Training Novice Coxswains

[bendtheoar]

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.

LMAO!!!!! BB, I, and maybe 3-4 other people max, maybe including that bow seat though, miss you. Leave that damn left coast and come back to where you belong, lol.

[hbh1636]

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.

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.


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.

Either that's an absurd over reaction or you're just trolling me. That or my apparent ignorance is even more severe than you say.


I'm sorry if I didn't make this clear, but when I said "encourage coxswains to be self-taught", I meant in addition to what comes from the coach. I did not mean to imply that the coach would then be left to disregard any form of training for the coxswain. As has been made clear, a coxswain does not develop overnight, and needs extensive amounts of time to learn and to gain experience. I believe that by drawing information from several other sources, one may be able to reach a level of competency much faster. I don't understand how that precludes he/she from building a bond with the coach and rowers, eliminates the desire to be a part of the team/boathouse, so I would appreciate it if you explained. As for translating to physical, on-the-water skill, it does not directly do so. It does, however, increase a level of interest in making improvements, and provides a base of knowledge from which to do so. As for filtering good information from bad, if you haven't looked at the articles I referenced they are for the most part utterly basic; hence the recommendation for a novice coxswain. In short, they are not likely to contain any information that would be detrimental for a new coxswain to read or believe. If a coach were to take a more hands-on approach to the situation as you suggest, they might even read some of the articles beforehand and send the coxswain directly to the ones they approve of. The articles are a resource that should not go ignored.


I believe that the best rowers are intrinsically motivated; why not the best coxswains? In my experience, more often those who are extrinsically motivated are more likely to go on the "power trips" you referenced in one of your earlier posts, to be the ones who step on others en route to their goals, and to be the most obnoxious in both victory and defeat. Is that truly someone that you want to be a part of your team? You imply that the attitude I suggested will drive the best away - it is extremely unlikely that it will drive away the intrinsic, who only need gratification from themselves.

I'll take back part of what I said though and agree that coxswains can and do win races, rarely. You'll notice that the best coxswains win the majority of their photo finishes - take Katelin Snyder at World Cup 3 this year, and at the 2009 IRA. However, that is far and away from the level of the novice coxswain, which is what is being discussed.


Also, when I said our job was to keep the crew at maximum speed, I was attempting to abbreviate what you later explained with "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.". I apologize for the lack of clarity. I agree on all of these points.


While others may find it funny when you choose to jump all over someone on these boards, most of us do not. It is bitterly childish at best. As a self-proclaimed multi national title winner/head race winner, when you act this way you come off as one of the "Power-trippy a-holes don't make good coxswains" you referenced in your first post of the thread. People come to these boards to discuss the aspects of rowing, learn, and alter (or further strengthen) their own opinions based on what they read. Beyond that, I think we can all agree that there is no one 'right' way to coach/develop a coxswain, just as there is not one 'right' way to coach/develop a rower or any other type of athlete. What I suggested was a method that had worked in my experience, and may not in the situation of another. It's for the reader to decide what to take from it and whether or not they will apply any of it. Or is that too pithy, passive-aggressive, and sophomoric for you?

[BowwwwBallll]

One of your problems is that you are not clear. If you find yourself having to come back and explain yourself, then the problem is not with your reader, it is with you. And it is unwise to say "I should have clarified pretty much every point I attempted to make," yet nevertheless become angry when you are misunderstood.

Your post read poorly. I don't know who you are, either in real life or as a member of these boards, so I have no means by which to contextualize what you say. I have, however, dealt with many people who have said exactly what you said in your post. Devoid of context, which you chose not to provide, I took your words on their merit, or, in this case, their lack thereof.

I believe that the best rowers are intrinsically motivated; why not the best coxswains?

Because coxing is not the easy sell that rowing is. A rower's action is physical, it is assigned more value by the casual observer, his progress is more readily definable and more readily made. A coxswain has to be given hooks to stay with it, particularly in the first few weeks when no one seems to respect what he does, when he can't for the life of him seem to make the boat go straight (whether it's actually his fault or not, it sure seems that way), and when blame assignable to him is more easily observed and commented negatively upon.

I will observe that you provided an explanation or clarification for every paragraph you initially wrote before I address this:

While others may find it funny when you choose to jump all over someone on these boards, most of us do not. It is bitterly childish at best.

