#rowing coach

In the end, I learned a lot. Heather and the other occasional college-age coaches didn’t return with me, but I got a fellow coxswain from my collegiate team to coach there as well. The junior team found another older rower from the master’s side of the club to take on a coaching position during the year (who also went to the coaching clinic with me). She may have been older than me, but deferred to me sometimes in decision making which felt odd. The team is doing well though. I’m happy.

It took a good month and half or so before I had the appropriate hours needed for the USRowing level 2 coaching certification. I noted that the form I had to fill out said something about a final test given by my mentor, but nothing of the sort was needed when I turned it in. I’m unsure if it’s something that USRowing doesn’t do any more and didn’t take it out of the manual yet or if they simply forgot about it. Either way, I sent it in via email and a week or so later I got the certificate in the mail.

It was so exciting when I opened the package; the tan-orange envelope with a USRowing stamp and my address proudly printed on the front. Two papers were inside: a letter and a thicker yellow-cream colored certificate. To date, it’s one of my proudest achievements. Over a year after I decided to try coaching, I finally have it physically in my hands.

It’s been a hard road. College makes it twice as difficult. But, the largest hurdle I faced was probably the fact that I live in the south (and not in Florida). There are fewer crews here. The teams that do exist often struggle to keep themselves afloat. Most people don’t know that rowing is a thing and it’s reflected in the teams. We are a small community. To my knowledge, there are three junior crews in Alabama alone and one of them has to piggyback off of another. There is very little support down here. Attracting coaches is hard; something I’ve struggled with at my college. No one easily decides to be head coach of a small team that can’t pay well and isn’t likely to win championships. The other parts of the US look down on us. Coaching clinics are rare and I lucked out that I found one. There isn’t likely to be another one here for a while.

I don’t want to use all of that as reasons to pity myself or southern crews. Some of us are very successful and we’re slowly building traction. I want people to know what is happening down here. We get northern rowers at my college sometimes and it nearly gives them whiplash with how quickly they realize the difference. We don’t want your pity, but we do want respect. We may not always be as good as teams from other areas, but we also don’t start with the same quality of equipment or experience of coaches.

Hoo boy. What a rabbit trail. Point is, it isn’t easy to be a southern rower. Looking over this rant it’s made me really think about how lucky I am. Had I not been in an area with a junior team, I wouldn’t have had a coach to teach me when I went to college. It would have been ten times as hard to learn and to get a mentor. I have the support of multiple teams and I’m so happy that I can do something with what they’ve given me. I have a solid piece of paper I can show them to say that they didn’t waste their time and energy on me. It means a lot that my now six and half years of coxing isn’t worthless.

A lot more has happened since then and I’ll just say it briefly here to be expanded later. Summer 2017 was extremely rowing heavy for me. I coached for the juniors most of the time, but the master’s team also requested me occasionally. A collegiate club who uses the same boathouse needed a coach for some of their practices as well so I tagged along even though I honestly didn’t do much. Between coaching for three different teams, I also coxed two boats. The first had been planned for several months as an alumni boat (rowing under a different crew name from where I was coaching, long story) going to Club Nationals. We didn’t do as well as we’d liked (and I have many things to rant about concerning that regatta) but I had a good time in Cincinnati. The other boat I coxed was actually not intended at all.

The little ladies was a masters 4+ with an average age of 60 made of former coxswains. Their coxswain recently moved more north and requested that I cox them for a practice so they could go out with someone who wasn’t brand new to the position. I honestly didn’t know what to do for the practice since the flaws I would normally talk about weren’t there but I guess I did something right. The end of practice led to a conversation between the four of them that lasted only a few minutes before they asked if I would cox them for the summer. I said yes of course.

As a new member of the little ladies, we went to southeastern regionals with a solid silver medal. We went to nationals a month later and came home with a trophy and a gold medal. Best race of my life definitely. I still get an adrenaline rush every time I think about it.

