Tag: tools

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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Have you ever used a head-mounted camera to film an outing or a race? Any recommendations? I’m thinking of getting a DogCam Bullet HD for Christmas, I’m likely to be coxing both Tideway heads next year plus other internal racing, thinking it would be a fun thing to have.

I personally haven’t used them but two coxswains I coached this past spring used cameras to record their races and it worked out great. One used a Go-Pro with the head strap mount and the other used sunglasses that had a camera and microphone built in, similar to these. The video quality of both was very good, as was the sound. I don’t know too much about what’s out there because I’ve never really researched it, but I’ve always heard really great things about Go-Pros. I definitely think it’d be a helpful tool to have (not only for yourself but for your coaches and rowers too) so if you can get one, go for it!

The best recorders for coxswains

Coxing

The best recorders for coxswains

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Besides a 7/16 wrench, one of the most important tools you can arm yourself with is a recorder. The benefits are numerous and can really help take your coxing to the next level. Plus, if you’re considering coxing in college you’ll need a recorder so you can capture your audio and submit it to the coaches of the teams you’re interested in.

There are many models available and each has their own specific features that make them great. Finding the one that works for you is key – you don’t want to get one that has a million different buttons or features you won’t use. There’s nothing more frustrating than pressing the wrong button and realizing after that you didn’t record yourself during your race or that you accidentally deleted a recording while you were trying to move it to a different folder.

The most common one I’ve seen coxswains use are the Sony PX333. I’ve used both Sony and Olympus models and like them equally, though I tend to lean towards the Olympus brand simply because that’s the primary one I’ve used for the last 10+ years (and it still works great). Regardless of which one you choose, it should be a pretty affordable investment since all the ones above are between $32 and $60 (as of writing this).

Additional accessories you might consider (though they’re not 100% necessary) are something to store/carry your recorder in and an external mic. I have both but the external mic came with my recorder when I bought it and the “carrying case” I use is actually an old toothbrush traveling case that I just happened to have lying around (similar to this). A soft or hard shell case like the ones linked above would be great options though to keep it protected as you travel to/from races or practice.

An external mic can be useful because it’ll allow you to pick up sound better since most people keep their recorders in their pockets when they’re on the water. My recorder has a clip on the side so I usually just clip the whole thing to my shirt but if it the wind is bad, it’s raining, etc. I’ll put the recorder in the inside pocket of my jacket and then clip the mic near the top part of the zipper on my jacket. This helps block most of the outside noise while also keeping everything dry. Like I said, it’s not 100% necessary but it is nice to have sometimes.

Image via // @ryanjnicholsonphoto

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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I’m a novice coxswain and our cox boxes really sucks!! I’m thinking getting one for Christmas … do you know any good places to buy them? 

Cox boxes are pretty expensive so I would only buy your own if you are absolutely, 10000% positive that you are going to stick with it the whole way through high school (and/or college). If you’re only going to use it for a year or two I don’t think it’s worth it to buy your own.

There’s actually only one place that makes cox boxes – Nielsen-Kellerman. Each one is $500+ but if you wanted to get one cheaper, you could get a used one. Your best bet for finding one is to check row2k’s classifieds section under either “oars and equipment” or “accessories” – people post them in both spots sometimes. You could also check with local clubs/teams in your area and ask if they have any old cox boxes that they’re looking to get rid of. I’m sure they’d be willing to work something out with you.

Coxing Q&A

Question of the Day

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Do you recommend carrying a small pocket notebook or having a regular size notebook for notes? I currently have a pocket notebook during erg pieces to jot down splits and times. How do you organize all your thoughts and coxswain information?

Definitely! I always liked having two – a pocket sized notebook (that you don’t mind getting wet, wrinkled, or crushed at the bottom of your bag) that you can use to scribble down lineups, notes and reflections from practice, etc. and a separate (slightly larger) notebook to transfer all that stuff into.

The reason I suggest having a separate notebook is so that at the end of the day/week or after race day, you can spend some time transferring everything into a notebook that isn’t wrinkled and gross. (If you’re a fan of digital notes, keeping a running doc in your Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote, etc. would work great too.) This will give you the opportunity to not only re-read your notes from the day and reinforce in your mind what you did, but to also re-write everything so that it’s legible (not scribbled) and organized. When you’re rushing to get erg scores or taking a water break in the boat you don’t have time to think about how nice everything looks, which leads to scattered illegible notes. Taking 5-10 minutes on the bus back to campus, in between classes, during dinner, or whenever to transfer your notes to another notebook allows you to organize it as you please. You don’t have to do that (I have plenty of friends that didn’t care what their notebooks looked like as long as they could loosely make out what they’d written) but it was a strategy that also worked best for me.