Tag: technique

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Check

By readyallrow January 27, 2016

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin || Run || Lunge || Washing Out || Missing water || Footboard

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

The recovery, primarily the second half.

What does it mean/refer to

“When a crew is on the drive, they’re moving the boat FORWARD. As soon as they tap down, get the hands away, and start coming up the slide, the momentum of the boat shifts. This is completely natural. The rowers are now moving in the OPPOSITE direction of the shell’s momentum, which is still going forward.

The reason the ratio of the stroke is 2:1 is because in order for the boat to continue moving forward at the same speed, the disruption in momentum by the rowers has to be minimal. It’s going to happen, but you want it to be as unnoticeable as possible. If the rowers get to the catch and fly up the slide (eliminating the ratio), it’s comparable to driving at 60mph and then SLAMMING on the brakes…then hitting the gas to get to 60mph again…then SLAMMING on the brakes. When you hit the brakes in your car, what happens to your body? You jerk forward towards the steering wheel, right? In the shell, you’re the steering wheel. When the rowers hit the brakes and then rush up the slide, the boat jerks towards you. If you watch slow-motion video (and on rare cases, live video) you can visibly see the boat STOP and then start again with every stroke. Just like starting and stopping wastes gas in your car, it does the same thing in the boat. Your rowers are WASTING their energy because on every drive they’ve basically got to kick start the boat again.”

Other things that can cause check in the boat include overreaching at the catch (dropping the shoulders down into the catch pushes the stern of the boat down which in turn slows the run of the boat – it’s like dragging your foot on the ground while skateboarding), not keeping your body stable on the seat during the recovery (this will also mess with the set of the boat which only slows the boat down further), and not getting the bodies set before the wheels move (throwing your upper body weight forward at the last second does the opposite of minimizing the disruption in the shell’s momentum).

Relevant calls

Outside of the general calls to lengthen out the slides, control/emphasize/exaggerate the recovery, ratio shifts are the go-to call I make when I feel the boat’s momentum starting to shift.

That is step one. Sometimes that’s all it takes to fix the problem but other times it’ll persist which means I’ll work through the stroke from the finish to the catch and make calls that hit each of the four components (finish timing, hands away, body swing, and slides) in order to smooth out the recovery and re-establish the boat’s run. (How much time I spend on this is dependent on whether or not we’re doing steady state (more time) or sprint pieces (less time) but if you’re communicating clearly with the crew then you should easily be able to parse down your calls from longer explanations of what you want (like what you’d make during steady state) to short 3-5 word calls without losing any of the meaning.)

Step two is starting at the back end of the stroke and getting the finish timing together. Calls to accelerate and hold the blades in the water (“squeeze” is my go-to here) are what I’ll start with before moving on to getting the hands to match the boat speed immediately out of the finish. From there it’s about watching the shoulders of the (wo)man in front of you, swinging from the hips, and establishing your body position before the wheels move. Once the slide starts, it’s all about maintaining a controlled float into the catch and locking on to stern pair’s rhythm.

What to look for

It’s less about what you see and more about what you feel (see the post linked below on boat feel for more on that). As I mentioned before, it’s like being in a car that’s hitting the brakes then hitting the gas then hitting the brakes again … your body’s response to that is to jerk back and forth (sometimes more violently than others, depending on how bad it is), which almost always causes a line of bruises across your low back from where you hit the back of the coxswain’s seat.

Related: Coxswain skills: Boat feel

If you also notice that your body is particularly tense – like you’re bracing yourself pretty aggressively in the boat to avoid getting thrown around – that’s another sign that you should shift your focus to what’s going on with the slides. The latter is one of the things I try to pay attention to a lot because it’s something I unconsciously do but because I try to make a lot of “keep the shoulders loose”, “stay relaxed with the upper bodies”, etc. type of calls (and shake out my own shoulders as I make them), it makes me spend a quick second checking what my own body is doing. From there if I recognize that my legs, core, and shoulders are really tense, I most likely need to pay attention to the slides and run for a stroke or two to see if a ratio shift or other check-related call is necessary.

Communication with your stroke seat is also important because sometimes they can feel things that are there but at that stage are too subtle for us to notice. I always talk with my stroke between pieces and ask how that piece felt, was there anything happening with the slides that you felt that I didn’t notice, etc. and if they say “yea, when we shifted from the 26 to the 30 I was getting pushed up the slide a bit” then I know to tune in a bit more to the recovery speeds after we make a shift in the rates on the next piece.

