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Carnegie Currents: March/April 1999, Vol. XIII, No. 2

The Efficient Coxswain

Carnegie Lake Rowing Association has had a long history of being a volunteer club and when the coaches asked rowers to step up to the plate and cox across groups, people did. Cross-coxing has been very successful and the coaches ask rowers to keep it up. They now ask rowers and coxswains to help make practices more efficient by following these tips:

For Coxswains:

• Always check with your coach to find out her/his instructions before leaving the dock.

• Keep the boats together during practice by holding pauses if your boat is more than half a length ahead, asking your boat for more pressure if your boat is further behind or putting more strokes between pauses.

• React quickly to the coach’s directions. Try to make changes between drills and pairs in two strokes or fewer. If the coach has thoroughly explained the drill, you do not have to repeat everything the coach has just said. A simple "on the next one" or "in two" will do.

• Work with the cox next to you to make sure margins are maintained between pieces or to make sure boats begin pieces even. Talk to each other to coordinate the running of a piece, especially if the coach has been stranded behind you.

• Find out where the other cox is going to dock so you don’t end up on top of him/her.

• After landing on the dock, get your rowers out of the boat before they put on shoes. They can be pulling out oars while you are collecting and redistributing shoes.

• Make room on the dock for other boats to land by moving your boat down the dock or pulling it out of the water right away.

For Rowers:

• Listen carefully to the coach so you know what the drills are. Be ready to add in correctly when your coxswain says "on this one" or "in two."

• Respond quickly when your cox asks for more pressure or to ease off. Help your cox bring the boats together.

• Be aware of what’s going on around you when you are on the dock. Be ready to shove quickly and to get your boat off the water quickly. Getting boats out of the water takes priority over putting on shoes.

• Move your boat down the dock when asked.

• Have everything you need when you go hands on. Do not store your water bottle in the boathouse and hold up the boat while you run to find it.

• Carry more than one oar. If your pair partner is getting your oar, open his/her oarlock. Open another oarlock for a friend!

For Everyone:

• Boat safety is our number one priority. Make sure you approach the dock stern pair only, at a light pressure.

• Make sure that there is someone on the dock to catch you and fend off your bow. Bows and strokes should look behind and be ready to call out if there is danger. Stern pair of each boat should catch the baot landing behind them.

• Strokes (and portside rowers when approaching from the bridge) should be ready to check it hard.

• Rowers should respond to a cox’s commands immediately. A cox’s commands must be clear and loud at all times.

Questions about our Coxing Program?
Ask our Coxing Captain, Lisa Sandell or one of our Coaches

This web page was last updated on January 3, 2010.
© Copyright 1999- Carnegie Lake Rowing Association. All Rights Reserved.