MIT Rowing Club
Coxing 101
COXING CLINIC: Vdeo and notes (below) from the MITRC Coxing Clinic, presented by former MITRC Head Coxswain Shuyu Wang:
USEFUL LINKS:
Head of the Charles cox guide, with information about the main hazards: https://youtu.be/5yEnO2kU6Hw
Sample coxswain recordings: https://readyallrow.org/coxswain-recordings/
Notes:
Goals of coxswain clinic
Demystify coxing
Identify priorities, especially for novice coxswains
Discuss how to make practices more effective
Will not talk about racing, but can point those interested to helpful resources
Preparation at home before outing
When temperatures are low: layer up!
When windy or rainy: waterproof layers/ponchos
When sunny: sunglasses/cap because glare off the water can be blinding
Always bring a water bottle
Preparation at boathouse before outing
Get fully charged MITRC cox box
Get tool bag (screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches, spacers, duct tape, etc.)
Get battery for stern and bow boat lights (when needed)
Review the river traffic patterns, including permissive arches on upstream and downstream routes
Getting the boat out of the boathouse and onto the water
Give clear, decisive commands so that everyone acts in unison
After every command, especially when moving expensive equipment, say “ready…(pause)…go!”
As a rower, you know exactly what you need to do
As a coxswain, you will need to break down the sequence of intuitive motions into a series of discrete, succinct calls (visualize step-by-step before outing)
Hands on the rack
Pull out the rack
Hands on the gunwales
Lift the boat one inch
Walk out into the aisle, etc.
Safety of the boat:
Remind rowers to watch the riggers and avoid collisions with other hanging or resting objects in the boathouse
Stay near the stern and keep an eye on the skeg
Specify which dock and which side of the dock to take
Getting into the boat
Dock is most common location to capsize, especially when there are no blades flat on the water stabilizing the boat
Goal 1: plug in equipment and check for functionality
Attach the cox box and check volume in the bow
Attach the battery and check/ask for help checking stern/bow lights
Goal 2: give commands so that everyone can get into the boat safely
Ask port/starboard rowers to get oars/oarlocks
Make sure non-dockside oars are shipped out and flat on the water before anyone gets into the boat
Ask rowers who will be operating those oars to get into the boat
Then ask rowers who will be operating dockside oars to get in
Last of all, the coxswain gets into the boat
Ask for a countdown from bow to make sure everyone in the boat is ready to leave the dock before pushing off!
Priorities on the water, in order of importance (roughly speaking)
Safety
Steering
Speech
Safety on the water
You, the coxswain, are in control of your boat
If you believe that a course of action is unsafe, even if asked by a crew member or a coach, do not take it
Be aware of surroundings and your position on the river
Stationary objects: other docks and boathouses, bridge abutments, floating and submerged branches, shallow banks
Moving objects: other boats, launches, kayaks, flocks of animals
If you approach a slower-moving boat or a slowly-moving launch
Overtake if you have room (not about to go under a narrow bridge)
Drop out pairs of rowers or go to pause drills
If you slow down, check to see that there are no boats coming up behind you unexpectedly (communicate with stroke seat)
Be aware of what is behind your blind spot (where stroke sits)
When in doubt, STOP ROWING
Gentle deceleration: weigh enough…and drop
Quicker deceleration: weigh enough, check it down
Sudden deceleration, used only in case of emergency (boat damage or rower injury): weigh enough and hold water NOW!!
Steering
If you’re new to coxing, concentrate on safety and steering; DO NOT feel compelled to talk continually to fill up the void
Mechanics of steering
Each hand wraps around the wooden toggle or the knot, and pinkie around the gunwale for added stability
To turn right, move your right hand forward away from you
Steer on drive or recovery? No consensus.
If on the drive: less disruptive to set, but causes more drag
Be hyperaware of how your steering is affecting the boat, then adjust accordingly
Always a delay between rudder string movement and boat response
Faster boat: faster rudder response
Slower boat: slower rudder response, ask crew to help steer
E.g. When you spin the boat from dead stop!