The thing with check, rush, ratio, etc. is that we tend to only notice it when it’s bad enough to be noticed … so on a scale from 1-10, we probably only feel it ourselves when it’s at a 5 or higher (depending on your level of experience – less experienced coxswains might not pick up on it until it’s at an 8 or 9 and they’re getting whipped around like a rag doll). This is why I talk to my stroke seat a lot because I know that the rowers are going to feel it when it’s at a 1-5 and having them point out to me that it’s there, even if it’s subtle, gets me to tune into it so I can make the calls early enough that it prevents it from getting worse.

If you’re riding in the launch, pick a rower and watch their body in relation to something stationary on land, like a tree or something. You’ll be able to see the boat running under them while their body stays “fixed” (as discussed in the post linked below). Assuming the ratio is on point and there’s no check occurring you should see minimal movement of the boat/rowers back towards the coxswain at the catch. If the boat is getting checked down for whatever reason (99.9% of the time because of rush) then you’ll see the rowers move in front of whatever object you’re pairing them with on land.

Effect(s) on the boat

Check = loss of speed because … physics.

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Missing Water

By readyallrow January 13, 2016

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin || Run || Lunge || Washing Out

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

The catch.

What does it mean/refer to

Missing water (also known as “rowing it in”) is what happens when your blade isn’t in the water at the end of the recovery/top of the catch. What happens instead is you start with the blade in the air and place it in the water as you start the leg drive. Moving backwards on the slides without your blade in the water causes you to have a shorter and less powerful stroke as a result of missing out on the power generated by your legs in the first few inches of the drive.

Relevant calls

“Get the blade wet before you start the leg drive…”

“Direct to the water…”

“Bodies set early, hands up at the catch…”

“Back it in…”, “Get that V-splash…” I use both of these a lot, particularly when we’re rowing in good water and there’s no excuses for sloppy handle heights or indirect catches.

“Hook, send…” is another call I make a lot because it gives a visual reference for what the catch should look like (think of a fish hook) – smooth and continuous. Usually the second half of the call will reference whatever else we’ve been working on during practice – for example, last week when I was coxing our eight in Florida I said “hook, send” and “hook, squeeze” a lot since we’d been working on both maximizing the run of the boat and completing the strokes during our drill sessions.

What to look for

Front splash at the catch is the most obvious sign from the coxswain’s seat that someone is missing water at the catch. Ideally at the catch you should see some V-splash, which means there’s water moving in both directions (with just slightly more moving towards the bow than the stern) but at the very least you should be seeing some backsplash. Seeing neither is an indication that the rower isn’t getting their blade in before they start the drive.

Another thing to watch for is blade height throughout the recovery. If you see someone start skying their blade as they come into the front end then they’re almost certainly going to miss water at the start of the stroke.

Effect(s) on the boat

Like just about everything else, the biggest effect on the boat will be in the form of balance. If someone (or one side) is rowing it in at the catch then the boat won’t be able to immediately stabilize, resulting in it falling over to whichever side is missing water.

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Washing Out

By readyallrow January 6, 2016

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin || Run || Lunge

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

The finish.

What does it mean/refer to

Washing out happens when instead of drawing through horizontally at the finish, you instead pull/feather down into the lap (which in itself can also be a result of a loss of suspension). This results in the blade popping out of the water as you finish the stroke with the arms.

Relevant calls

A lot of these are fresh in my head because when I was coxing in Cocoa Beach, I found myself making a lot of calls for holding the blades in (which we’d been working on), supporting your side, etc. We did some short pieces and there were occasionally stretches where the set was pretty awful but as soon as I’d make one (or several) of these calls, the boat would balance right up and we’d start getting some good run again. About 90% of the time we were down to port so the first call I’d always make would be for the ports to lift the hands and then if that didn’t change anything I’d call for starboards to lower theirs. From there I’d get more specific based on what I was seeing/feeling.

“Support your side…”

“Engage the lats, draw the handle through to your target…”

“Suspend through…”

“Hold the finishes…”

“Elbows up at the finish…”, “Consistency with the hands…”

“Hook, squeeze…” The relevant part of this call is the “squeeze”, which is supposed to remind the rowers to accelerate the blade and keep it buried all the way through to the finish.

