Training Novice Coxswains

[cihlaj]

Hey All,

Does anyone have any recommendations for training novice coxswains? For the past few years, my program as basically taken the approach of "sit here, pull this cord to steer, don't crash" and then pretty much let's them figure it out from there.

Does anyone have any suggestions for teaching new coxes? I don't want to throw the chapter out of Rowing Faster (Volker Nolte) or any of the other coxswain books at them lest they be overwhelmed, yet I don't want to throw them into the deep end and let the figure our how to swim.

Any ideas?

[BowwwwBallll]

Coxing is not a skill to be acquired and honed, in the traditional sense.

Coxing is something you are either predisposed to being good at or not.

If you are so predisposed, then the next thing to do is increase base of knowledge so that the coxswain can draw on it in turn.

I suggest starting with these:

1. Learn body position. Learn to keep the head up. Look at the cox-box from the downward angle, not directly. Learn to stay stiff so that the coxswain is not rattling around in the hull and can also feel the motion of the rowers through the hull.

2. Learn what the distance of oars relative to each other and to the water mean. Learn how to interpret that data.

3. Learn to row. Learn the rowing motion. Learn how the movement of the rower in the boat translates to the motion (be it forward or backward or null) of the hull.

4. Learn the coach's workout plan overall and the purpose of each major workout in it. Learn what particular aspect of the stroke that each workout is designed to affect. Learn how the workout is designed to condition the rowers.

5. NOW the coxswain is allowed to speak. Only now is he allowed to do anything but effect the coach's instructions for practice. Now he begins to take control of the crew, now he begins to independently assess the needs of the crew and how he can play into addressing those positively.

6. Then the coxswain gets involved with race planning. The coach talks to him on taper days, and before the race, and tells him what to expect from the other crews, and what the nuance of the race plan is, and how the coxswain can best make good things happen for the crew. First race of the season, coach does all the talking. By the fifth, the coxswain should be doing all te talking in those meetings, with affirmation or correction from the coach.

The careful, attentive, and effective use of the above principles will create the kind of coxswain who can help your crew win races.

The problems are these: Coaches want some little tiny thing in there to be light and go straight. They think that's what's important, and that the cox will pick everything else up. It doesn't work like that. Creating a coxswain takes time, attention, input, direction- a bunch of stuff that coaches, mostly being former rowers, don't know, can't teach, and, because they never saw such teaching themselves, assume that it all comes naturally. It doesn't. And if you want a good cox, you have to educate yourself before you can educate them, and most coaches don't want to do this for an individual they see as useless or interchangeable or bound to quit.

And some are bound to quit- because the coach did a poor job of recruiting or developing. Nerds don't make good coxswains. Skinny literature majors don't make good coxswains. Tiny little barbie girls don't make good coxswains. Overzealous wannabe jocks don't make good coxswains. Power-trippy a-holes don't make good coxswains. People who think that all they have to do is sit there and steer, and not put in the HUGE amounts of work to be good at the job do not make good coxswains. And none of these ever will.

Again, if you want to recruit properly, you have to educate yourself on what makes a good coxswain, then go out and find that, and develop that. But that also takes work on the part of you, the coach.

It's a lot of work, but it pays off in the long run. But you better do the work.

I'm happy to elucidate or answer any questions you have.

[SomeJunior8]

I really enjoyed replacing dead weight in the bow of the boat with a simple toe rudder....just kidding that's a whole different discussion. What bowball said is spot on. Biggest thing I can say from a rowers perspective is make sure the coxswain understands EVERYTHING you feed through him from workouts to race plans. I hate when my coach is working with another boatnfurther away and 6 seat asks what the hell we are doing and the coxswain goes "4x2000" and then 4 seat decides that's not even close to what was said by coach. Coxswains need to be firm, I'll admit it's hard I've never coxed even once but I've had to make the calls in a blind boat and sometimes while trying to get my point, telling 3 to stop correcting when I've told him 8 times its my job, figure out why my rudder isn't working, watch for universities V8 and not get in their way I do miss the coaches overly complex pyramid workout with funky times and rating changes.