Strategies behind steering
Steering a straight course
Pick a point on the horizon to aim for
Make constant small adjustments to avoid zigzag course
Be aware of external factors that make steering difficult
Wind
Current
Uneven pressure
Steering around a turn/corner
On shallow turns, use primarily the rudder
On sharp corners, go on the rudder AND ask for added pressure on one side or shorter slide on the other side
Weeks footbridge
Inside, downstream lane around the big bend
Due to delay between rudder use and boat response, as a novice remember…
To start steering before you think it is necessary
That if you are still on the rudder after the boat is correctly pointed, you will likely oversteer (zigzag course)
Different boats respond differently: get a feel for your boat
Spinning the boat
Done when you need to reverse directions
180° turn or two 90° turns
If space is abundant, ask the inside to hold water, outside to row
If space is limited and the boat needs to spin in place, ask one side to row and other side to back: call out each stroke and expect the rowers to follow your command
Speech
Listen to the coach and write down the practice plan if necessary
Do not interrupt the coach unless issues of safety arise
Do NOT be afraid of silence, especially if you’re steering a tough part of river
Commands
How to make calls
Which rowers?
Starting at which part of the stroke?
Pressure, rating, amount of slide, square/feather blades
If starting from a stop, always say “Ready…(pause)…go!”
If making command while rowing, call out ‘1’ and ‘2’ at the catch of the two strokes preceding the expected change
E.g. “In 2 we go on the feather, that’s 1…2…(change happens)”
Speak with a sense of rhythm, matching the timing with specific parts of the stroke in a consistent way
Motivation
Will become more intuitive when working with the same lineup of rowers over an extended period of time
Most important during high-intensity pieces and races
Coaching
Listen to what the coach says and call it out yourself the next time you observe the error
Coxswains can see and thus infer a lot!
Timing of catch, timing of release
Blade depth during drive
Distance between feathered blade and water during recovery
KEY: determine which technical flaws might be causing observed blade aberrations
Point out to individual rowers/seats if you notice a problem, especially if recurrent, AND suggest a solution
“Bow seat, you’re early at the catch, please slow down and control the slide”
“Six seat, you’re digging, lower your hands on the drive”
“Four seat, you’re skying, hold your hands a tad higher on the recovery”
“Three seat, you’re late at the release, try accelerating your hands into the finish”
During long, continuous rows, ask the crew as a WHOLE to focus on one technical aspect for 5-10 strokes at a time
Wait several strokes for change/improvement to occur, then give feedback, whether good or bad
Fixing the set
No one likes to row in a boat that’s not set
Think about an imperfect set as an opportunity to
Improve individual rowing technique
Foster a more uniform rowing style
Increase the run of the boat
Coxswain can help diagnose set problems
Rowers are responsible for listening to the coxswain and for making the necessary adjustments to fix the set
KEY: know the technical framework of a good rowing stroke inside out
During which part of the stroke is the boat unstable?
On the drive nearing the release:
Uneven depth of blades?
Consistent hand height at the finish?
Good body posture?
Finish timing?
Feathering out of the water?
On the recovery:
Are hands moving out level?
Are knees locked down until the bodies are over?
Are rowers matching body swing by keeping their eyes on the neck of the person in front?
Are rowers controlling the slide uniformly?
Are rowers keeping body weight over the midline until they rotate outward for the catch?
Are arms, bodies, and shoulders moving as one unit up the slide?
Are shoulders stable/is outside shoulder up when approaching the catch?
At the catch:
Are rowers dropping their hands, causing further instability in the shoulders and backs, while reaching out for the catch?
Instead, rotate from the hips/waist
Docking the boat
As you approach the dock, reduce speed!!
Drop down to stern pair by the end of the stone wall
Ask bow or 2 seat to add in to assist with steering
Slow boatspeed: need help of rowers to steer
Decide which dock is available and start half a boat-width away from dock
Make sure that the corner of the dock is always in sight!!
Stop rowing 15-20 meters before dock and allow boat to drift alongside dock
Make sure that someone is on the dock to help pull the oar in
(There are more advanced maneuvers involving seven seat or stroke to help change the angle of the boat, feel free to ask me or coaches afterward)
Sequence of events getting out of the boat
Coxswain gets out first
Then, rowers with dockside blades (non-dockside blades still flat on the water for added boat stability)
Finally, rowers with non-dockside blades
Summary
Priorities: Safety, Steering, Speech
Be decisive and clear
When in doubt, weigh enough
Coxing will make you a better rower!