Understanding suspension so you can communicate the relationship between a loss of suspension and washing out is also important. The key to speed in any boat is hanging on the handle and maintaining that suspension all the way through to the end of the stroke. The blade stays locked into the water until suspension is no longer being maintained and that moment when pressure is cut off is when the handle is able to come down and away smoothly. Every part of the stroke has to flow dynamically into the next without letting the body weight settle on to the seat. When making calls for washing out, make sure you’re not just reminding the rowers to pull into their targets but to also hang off the handle and stay light on the seats.

What to look for

If you notice this happening early on in practice or when you’re doing long-and-low steady state, start by telling the rowers to look out at their blades and follow its path through the water to ensure it’s staying buried all the way through the finish. Have them do this for 3-5 strokes and then call them back to eyes forward. It’s easy to get transfixed by the blade and start going through the motions so let them watch them for a few strokes before getting the crew refocused.

White water at the finish is a tell-tale sign of someone washing out. As a result of the blade coming out feathered or at an angle rather than fully squared, the extra effort being exerted during the draw through throws water backwards (towards the coxswain) rather than propelling the boat forward (towards bow) and creates that distinctive “whoosh”-ing sound.

From the coxswain’s seat it can be tough to see this but if you’re in the launch, look at the elbow and wrist position at the finish. The outside elbow should be up and out and the outside wrist should be flat, essentially acting as an extension of the oar handle. If the lats are engaged and you’re drawing straight through to your low ribs then this positioning of the arms should happen naturally. Having the elbows too close to the body, feathering down into your lap, elbows pointed down towards the back of your seat, etc. will all result in washing out.

Effect(s) on the boat

The most obvious effect is that it causes problems with the set. If you’re on port then the boat is going to fall towards your side on the drive and then dump to starboard on the recovery (which, to say the least, is super annoying). The lack of connection and suspension that leads to washing out also leads to a loss of power, thus making each stroke less efficient and the boat to experience less run per stroke.

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Lunge

By readyallrow December 30, 2015

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin || Run

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

Lunging can occur at any point after bodies over but the point in the stroke where it’s the most prevalent is at the catch.

What does it mean/refer to

Lunging is another way of saying over-reaching, diving, or falling into the catch. When you go to the bodies over position, ideally you should be pivoting from your hips. Your range of motion is limited by your hamstring, knee, and hip flexibility so some people are able to pivot more than others but for those who aren’t super flexible, they try to compensate for that by bending forwards from their low backs to get their bodies over and attain some amount of reach. For those who are able to pivot forward without issue, they tend to think that more is better so they fall forward at the last second to get a few extra inches of reach when in reality they’re just derailing the boat speed.

Relevant calls

One of the most consistent things I say to the crew in this situation is to remind them to set the bodies early and that all their body prep should be completed before the wheels start rolling. Any additional reach after that is lunging and it’s not only ineffective but it’s also detrimental to the speed of the boat. Noting the fact that they’re actively slowing the boat down rather than maintaining or building speed usually gets their attention if nothing else does.

I try to avoid saying “you’re lunging” or “let’s make sure we’re not overextending ourselves at the catch” too much because I think that draws attention to the problem (which could end up exacerbating it) rather than directing them to a solution, which is what those reminder calls attempt to accomplish. Sometimes it’s necessary to say those things (i.e. if it’s a consistent problem that isn’t being fixed) but I usually try to save this as a last resort. It’s also really easy to just say “you’re lunging” and think that’s going to fix the problem (and with more experienced crews that might be all you need to say…) but you still need to know what’s causing them to lunge in the first place so you can communicate the adjustments you want them to make. When I hear coxswains make simple calls like that over and over again and the problem still persists then I know that you have no idea what causes lunging or what you need to say to have the rowers make the necessary adjustments.

Pausing at 3/4 slide is a good drill to work on this because it limits the amount of momentum going into the catch and forces you to just drift up and quickly place the blade in the water. If you recognize that lunging is an issue with your crew and your coach says to do some pause drills during your warmup or to throw in a pause during a piece, 3/4 slide pauses can help you kill two birds with one stone.

What to look for

I look for three things all happening at the same time, or at the very least on a consistent basis within a couple strokes of each other. They are: skying the blade at the catch, an increase in the speed of their blade moving back towards bow when the rowers are moving through the top quarter of their slides, and the feeling of check in the boat. Individually those three things are separate issues with their own causes and effects but when they’re happening in rapid succession it usually means someone (or several someones) is lunging.