[MChase]

Years ago, my wife, brother and I were traveling back from a regatta. We stopped at a McDonalds out in no-where Ohio, but not far from I-70. It was late. I noticed no 15-passenger vans in the parking lot. When we entered, there were a group of guys (about eight) standing about near the counter. They all looked to be 6'5" monsters. In the middle of the group was a little guy, more than a foot shorter. He had complete control, barking out the entire order. The big guys just picked up their food. I turned to my wife and said, "Dang, that's gotta be a coxswain." Turned out it was Wisco traveling the opposite direction to the East Coast for a regatta.

I like that in a coxswain-- being able to take charge. My fastest boats have always had a coxswain that everyone knew took no BS, was well-organized, firm, even demanding, with high expectations. Coxswains must have high expectations.

[roelanto]

Best thing is to have them row; they'll understand the rowers point of view much better.

I like to have coxswains try sculling in a boat that's easy to handle, so that they *feel* what kind of bladework makes the boat go smooth and what doesn't. No better way to understand rushing the slide than actually doing it. Maas'es or Aldens are very good boats for that.

[Michael]

I'd put two of them in the bow pair of an 8+ for a few practices, and just have them sit out the whole time.

That way they can listen to an experienced coxswain.

Being put in a boat to cox, when you've never even been in a boat before, is tough.

[cox'n]

As usual, MChase nails it. Bowball, I think your approach might work on the collegiate level, but is tough with high school novices. Heck, the first thing I teach a novice coxswain is to in and out of the bay and on and off the water and to the really basic fundamentals of steering. Then it's proper implementation of commands. If he can't steer while adding a pause and dropping a pair, he's not going to be able figure out what is indicated by a blade's recovery speed or position.

As a coach, I liken learning the basics (launching/docking, steering, drill calls, etc. to arithmetic and learning the more advanced stuff like technique correction, workouts, psychology, etc. to algebra.

Yes, the best coxswains tend to be naturals just like the best oarsmen, but I've seen plenty of lousy freshman coxswains turn into decent sophomores, good juniors, and excellent seniors.

My best tip though is to remind your novices that the coxswain is also at practice. In other words, he is going to make mistakes just as they are. He will learn from them and get better. It's amazing how many fourteen year-olds expect their coxswain to be ready for the Olympics while they themselves can barely get an eight overhead with ten guys holding the shell.

[Gangles]

As usual, MChase nails it. Bowball, I think your approach might work on the collegiate level, but is tough with high school novices.

I've never liked the novice coxswain with novice rowers thing. At least not at first. I think that while a coxswain is getting oriented, it can be VERY helpful to put them in a boat with rowers who would know what they're doing in a blind boat. Plus it can be helpful for your equipment.

[cox'n]

Yes, it's great to get novice coxswain's matched up with varsity rowers. Unfortunately, our novices don't start until the second week of school, so the varsity is beginning their third week of practice. The V coach is already starting to prepare for races. He can't spare a whole practice chasing around novice coxswains. What we do is try to get a mature experienced 2nd or 3rd boat varsity rowers to stroke some of the early novice practices. It's a huge benefit for the coxswain not to mention the novice rowers and the novice coach (me). Some launch time can be very valuable to coxswains also if the coach takes the time to talk to him during practice.

[BowwwwBallll]

Bowball, I think your approach might work on the collegiate level, but is tough with high school novices.

There's little to no difference between HS novices and collegiate novices. They've both never done it before.

"Being able to take charge" doesn't mean squat when you have no idea what to take charge of and no idea what do do with it.

A coxswain's introduction to coxing is not on the water- it's in the classroom. The reason that this does not happen is because coaches don't want to put in that time. They just expect time and experience to do the job that they won't do themselves. Sometimes it does. But more often you get a long string of adequate coxswains, and pat yourself on the back for the job you've done, because you don't know that a coxswain is supposed to do more than yell numbers and not hit things.

BUT, if one, as a coach, first educates one's own self on what a coxswain should do, then educates the novice on what a coxswain should do, then introduces those concepts gradually over the course of practice, and pays as much attention to the coxswain as one does the rowers, and WORKS to develop the coxswain, then that translates into wins for a crew and wins for a program.

Of course, that's a lot of work that doesn't seem important to most ex-rowers.

[LWTSculler]

On one of my college visits I went out in the launch with the freshman coach, who happened to be a former national team coxswain. I was very impressed at the way he coached the coxswain as much as the rowers and obviously placing a very high importance on her abilities. Having never experienced that kind of attention paid to coxswains (my club primarily sculls and just throws small people into the coxswain seat as needed) it really made me think about the importance of the role and how it can make a huge difference in a crew's performance.