Says you. First, I don't know who conducted the poll, or how you determine who "most of us" is, but when someone says dumb things, they get called on it. Your post, which you vehemently defend yet copiously edit, was poorly-worded, without framework, and evidenced the exact opposite of the meaning which you retroactively assigned it. So if I jumped all over you, it's because your post warranted it. That's not childish, it's appropriate. Second, I don't give a damn what you think. I just want to make certain that any coxswain or coach reading your initial post doesn't think those are good ideas.

As a self-proclaimed multi national title winner/head race winner, when you act this way you come off as one of the "Power-trippy a-holes don't make good coxswains" you referenced in your first post of the thread.

Actually, I am not a self-proclaimed title winner or race winner. I am a self-professed winner. Other people proclaimed me to have those titles, because I and my crews went out and won those races. I merely profess the fact that it happened.

Furthermore, your second sentence needed a "who" in brackets inside the quote, between "a-holes" and "don't." Without that, the sentence is grammatically incorrect and syntactically deficient. Addressing its merits, I'm not "power-trippy." Someone on a power trip gives orders for the gratification involved in seeing them obeyed. I provide direction for the purpose of achieving a goal. I have taken the position time and again that the coxswain is in charge of nothing; he is the part of the symbiotic relationship that has the eyes and mouth. You probably should have read some of my other posts before deciding to butt heads with me.

People come to these boards to discuss the aspects of rowing, learn, and alter (or further strengthen) their own opinions based on what they read.

The problem with that is incorrect opinion cloaked in apparent authority. Such things mislead. There are enough bad coxswains out there that we don't need more created, no matter what the intention behind those creations.

Your post, as clarified, redacted, and added to post-callout might be worth something. But ask yourself- shouldn't you have put all that into the first post?

[MChase]

I'm staying out of the food fight.

Steering is critical for a coxswain, but it's not simply a matter of pushing and pulling on the rudder line. It's applying more pressure on port or starboard, holding on one side, leaning away at just the right moment when approaching the dock, etc. Our novice mens coach (a former coxswain who I admired for her work) is training her coxswains well in the art of steering a 60' craft. She keeps two boats side-by-side in practice. If one shows a little more speed than the other, then she adjusts lineups. There is nothing like being oar tip-to-oar tip, day after day, to teach a coxswain how to steer a boat while calling out coaching tips. That coach, as a former coxswain, understands the advantages.

As a coach, I want steering to be so second nature that the cox can put his/her energies into coaching during practice. It's incredible what can be seen from the coxswains seat. Bowball's advice to watch the oars for parallelism is so important. A coxswain can see from the coxswain's seat who has fast or slow hands away, slow body over, speeding into the catch, hands dropping before the catch, those likely dropping their outside shoulder at the catch, slow catch, stabbing a catch, and so much more. Much of this is one oar overtaking another oar during the recovery. It's an important lesson to demonstrate to a cox early on. Coaches should quiz coxswains on a regular basis on who is catching early or late, which is rushing at the catch, slow hands away, etc.

I stated earlier that I like a coxswain who takes charge. If I have 90 kids at a regatta, I don't want to have to worry about every kid assembling early for every race. I want the coxswains to take charge- "We'll assemble at the boat at x:xx unless I tell you otherwise. That is not the time to make a trip to the bathroom....". Same goes for getting on the water, getting off the water. It did my heart good when a novice coxswain yelled out yesterday on the dock, "2 minute dock drill starts NOW". I want a coxswain to take charge every day, not simply on the day of a regatta.

I like to teach a coxswain not to call power 10s and 20s like they cost a penny each. They must put a high price tag on these because when they are called, the rowers may have little gas left in the tank. I would rather see them about outlawed. They are helpful when you are signaling your boat that you are overtaking another and need to get out of some bad water or perhaps its a perfect moment to make a statement, but it comes at a cost. A cox should understand that the rowers have picked a level of intensity that will have them spent by the time they get to the finish line.

Novice coxswains should be taught in the art of being positive. Laying a couple of rowers to waste during or at the end of each piece will probably not a way to engender camaraderie and teamsmanship. Starting a statement with, "I feel we could increase our speed by ...." might be a better way to open a discussion in boat talk than by saying "Three seat, your catch sucks and you're killing the boat speed." It's difficult to argue against the statement "I feel...", while "your catch sucks" elicits an immediate defensive posture.

We hand out a plastic coated "drills manual"- we laminate each page and bind it. It's small enough for the cox to carry in the boat. It includes how to properly do the drill and the reason that the drill is done. The experienced coxswains don't need it but it's helpful for the newbies.