Effect(s) on the boat

The biggest effect that lunging has on the boat is in the amount of check it causes. Because you’re throwing your upper bodies forward and downwards so suddenly (and drastically), you’re generating a lot of momentum that is hard to counteract. Not only does this slow the boat down and create a lot of check but it also results in slower catches (mostly because you end up skying as a result of your shoulders and hands falling down towards your feet). It can also really screw up your back, not just because you’re swinging forward improperly but also because it can also cause you to shoot your tail on the resulting drive.

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Run

By readyallrow December 23, 2015

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather || Pin

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

The recovery.

What does it mean/refer to

Run refers to the distance the boat travels between strokes.

Relevant calls

The majority of the calls you’ll make are interchangeable with most ratio calls since minimizing check and disturbances to the boat’s run have a lot to do with how controlled the recovery is.

“Row long through the water, let the boat run at the finish…”

“Steady speed into the catch…”

“Roll the wheels at a constant speed…”

Calls for the finish can also be used to set up the run, such as “send” (the most ubiquitous finish call in existence), “long”, “chaaa”, etc.

The thing with run is that there’s not that many specific calls for it but there are a lot of calls for other parts of the stroke (specifically the finish, swing, body angle, and the slides) that pull double-duty and apply to it in addition to whatever their primary meaning is.

What to look for

One of the best/easiest ways for a coxswain to tell how much run you’re getting is to watch your 2-seat’s puddles. If the boat is running well then their puddle should pass your stroke seat before they (stroke) take their next stroke. Also, during steady state rows the bow pair’s puddles should be clearing the stern by at least a seat or two – this applies to most experienced crews but for younger crews, they puddles should at least be able to make it to the coxswain.

Another thing you can look for (that isn’t always easy to see unless you’re in the launch) is where the boat is sitting in the water. If the boat feels heavy and the shell is sitting low (rather than rising up slightly) then the run isn’t being maximized.

Effect(s) on the boat

If you’re able to achieve good run (which is in effect a product of how well executed the transfer of weight from the bow to stern during the recovery was) then the ultimate effect on the boat will be that you’re able to travel farther with less wasted effort.

College Recruiting: Technique + Erg Scores

By readyallrow December 22, 2015

Previously: Intro || The recruiting timeline + what to consider || What do coaches look at? || Contacting coaches, pt. 1 || Contacting coaches, pt. 2 || Contacting coaches, pt. 3 || Contacting coaches, pt. 4 || Highlight videos + the worst recruiting emails || Official/unofficial visits + recruiting rules recap || When scholarships aren’t an option || Managing your time as a student-athlete + narrowing down your list of schools || Interest from coaches + coming from a small program || How much weight do coaches have with admissions + what to do if there are no spots left || Being recruited as a coxswain, pt. 1 || Being recruited as a coxswain, pt. 2

This was an interesting question that came up at NRC – does your on-the-water technique matter during recruiting or is it all about your 2k? The answers from the coaches were split with some saying yes, others saying no, and some saying yes and no. A lot of recruits will send video clips for coaches to evaluate (the importance of having a few good quality ones on hand can’t be emphasized enough) but the coaches can/will also get in touch with your high school coaches to ask how your technique is, amongst other things. They might also go out and watch practice to see for themselves how you look. In that sense technique matters because it’s not something you can hide and get away with not having.

On the other hand, what most coaches are looking for is if you know how to row in general. They’re assuming that you fit the basic parameters (i.e. you’re physiologically suited for the team and academically suited for the university), know the basics of the sport, and have a fundamental understanding of the stroke. At the end of the day though, your adaptability and coachability matter far more than your technique. Each program you’re looking at likely has a certain style or definition of technique that they try to bring their athletes around – think of Harvard and Washington’s “finish pause that isn’t really a pause” as an example. Your ability – not even that really, more like your willingness – to be coached and make technical changes will be a highly valued trait so if you haven’t been rowing long and/or aren’t the most technically proficient rower, don’t think that you’re automatically out of the running to be recruited.

Pro tip though, don’t ever, ever say to a coach “that’s not how we did it in high school” or “in high school we did it this way…” when they’re trying to coach you on something technical. If you want to get on a coach’s bad side, this is the best and fastest way to do it. Coxswains, this absolutely applies to you too. One of our coxswains did this so many times last year and my eyes still hurt from rolling them every time she did it.