A few months later at Head of the Hooch, their replacement cox was sick and I was free in time for their race between racing with my college. A bronze medal was my payment for sacrificing my phone to the river. Needless to say, the little ladies kick some butt.

So many more things happened, but those are the high points.

It’s been such a wild ride. I’m honestly still in shock over everything that’s happened since wide-eyed novice coxswain me stepped in a boat for the first time. I’ve had ups and so many more downs. I wanted to quit the sport several times in my first year alone. Still I feel that nagging in the back of my head that I’m not good enough, I’ll never be the best coxswain I can be. But remembering where I started keeps me going. I may never be the most amazing cox or even consider myself a good one, but I know that everyday I’m trying to get better.

I consider myself a fairly good coxswain. I’m not terrible, but I’m also not good enough for a national team or anything like that. With my five years of experience I thought that I’ve got a pretty good handle on rowing stuff and the philosophies behind coaching. News flash: I’ve still got a while to go. I’m still learning the best way to teach new rowers and I’m not even sure where to start with varsity rowers. I love to teach brand new people but if there’s anything this summer has taught me, it’s this: be patient and teach to individuals.

What I mean by that is you need to be utmost patient with any new rower. Some of them take to the sport quickly but they still are just that: new. I learned that being immediately good at rowing doesn’t mean that they aren’t struggling internally. You never know what they feel like so you always have to act patiently. I’ll reiterate my novice coaching philosophy here. I never yell at novices unless they do something dangerous or stupid. Messing up timing? Don’t yell, gently guide them. Talking so much they can’t hear the coxswain/bow seat? Go ahead and give them a stern talking to; but make sure they understand why it’s dangerous.  Of course, there are some rowers that respond better to stern coaching but I do that only after I ask them privately if it’s alright (but even if I do teach sternly, it’s never in a condescending tone. I try to make it inoffensive, but demanding of obedience).

As for the “teach to individuals” thing, it’s something that I’ll probably struggle with for a long time. No two rowers are exactly the same and no two rowers learn exactly the same way. I find myself slipping into a habit where I use some of the same phrases and teaching techniques for an entire boat or team. It may work for one or two rowers but you cannot build a fast boat with a cookie-cutter teaching method. As a coach, coxswain, or even varsity rower you must cater to the strengths and weaknesses of each individual athlete. We are all different sizes and have different abilities; so why would you only use one or two methods to teach? It’s something I’m guilty of.  So my ideas are to try anything and everything and see what works for each rower. Try extended periods of silence and concentration. Try videos. Try having one of their peers show them tips. Try asking them what they think they need to work on. Try asking what they need to work on as a boat. Try asking alumni to come down and coach for one practice, just to change it up. There are so many options and tools to teach nowadays so use them! I need to learn to use them too.

If you can’t tell by now, coaching over the summer taught me so much. I feel like a better teacher now. Hopefully I can take these newly learned skills into my collegiate team and help them get faster.

Aside from learning a lot, it was so much fun.

I enjoyed every moment; from driving the launches to hanging out with the kids. At the beginning it was awkward but once I realized I was allowed to make mistakes I loved it so much. Being on the water was a blessing that made me feel so free and excited. I tried to share some of that excitement with the kids as a comic relief (Alex was a bit sterner than me. It was summer dude! Chill a little). I was the one that actively made jokes and odd analogies that kind of worked. It may not have been effective as a coaching method but it made practice a little lighter (and made me the fun coach).

I can’t go any further now without expressing my thanks. My crew has been so supportive of me. They offered me a job as a coach first off; I didn’t even come begging to them for a position. They already had an idea that I wanted to coach and let me know quickly that I had a place saved with them. My former team was always fast to respond to any of my messages and had answers for my incessant questions. I never asked for money but they paid me a lot more than I thought six-hours-a-week was worth. Then I actually started coaching.