I like to have coxswains run boat talk. I noticed yesterday that that was not happening in one. I've got to take care of that today. The coxswain is the default leader in the boat. Some of that leadership may be relinquished to that rower who takes a leadership role, but at the least, the coxswain should be a co-leader. If the cox is not worthy of such a position, then you have a problem.

There is a difference between college and high school coxing in my experience. Where I have attended workouts at the highest level of college rowing, there are more coxswains than there are boats. Some stay back at the boathouse. There is competition for a coxswain's seat. We have no such luxury. We treat our coxswains like gold because of their high value to our program.

[hbh1636]

One of your problems is that you are not clear. If you find yourself having to come back and explain yourself, then the problem is not with your reader, it is with you. And it is unwise to say "I should have clarified pretty much every point I attempted to make," yet nevertheless become angry when you are misunderstood.

Your post read poorly. I don't know who you are, either in real life or as a member of these boards, so I have no means by which to contextualize what you say. I have, however, dealt with many people who have said exactly what you said in your post. Devoid of context, which you chose not to provide, I took your words on their merit, or, in this case, their lack thereof.

Because coxing is not the easy sell that rowing is. A rower's action is physical, it is assigned more value by the casual observer, his progress is more readily definable and more readily made. A coxswain has to be given hooks to stay with it, particularly in the first few weeks when no one seems to respect what he does, when he can't for the life of him seem to make the boat go straight (whether it's actually his fault or not, it sure seems that way), and when blame assignable to him is more easily observed and commented negatively upon.

I will observe that you provided an explanation or clarification for every paragraph you initially wrote before I address this:

Says you. First, I don't know who conducted the poll, or how you determine who "most of us" is, but when someone says dumb things, they get called on it. Your post, which you vehemently defend yet copiously edit, was poorly-worded, without framework, and evidenced the exact opposite of the meaning which you retroactively assigned it. So if I jumped all over you, it's because your post warranted it. That's not childish, it's appropriate. Second, I don't give a damn what you think. I just want to make certain that any coxswain or coach reading your initial post doesn't think those are good ideas.

Actually, I am not a self-proclaimed title winner or race winner. I am a self-professed winner. Other people proclaimed me to have those titles, because I and my crews went out and won those races. I merely profess the fact that it happened.

Furthermore, your second sentence needed a "who" in brackets inside the quote, between "a-holes" and "don't." Without that, the sentence is grammatically incorrect and syntactically deficient. Addressing its merits, I'm not "power-trippy." Someone on a power trip gives orders for the gratification involved in seeing them obeyed. I provide direction for the purpose of achieving a goal. I have taken the position time and again that the coxswain is in charge of nothing; he is the part of the symbiotic relationship that has the eyes and mouth. You probably should have read some of my other posts before deciding to butt heads with me.

The problem with that is incorrect opinion cloaked in apparent authority. Such things mislead. There are enough bad coxswains out there that we don't need more created, no matter what the intention behind those creations.

Your post, as clarified, redacted, and added to post-callout might be worth something. But ask yourself- shouldn't you have put all that into the first post?

I'll concede that what I first posted may have been unclear to some, if not all. That was my error. However, I would like it to be clear that I was not the slightest bit angry that I was misunderstood. I was angry that you responded so arrogantly and condescendingly. Correction and discussion are fantastic when kept even somewhat civil.

I'm not sure of what type of context you're referring to, but I'd be happy to supply it if you were to pm me and explain. If you wish to continue the discussion that is.

In my experience, name-calling and vulgar, aggressive responses are generally frowned upon on these boards. I spoke for a majority that I have observed frequently speaking against responses such as yours in favor of something more polite. That is what I based my "poll" off of. If you believed my post to be incorrect or unclear, it did not warrant your response in the manner in which it was given. What would have been appropriate would have been a listing of corrections/how your own opinions contrasted with mine, but in at the very least a somewhat cordial manner. That would have accomplished your goal of providing what you view as proper information to readers without the backlash and further off-topic posts.

Proclaim's definition, as provided here - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/proclaim : To announce officially and publicly; declare. To indicate conspicuously; make plain.
Profess's definition, as provided here - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/profess : To affirm openly; declare or claim.
That grammatical correction seems to be based in preference. However, I'll take your reasoning and say that since most of us (assuming that most of the readers on this board were not present when you won your races, which I believe to be reasonable) were not present at the time of the official proclamation of your crew's victory, we are experiencing the public announcement of your results for the first time. An affirmation requires a precedent, which many did not have for your case.