Moving on to the holy grail of recruiting – your erg score. They’re not the only thing coaches look at, obviously, but they are one of (if not the) most important. First and foremost, do your research before asking coaches where you should be or at the very least, reference your research if you want specifics with regards to times. Your best resource will be the times from CRASH Bs, especially if you’re a lightweight guy since the league has been getting markedly faster over the last few years. You can also search the rowing sub on Reddit. This question has been asked numerous times so it’s not hard to find info if you just spend a few minutes searching and reading the threads.

Similarly to each person’s rowing background, every erg score has a narrative. An eight-season rower with a 7:43 2k vs. a multi-sport athlete with four seasons of rowing and a 7:43 are two different narratives. On paper the latter is going to look more favorable so that’s something to keep in mind – if you’ve been rowing for 6-8 seasons, makes sure you’ve got the erg scores to show for it.

Many of the top programs won’t offer official visits to kids until they’re under a certain benchmark (for example, you have to be <7:20 during your junior year to be offered an official from the Wisco women) so if it’s not obvious already, simply “loving” the sport and having done it for several seasons isn’t enough. You also cannot hide behind the whole “my technique is better than my erg score” logic. It doesn’t fly with college coaches and as Kerber from Cornell said, hope is not a strategy. That goes back to the earlier discussion of how important is technique – it’s important and you need to be decent but erg scores are the most objective form of evaluation coaches have so if it’s not up to par, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Also, never say you don’t know your 2k. It’s ridiculous that you’re even entering into this process without knowing what it is so before you start filling out questionnaires, emailing coaches, etc. get on an erg and do one so you have an idea of where you’re at right now. You basically need to know two times – your PR and your most recent time. They may or may not be from the same test, it doens’t really matter. If you haven’t 2k’ed in awhile, do some training on your own and test before practice. Make sure you have a coach or your coxswain (but preferably your coach) there to verify it too. 4x500m at your goal splits with 2min rest between the pieces was one of the workouts suggested by a couple of the coaches so that would be a good starting point if you’re planning to test soon.

Next week: (More) Questions to ask college coaches

Coxing Rowing Technique

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Pin

By readyallrow December 16, 2015

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension || Skying the blade || Quarter feather

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

This week’s term is one of two that aren’t specifically part of the rowing stroke – it’s actually part of the rigging. In relation to the stroke though, the first half of it (push + hang) occurs in front of the pin and the second half (the draw through) occurs behind the pin.

What does it mean/refer to

In physics terms, the pin is the fulcrum for the oar, which is the lever. It’s hidden when the oarlock is on so you can’t see it but it’s the vertical axle that the oarlock rotates around and is also where pressure is applied throughout the stroke. In order for the stroke to be effective, lateral pressure must be applied against the pin in the direction that the blade is moving (not the legs).

Relevant calls

“Maintain pressure against the pin…”, “hold your weight against the pin…”

“Rotate around the pin…” This is mostly in relation to achieving the proper length and body angle. Reminding the rowers to reach out over the knees and rotate the torso around the pin (while leaning into the rigger) helps emphasize keeping the chest up and not dropping the outside shoulder.

What to look for

The pin is one potential spot of connection in the boat so if you lose connection there then you lose efficiency in your stroke. More so with novices than with experienced crews, you’ll want to keep an eye on the oars to ensure they’re flush with the oarlocks at all points during the stroke (see the first link down below).

You can also draw attention to the pin during drills like the pair add-in drill where the shell is gradually getting lighter and picking up speed as each pair comes in. The load is going to be a lot heavier when there’s two people moving the shell vs. eight people so keeping pressure against the pin while cleanly accelerating the blade through the water should be the focus of your technical calls.

Effect(s) on the boat

In a rigging sense the pin plays a big part in determining the pitch, spread, span, oarlock height, and work through (all discussed in the intro to rigging posts linked down below). As far as the actual stroke goes, the key thing to remember is that pressure against the pin + acceleration is what allows rowers to effectively move the load.

Question of the Day

By readyallrow December 10, 2015

If I’m picturing this correctly, what I think you’re saying is that the rowers are pulling the oar away from the oarlock and the “banging” is when the collar comes in contact with it again. I see novices do this a lot, mostly because they don’t fully grasp that you have to apply consistent pressure against the pin to prevent that from happening. Something that helps with this is making sure you have the right grip on the oar. If your hands are really far apart and/or your outside hand is a few inches away from the end of the oar then you’re much more likely to pull the oar away from the oarlock. Hands shoulder-width apart, outside pinky resting on the edge of the handle – that’s what your grip should look like.