[cox'n]

There's little to no difference between HS novices and collegiate novices. They've both never done it before.

Having coached both, it's been my experience that there is a huge difference between high school novices (both rowers and coxswains) and college novices.

[bloomp]

Agreed. I've coached (and been around both for quite a while) and the learning curve of HS rowers is usually two seasons. College rowers get it in about a month. College coxswains typically master the commands in a week, and have the confidence to get pissy at their crews in 3-4 weeks. You won't see that in HS until a coxswain has dealt with the same rowers for a few seasons and is comfortable with them. Maturity plays a huge difference - a 13 or 14 year old freshman in HS does not have the interpersonal skills that a college freshman does.

BB is right if we limit ourselves to the first outing OTW. But beyond that there are huge differences.

[hbh1636]

As a coxswain who spent a year rowing, I can say firsthand that the experience of another perspective will put a coxswain miles ahead of those who haven't had the luxury. However, this is very consuming in terms of both time and resources, so it may not be the best option for you.

Encourage coxswains to be self-taught. Point them in the right direction; row2k has a tremendous number of articles that are really great for novice and intermediate coxswains, as does USRowing's website (though membership is required to view them). With luck, they may even eventually stumble upon a board like this, and learn even more. It makes sense for the person in charge of transmitting information to the crew to have a wealth of concrete knowledge at their disposal.

Make sure they understand that a coxswain is only capable of losing a race; i.e. a coxswain can only slow the boat down through their mistakes as they are unable to contribute acceleration. Therefore, we must be prepared to do our jobs perfectly in order to help a crew stay at their maximum speed. As no coxswain is perfect, one must always try to keep learning.

[BowwwwBallll]

Encourage coxswains to be self-taught. Point them in the right direction; row2k has a tremendous number of articles that are really great for novice and intermediate coxswains, as does USRowing's website (though membership is required to view them). With luck, they may even eventually stumble upon a board like this, and learn even more. It makes sense for the person in charge of transmitting information to the crew to have a wealth of concrete knowledge at their disposal.

In other words, the coach should abdicate responsibility for training them himself in favor of the printed word that they should read on their own time? This is a horrible idea on so many different levels. How does this make the coxswain part of the team? How does this help him build a bond with the coach and his rowers? How does this teach him to filter good information from bad? How does this make him want to be part of the boathouse? How does this translate to physical, on the water skill?

News flash, jackhole- it does NOT.

Make sure they understand that a coxswain is only capable of losing a race; i.e. a coxswain can only slow the boat down through their mistakes as they are unable to contribute acceleration.

This is the kind of crap that is not only untrue, but so widely circulated that it destroys the will to cox. Do you really think you're going to keep your best and brightest when you tell them, "You can't do anything but f*ck it up for the rowers, and at your best you will achieve no effect whatsoever, so put in all this time and study away from practice and the team environment so that you can achieve the goal of being unnoticeable?"

Coxswains can and do win races. It's rare. But it happens.

Your attitude is moronic. The proper way to train a coxswain is NOT to shove a bunch of written material at them and hope they absorb enough to not be a detriment. The proper way to train a coxswain IS to actively engage them in team pursuits, to hand down definite knowledge in the form of theory as applied to experience, and to nurture them in their role so that when that opportunity does arise, they can and do recognize it and take advantage of it.

Therefore, we must be prepared to do our jobs perfectly in order to help a crew stay at their maximum speed. As no coxswain is perfect, one must always try to keep learning.

This is the kind of pithy, passive-aggressive, semi-educated poseur crap that a rising junior who spent his sophomore summer as the fifth coxswain at a low-level club full of has-beens and never-weres spouts to seem important and worldly to the freshmen. Our job is not to keep the crew at maximum speed. Our job is to ensure that the right thing gets done at the right time, that the race plan is implemented properly or deviated from effectively. Our job is to determine through knowledge and experience and independent judgment what the best course of action is for a particular situation and do that. Our job is to make sure our @$$es are first across the finish line.

If I heard you spouting this crap in my boathouse, I would remove you bodily and then bleach the spot where you were standing. And then hit that spot with a flamethrower. And maybe some acid.

I haven't read a more moronic post in this forum since some idiot suggested I date the bow-seat of a lightweight 4.