Rowing
A Guide to Coxing
Last Advice
You will expect the crew to be concentrating so don't make irrelevant comments or start pointing out interesting sights on the bank. Learn to sit still. Crews will not respond well if you are always fidgeting.
It is important to be decisive. If you are having difficulty making a decision then it is likely that there is not much to choose between the two options. In this case it is often better to choose the wrong option than to dither.
Try to maintain a good relationship with the crew. They must respect and trust you. Although turning up to their weights sessions is boring, it will earn you their respect and help you feel like one unit.
Sometimes it will feel like you are all on your own. You will find yourself not feeling part of the crew or the coaching team. The rowers will be in a bad mood and the coach will get irritated when you make a mistake. Everyone has these outings. Don't let them demoralise you.
Occasionally you will have accidents and damage equipment. You will feel awful about this. However, everyone understands that accidents happen. If it was your fault then apologise to your crew and boatman and learn from your error. Try not to let it knock your confidence or affect your ability.
Do try out rowing to understand better the coaching, technique and how to communicate with a rower. The more rowing you do the better it will be for your boat feel and ability to motivate effectively. Also very useful is to do erg tests with your crew to know the pain and mental toughness required during one. Not only will this help you in improving in getting into your rowers’ heads but you will also easier gain your crew’s respect.
Get and feedback and continue improving. Always want to get better. Talk to your rowers, coaches and other coxes about possible ways to get better. Record your outings. Listening to these recordings and analysing your own performance is very valuable. The Club has a number of recordings made by experienced coxes which you are encouraged to listen to and might find very useful. Also seek other coxing guides, message boards, recordings online or books and dvds. For example:
I hope you enjoy coxing - it is often extremely good fun. Most rewarding of all is winning a race against a faster crew because you coxed well.