Technique-wise though, the simplest way of explaining it is that you want to be exerting pressure in the direction that the blade is moving rather than the direction your legs are moving (keep in mind those two things are moving in the opposite direction). If you’re applying pressure towards the front or back of the oarlock (depending on whether you’re on the drive or recovery) rather than flat against the whole oarlock, you’re more likely to pull the oar away from it at either the catch or finish and when you begin moving in the other direction, that’s when you’ll get that “bang” that occurs, like I said before, when the collar comes in contact with it again. As far as calls go, keep it simple and just remind them to keep pressure against the pin and that the collar should always be in contact with the oarlock (which means they need to be applying force in that direction).

I’d really recommend talking about this with your coach though because they’ll be able to address the technical aspects of it with everyone and then once the rowers understand what’s actually happening, whatever calls you make will be a lot more effective. A huge, huge pet peeve of mine is when coxswains see an issue like this and think that all it takes to fix it is a couple magical calls (which don’t exist, by the way). Not that that’s what you’re implying (because this is a really good question so I’m glad you asked it), I just that I think that’s what a lot of coxswains expect when they ask questions like this. This is something that has to be coached so tell your coach what you’re seeing so they can address it, otherwise whatever calls you make (which may or may not even be correct) won’t make a difference since no one will understand what you’re talking about. I know it’s said a lot that coxswains are “the coach in the boat” but coaching the rowers isn’t your job. Now that you (hopefully) understand a bit better what’s happening you’ll have an easier time following your coach’s explanation so listen to how they explain it to your boat and reiterate the key points they make using the same language and terminology they use … that is how you fix a technical problem. What I said up above (and pretty much everything I say on here), it all equates to doing the assigned reading before your next class so you’re not staring wide-eyed at your professor as he flies through the lecture. Ultimately my goal is to hit the high points so you can follow along while your coach fills in all the little details.

Coxing Rowing Technique

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Skying the Blade

By readyallrow December 2, 2015

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill || Suspension

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

Any point during the recovery but primarily the top quarter of the slide as you prepare for the catch.

What does it mean/refer to

Skying the blade refers to the blade being too high above the water, either consistently throughout the recovery or right before/at the catch. It’s caused by two main things: one, not carrying the hands at a consistent height throughout the recovery (i.e. either immediately out of the release or by lowering/dropping the hands at the catch) and two, by lowering the upper body (usually as a result of lunging) and forcing the hands down towards the feet at the catch. (The latter in my experience tends to be the more common of the two.)

Relevant calls

Many of the relevant calls for skying the blade aren’t necessarily for the skying itself, they’re for things like maintaining level hands on the recovery, setting the body angle early and maintaining it to avoid throwing the body forward at the catch, maintaining good posture, not rowing in a circle, keeping the eyes up/forward (because the hands do follow the eyes, regardless of whether they believe you when you say that or not … which they likely won’t but watch the hands of any rower who is looking down and you’ll see what I mean), etc.

If I see someone’s blade in the air, how I approach it will depend on who I’m coxing. If I’m coxing an experienced crew that doesn’t really need everything spelled out for them then I’ll just make a quick “Sam, watch the hands, you’re skying…” call and that will almost always fix the problem. Usually calls like this are made towards the end of a hard workout and are more reflective of the rower(s) just being tired and getting a little lazy with their bodies rather than it being an actual technical issue. This has been the case with the majority of the intermediate and masters crews that I’ve coxed.

If I know that a rower has a tendency to, for example, slump over when they get tired or they have poor posture in general then I’ll substitute “watch the hands”, which is pretty broad, with something specific to them, like “stay tall with the body, hold the hands up into the catch” or “keep the shoulders and hands up at the front end”. In instances like this I try not to say anything about what the blade is doing since it’s a secondary issue rather than a primary one but if the skying persists after a couple strokes then I’ll say something, usually like “Sam, gotta hold the hands level here on the recovery, you’re skying your blade nearly every stroke…”.

In high school I’d have to go into a lot more detail to fix the problem which was occasionally frustrating because I’d get caught up with trying to think through the process in my head of what was causing it, how it should look vs. what it looked like then, what I needed to address first, etc. and that would cause me to ignore a lot of other things that were going on (including how I was steering). What this taught me was not only the snowball effect that one issue can have on the rest of the stroke but also how to think fast in order to diagnose what I was seeing (and how important it was to learn about this stuff off the water so I wasn’t trying to learn it in the moment).

