#coxswain probs

[and-let-it-run]

So I was just offered the opportunity to Cox a club 4 at the Head of the Charles by my college coach! I am excited but also a bit nervous because I am definitely more of a 2k coxswain! Does anyone have any advice on effective 5k coxing? What works for you? 

[stroke-seat]

I think my worst fear is to be laying in a bow coxed four and have a bird shit on my face

[nectarinedragons]

After freezing my ass off in less than 30 degree weather, while being drenched in water, I think I might've caught a cold. 

That or it was my roommate. 

[nectarinedragons]

Head of the Hooch

I'm in five layers not counting jackets fcuk

[chetpink]

Coach: Ok guys, be real careful about what your eating and stay hydrated. I want you guys at your best for the regatta this weekend. Me: *immediately gets sick*

[chetpink]

I dislike walking on campus because people don't follow the traffic pattern.

[stroke-seat]

I yelled "Fuck this shit" really loudly while we were erging today and my coach got so mad at me. Opps

[crewboo]

Hey! I'm a novice coxswain and my first race is this weekend and I am super super nervous because I don't feel prepared because I've had to miss quite a bit of practice from the start of the season. I don't want to let my team down. So can I have any tips with like race commands, especially advice for head races????? Thank you!!!

Lemme give you the breakdown of coxing: 10% are calls, 20% is motivation, 20% is reminding rowers of technique, and the other 50% is FLUFF. Puuuure fluff. Fluff is what coxswains do (mostly during a head race, sprint season is too fast for fluff) that keeps the rowers distracted enough from the pain but is not overwhelmingly annoying. 

Fluff helps fix repetition. Everyone knows that one annoying coxswain who says the same shit over and over again. It gets boring. Fluff can help with rhythm most of the time. So phrases/sounds like, "Catch!" "Aaaaand send." "Pushhhh" "Awaaayyyy" "Shoop!" "Cahhhh" "On it" "Down" "Eeeeasssyyyy now" "Drrrive" etc... All these help with rhythm and keep the boat out of that awkward silence.

Because let's get real. Coxswains really don't have much to say during a head race. And as all coxswains know, it gets REAL awkward when the boat goes silent. 

The only good silence is when you have a silent ten, which could mean a power ten but said silently (good to use when you're rubber-banding between placing with another boat and they do that ANNOYING ASS THING where as soon as you start to call a power ten, they do too and it becomes redundant because you're just tiring our your rowers) or a silent ten is ten strokes where you specifically instruct your rowers to listen to their rowing within silence. 

As for actual planning for the head race, that's pretty uniform. I have a little thing you can personalize when it comes to head races. Most head races are 5000m, right? So break it up into four parts. 

First 1250m - Mostly technique. Don't worry about motivation so much. (1 power 10 @ 1000m) 1250-2500 - Still central attention around technique, adding in a little incentive. (1 power 10 @ 2000m)2500-3750 - Tables have turned. Halfway point has been reached, time to bring out the big guns. Motivation to technique = 70:30 (1 power ten @ 3000)3750-5000 - Lots of motivation, but still having little peaks of technique calls now. 90:10. (Power 10@ 4000, power 10 @ 4500, power 10 @5000)

Now you can personalize that to your heart's desire. Remind yourself of what the boat needs to work on: rush, squaring, etc. And put little notes beside each one.

Remember that information is motivation. Constantly let your rowers know where they are in a race, what rate they're at, where other boats are in relation to you, how much energy it's going to take for you to beat them. 

Ultimately, it is your decision whether your rowers catch up to a boat or not. You think they can tackle a boat 50m in front of them, by all means do. But if you know they'll just get tired and they'll fly n die, just don't. 

Knowing your race course/rules is ALWAYS an advantage. 

Knowing how/when to steer is very important. 

Knowing your boat is of utmost importance.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I hope I covered it all. It's a lot, I know. :D

GOOD LUCK! I'm so excited for you! I'll be sending you positive vibes this weekend! Win win win!!

-- Ask away, and you shall be heard! --