To the best of my knowledge, one does not usually insert extraneous words into a direct quote, which I was using. I can't say that I have any formal journalism training, but I'll stand by my exclusion of "who". Again, however, I may have lacked clarity, which is no fault but my own; when I used that phrase to reference you I was influenced by my own preconception that someone who is a power-trippy a-hole is also arrogant - arrogance that you have given off an impression of. For instance, you say that I should have read some of your other posts before deciding to butt heads with you. This statement is arrogant; it implies that you are better than me in some way, when you are not. We enjoy the equality provided by an anonymous forum. You initiated the head butting with a derogatory post, and I merely chose to defend myself and attempt to correct my mistakes. And for the record, I clearly did read some of your other posts even as I wrote my own, as evidenced by my referencing your race results from another thread.

I agree that I should have included my alterations and additional information in my first post. I was lazy, and lacked the insight to do so. But as I stated earlier, I believe that these forums are great for learning and reforming opinions, which we both have caused each other to do. I just don't agree with your methods, whether you appreciate my opinion or not.

[caustic]

Every so often, put your most experienced stroke with the cox in a stern-coxed boat. A good stroke wants a coxwain to take care of the problems he or she feels before he has to remind them - teaching them what the stroke is concerned with is the best way to help them get the boat going better.

[KitD]

Teach them to scull. 3 benefits:

• they "get" the 3 squillion + 1 things you are asking them to look after in the boat
• they can join in with the winter small boat training which helps them keep to weight
• they earn more authority in the boat.

[MChase]

The coxswain with the greatest authority in a boat is one who is a student of the stroke. Mastery of how to row well does not come in a few weeks or months. It is a long process. The novice coxswain should listen intently to the coach as the coach instructs each rower on technique. Learn what the coach wants and learn how to identify each problem from the coxswain's seat. Learn how to then coach each rower in improving their technique. Learn many different metaphors for the same act. What is your metaphor for hanging on the oar? For getting a fast catch? Learn how to constructively critique a rower. Learn to be persistent and patient. Learn to be goal oriented.

Coxswains should understand early that the success of the boat has more to do with them than any single person in the boat because the cox is the one who can use those many hours of practice to deliberately improve the timing and strokework of each rower.

[Norm]

Coaches should never usurp the authority of a coxswain, although many will fail to take on the mantle, in which case you should try to replace them. Coaches must let them lead.

Never rebuke a coxswain on the water. Correct them, yes, but teach them off the water and with good consideration for their position and vulnerabilities. If you alienate a cox you lose a partner in the boat, and you have a problem.

And don't let the rowers get away with back talking the cox. We coaches can't hear much, but the coxswains is not there to take abuse. I have a rule that any time the coxswain wants to go in he/she just tells me, "Coach, I've had enough, we're are going in", gets out of the boat and walks off the dock. No emotion, no complaint just get up and walk away. The crew is screwed. I have only had it done twice, but both times it turned the crews attitude around real fast. I just walked by the crew and said, so what are you gonna do now? In each case all was fine the next day.

Coxswains need coaching and information, but they do need to open a book, read an article or just pay attention. It's reflective of the self-motivation they bring to the sport. They must take responsibility for their own knowledge base. The coach is there to support them in this, but it is still their deal.

Rowing is one hard thing at a time repeated over and over. Coxing is 10,000 different things done all at once. I was a rower, but believe coxing is harder and give my coxswains their due in this respect.

[arbrighton]

A slightly different, UK, perspective:
Oxford has a system in which all coxes (or prospective coxes) must attend a meeting and register. The meeting gives them the basics- I.e. this is the bow, this is the stern, and the basic commands. For a certain amount of time, they are not allowed to navigate the narrow bend on the river and they must always have a 'coach' on the bank with them (the stretch is way too busy for launches).
However, coach generally means someone who's been rowing a year or two and may not know anything about coxing, ( or rowing) for that matter. For the first year, coxes are not allowed out on anything resembling stream either.
There are two 'upgrades' in terms of being allowed out without a coach, and in increasingly difficult stream levels.

I coach an Oxford College crew, and I try to give the cox advice/ tips but I'm probably in the minority, in a ) being able to do so and b) actually seeing the cox as also perhaps wanting to improve/ be coached

I cox occasionally, but mainly when no-one else will. Timing of calls etc is much easier having rowed and cornering/ knowing what stream will do is a lot easier having sculled.

It should be noted that the very very experienced people who run coxing in the university do offer seminars/ coaching/ advice but very few people take them up