What this has to do with calls relevant to skying the blade (or any issue, really) is that because I had to know what calls to make for the issues preceding the rower skying their blade, once I had developed a good understanding of technique and how the stroke should look I was able to make more precise calls and make them say, one stroke after noticing the problem rather than three or four strokes after. Basically the better I understood what caused them to do X, the more accurate and efficient I was able to be in making calls to address that and in turn, problem Y was fixed in the process.

What to look for

This is one of the easiest things for coxswains to see so there’s never an excuse to not point it out when you notice it. It’s usually much easier to point this out with experienced crews because when the handle heights are more consistent across the board the outlier will stand out more and you’ll immediately notice it, whereas with novice/younger crews there can be a lot of different things happening and unless the skying is really egregious it might not be the first thing you notice.

From the launch it’s easy to see when a rower’s hands are dipping down or their posture is collapsing at the front end but when you’re coxing you have to rely entirely on the bladework to alert you of these two things. As previously mentioned, you’ll either see the blade high off the water consistently throughout the recovery or you’ll see the blade make a really extravagant swooping motion at the catch. (I usually refer to this as “flourishing the blade”.) If you could see an illustrated path of the hands it would probably look something like the Nike swoosh, starting from the right side and moving left.

Another thing to look for is the square timing. If when they square corresponds to when the blade skies then that rower is likely squaring down (i.e. pushing down with the hands as their inside hand rotates the handle) instead of maintaining a level, horizontal angle between the release and catch as they square.

Ideally you want the blade to be carried about 6″ off the water (give or take) and if the rowers are carrying the blade too low to begin with (i.e. it’s dragging on the water or it’s just barely above the surface) then that can also cause them to sky the blade. In order to give them room to square it up and prepare for the catch they’ll drop their hands, resulting in the blade going up in the air. Here you should be looking at the distance between the blade when it’s feathered and the surface of the water – if you can’t see any daylight between the two, remind the rowers of where the blade needs to be and the adjustments they should make with their hands.

The key here is that skying the blade is always the result of something else (that in turn has it’s own set of results stemming from it) so when you see someone doing it, you have to take a step back and focus less on the aesthetics (simply getting their blade to match everyone else’s) and instead address the actual issue that’s causing the blade to sky. This means inferring a lot of things about the hands and body based on what you currently see the blade doing but if you have a good understanding of what the “ideal” recovery looks like, both technically and with regards to body positioning, it shouldn’t be hard to call for a correction that addresses more than one issue at a time.

Below are two videos that illustrate what skying actually looks like. If you compare it to “normal” rowing, such as in this video where the blades are relatively level throughout, you might be able to see the difference a little easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWx4mcUuXCE

In this video, pay attention to stern pair. It’s a little tough to see three see but you really don’t even need to see his catch to know he’s skying, simply based on the trajectory of his hands and what you can see from the first part of the recovery. Stroke seat becomes a little more obvious with his skying towards the end of the video and the amount of water he’s missing is a lot more apparent.

Effect(s) on the boat

To name a few: poor catch timing (you’ll almost always be late), missed water at the catch, no suspension, decreased boat speed/increased check since you’ll likely be starting the drive without the blade in the water, and poor set due to hands dipping down into the catch instead of rising into it.

Top 20 Terms Coxswains Should Know: Suspension

By readyallrow November 25, 2015

Previously: Rush(ing) || Body angle || Pick drill

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

Suspension on the handle occurs during the drive. It begins during the top quarter of the slide and is at it’s peak (force wise) when the oar is perpendicular to the hull (aka halfway through the drive).

What does it mean/refer to

Suspension, also referred to as “hang”, is all about using your body weight in the most effective way possible to move the boat. Moving the boat efficiently requires the isolation of the two strongest muscle groups – the legs and the lats – which means using your upper body strength to hold the weight off the seat and redistribute it to the handle.

Relevant calls

“Suspend the weight, light on the seat…”

“Stand on it…”, “Stand up…“

On the recovery we always tell the rowers that they shouldn’t feel any weight on the feet, that the feet should feel light, etc. During the last quarter of the recovery, that’s when they should be shifting their body weight forward and on to their feet, which will give them that “standing up” feeling. Being light on the seat is the corresponding action to standing on the feet so if you make a call for one, the rowers should know that they should also be doing the other because it all corresponds to good suspension on the drive.

“Suuuspend send…”, “Haaaang send“

You want the rowers to suspend/hang their weight for as long as possible so drawing out the call as you say it helps reflect that. It’s similar to drawing out “lengthen” when you want them to slow down the slides.

