of all my problems. It was a double edged sword. After some serious reflection on everything, I ended up removing myself from the team. I then spent the next five years away from the sport and it was the most miserable five years of my life. I literally had nothing to wake up for anymore. For five years all I did was go through the motions. Nothing I did was done with passion or interest or eagerness or desire. I had no one to talk to, no one to turn to, and no one who understood the struggle I went through every morning just to get myself out of bed. My parents were obligatorily concerned but didn’t really understand and my boyfriend wasn’t supportive and acted like I was just being lazy and whining about dumb shit. The ONE thing that had always brought me tranquility and a few hours of stress relief was gone. It wasn’t until I started coaching that I realized how important rowing was to me, not just for what it is, but because it kept me from falling apart. Without it, I fell apart. I had no way to release my frustrations like I did when I was coxing and keeping that energy pent up for 5+ years nearly drove me towards a total breakdown.

I’ve realized over the years and especially since I’ve started coxing and coaching again that rowing isn’t a source of stress for me. It’s a relief from my stress. There are things about rowing that stress me out but it’s never actually rowing. I get upset when I’m coxing because I realize I could have done better or if I’d called the end of that piece differently, would we have met our goal. I get angry at the time commitment and dedication it requires because it’s caused a lot of problems with my relationship. I get upset because I can’t pay my bills or because I’ve committed myself to coaching but finding a real, full time coaching job that pays well is tough. So many things about rowing piss me off that I ask myself at least once a day why I put myself through all of this … but then I go out on the water. I get in the boat and start practice and immediately feel this enormous weight leave my shoulders. For two hours in the morning, I have no stress, no worries, no problems, no bills to pay, no failing relationships, no reason to crawl into bed and cry, no anger … nothing. When I get on the water, that’s MY time. In order for me to have a successful practice and enjoy myself, I have to leave EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else on land. On the rare occasions that I bring practice off the water and let something nag me, I can’t escape it. It infiltrates everything and I do get frustrated and stressed. The only way for me to alleviate that stress is to turn around and throw it all into the next day’s practice. It’s a cyclical process sometimes and it makes NO sense to anyone but me, I think.

The moral of this (most likely unhelpful and far too long answer) is don’t let anything about rowing stress you out. Use what would/could stress you out to fuel you. If something shitty happens at practice, leave it at practice. Don’t take it home with you. You’ve got to teach yourself to cut the stress off. Take a step back and look at what exactly is causing your stress…is it actually related to rowing or is it outside stuff that just exacerbates the normal unavoidable craziness of crew? Figure out what you can do to alleviate some of that stress so that it doesn’t infiltrate your practices. You need that one thing you can turn to when you have nothing else and for me, that’s always been rowing. If I let my shitty life circumstances break that bubble, I might as well stop coaching and coxing because I’ll never be able to give 100%.

If rowing helps you deal with school stuff, that’s OK. Figure out why it makes everything pile up and what you can do differently or better so that doesn’t happen. If you ever need to talk or anything, I’m always here. I know the feeling of being on the brink of losing it and I know what it feels like to not have anyone who really understands. The thing with rowing is that unless you do it, you don’t understand it. My inbox is open, so don’t be afraid to use and abuse it.