“Skeletal hang…”, “Hang the skeletons off the handle…”

Graham Willoughby, the assistant men’s coach at Brown, said this a lot at NRC this summer. It’s basically just another way of saying “hang all your weight off the handle”.

At HOCR I heard a men’s coxswain during the Champ 8+ make a call for “legs and lats” and followed it up immediately with this really long, low, aggressive “suuuuuuuspennnnd” call. I wish I’d been able to get video of it because as soon as he called it you could just see everybody in the boat sit up and hang off the handle for a second or so longer than they were before. This was right around the 2-mile mark by Newell so I assume he made the call because they were starting to feel the fatigue and he wanted them to feel the boat pick up going into the last mile.

Either way, it was a great call that left nothing open to interpretation and was punctuated by how he said it. If 50% of the success of that call was just the pure simplicity of it, the other 50% was the calm intensity in his tone of voice.

What to look for

This is another thing that, like body angle, is more easily seen outside the boat than in it. Body position is key here, as is connection with the foot stretchers, because any discrepancy in the two won’t allow you to suspend your weight properly.

Keeping the core fully engaged helps control your body weight as well as maintain your center of mass between your hips. Moving upward and outward from there, the shoulders should stay down and relaxed (you don’t want any tension in the upper body), your forearms (and by extension your wrists) should stay parallel to your legs (breaking them early reduces your ability to hang), and your elbows should stay pointed out, not down. All of this allows you to stay centered and stable which translates to being able to hang more of your weight off the handle.

Pushing with the legs = pulling with the oar, meaning when the hips drive out of the catch the hands must move in sync with them. If you’re shooting your slide then your back will collapse forward because the hips are moving without the hands. If you open the back too early (hands before the hips) then you’ll be relying on the smaller (therefore, less efficient) shoulder and back muscles to pick up the weight of the boat instead of engaging the larger leg and lat muscles. All of this factors into having a coordinated drive, which relies on being connected at the front end and following the correct sequence through the stroke.

Since I can’t see the rowers suspending off the handle when I’m coxing, I rely on two main things to help me know if/when to make a call for this. (It’s something I try to make regular reminder calls for but I’m also always looking to see if it’s something that actually needs to be corrected too.)

Related: Coxswain skills: Boat feel

The first is boat feel. If I can’t feel that impulse at the catch when they start driving, I know they’re probably not getting connected and thus not hanging their weight off the handle (or at the very least, they’re not as connected as they could be and not hanging their weight as efficiently as they could be).

Related: The Four Defaults

To correct this I’ll make a connection call, evaluate it via boat feel, then follow up with a few suspension calls. I think initially focusing on the body position helps a lot here rather than just jumping straight into “suspend send” calls (although that is what I finish with). This (and what’s down below) is a good example of how prevalent the snowball effect is in rowing. If one thing is off at any point in the stroke it can/will have an effect on everything that comes after that.

The second thing I rely on and look for is timing at the catch, specifically if they’re rowing it in. If they’re rowing it in then they’re limiting the amount of overlap there is between time spent on the leg drive and how long the blade is in the water. The less overlap there is the less time they have to hang on the handle … and hanging on the handle pretty much requires your catch timing/drive initiation to be precise so it’s not hard to deduce that they’re not getting any effective amount of hang if they’re rowing the blade in. If this is what’s happening then I’ll address getting the blade in before the leg drive (unweight the hands as you roll into the catch, etc.) before transitioning to getting them to hang their weight once they’ve established some resistance to actually hang against.

Effect(s) on the boat

When I’m coxing the most obvious effect on the boat that I notice is how much more “send” there is when we’re suspending our weight. The meaty part of the stroke is when the handle is moving between your shins and shorts (that’s another great call that I learned this summer – “shins to shorts”) and if you’re really hanging your weight through this section, the finishes tend to have more weight behind them (literally) which allows you to clear the puddles by a few extra inches.

Additionally, suspending your weight off the handle instead of keeping it sitting directly on top of the seat gives a lightness to the boat that lets the rowers pick it up and leverage it through the water more easily.

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

Image via // @radcliffecrew

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

Image via // @kiwi_eight

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

Image via // @r_wioslarz

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

Image via // @jdcsss

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions

Image via // Sofia Donnecke

What part of the stroke/stroke cycle does it refer to

What does it mean/refer to

Relevant calls

What to look for

Effect(s) on the boat

Related posts/questions