My first two weeks or so consisted of me being almost silent. I was out of my element and uncomfortable. They adjusted to me and gave me small opportunities to try it out until I was used to coaching. I learned to comfortably drive a launch with a coach in it before I went off on my own. They asked my opinion on the practice and took it into account even when I had no idea what I was doing. Every question I asked was answered. When I was uncomfortable coaching by myself they put another new coach with me so we could work together. When I felt better but wasn’t necessarily doing better they put trust in me to coach several practices and several boats by myself. They gave me space to spread my wings and get out of my comfort zone but they were always close by if I got in trouble. It felt like I could try what I wanted without the fear of failing. When I had a friend come to visit they let her stay with me and even invited any of my other collegiate friends to come down with me. They have been so welcoming and I can’t say thanks enough. I sincerely hope any new coaches find a crew as open as mine.

So, to wrap it all up now. At the beginning I was timid and afraid of the megaphone. Now I can take several boats on the water by myself, teach new rowers, and shout through the megaphone without hesitation. I owe it all to my loving crew and I hope I can pass on their generosity to others. So to you reading this: thank you for keeping up with my Coach’s Log and following my crazy journey. I hope you learned from my mistakes and got an idea of what you may encounter as a new coach. If you need any advice I am willing to help! I’m not a professional by any means but I will promise to answer your question truthfully to the best of my knowledge. Ask me any question. In addition, if anyone is looking for a crew to learn to coach I’m definitely willing to help you! I may not do much, but I’ll try. Just send me a message and I’ll give it a look!

I also take criticism and I’m willing to debate rowing topics with anyone. If you don’t agree with something I’ve done let me know! I want to hear about all sorts of rowing philosophies and ways I can get better.

We returned to the boathouse after fetching the launch and a familiar blonde ponytail caught my attention. Heather was in the back of the boathouse teaching two newbies how to row. I, of course, ran up to her and gave her a warm welcome back. After, I learned that practice was her last as well despite only just returning from Wales.

Practice progressed once Sarah decided the lineups. I would have my friend and one of the newbies in the white launch with two quads. Alex would take Heather and a newbie in the green launch with several singles and two doubles. Of my two boats, one had four of my novice girls with roughly two months of experience and the other had four middle school boys that had about six practices of experience. I bet you can already tell which boat I had to spend more time with.

To make matters more complicated; my bow seat of the men’s quad was a struggle kid.

I spent the first portion of practice answering the questions of the newbie in my launch and monitoring the quads. A little bit away from the dock Coach Chuck sent me a message to turn around in a few minutes and head back because there was some weather on the way. At the completion of warm up I had the boats turn around.

The women’s quad was sent ahead with the instruction to row by threes, switching every twenty strokes, until they reached the dock. Unfortunately, I had to spend a lot of time with the men’s quad to get them to turn around.

The guys weren’t listening to me. Or, more specifically, my struggle bow wasn’t listening. I gave him an instruction several times and he wouldn’t listen until I broke out my “coxswain voice.” I don’t use that tone very often, but it’s one I use when a boat won’t pay attention to my authority as a coxswain. Ask any coxswain with at least a year of experience: we have a specific tone of voice we use that demands obedience.

At some point I just gave up and tried to damage control. The other three would listen to me so I used them a little more often just to keep practice moving. I had to use my “coxswain voice” several times that practice to avoid hitting stuff. I would only use it when they were getting uncomfortably close to an object or the shore; which matches my philosophy with yelling at novices only when they are being unsafe or acting stupidly.

I felt bad yelling at them though. I didn’t want to cause a break down or anything but I also didn’t want to hit anything. Also: the newbie in my launch’s first experience with rowing was me using my stern voice at a group of middle school boys that won’t listen. That could have been better.

Eventually we got back to the dock. My women’s quad had joined up with Alex’s group to dock while I tried to damage control the men’s quad. They were struggling to turn around and the slight wind was pushing them into the shore. Bonus: while waiting to get on the dock it started to down pour. There wasn’t any lightning, but we were all thoroughly wet.

We docked and the women’s quad exchanged one seat with a newbie. I took the boat out for ten minutes to show the newbie the ropes and head in to switch rowers. I repeated the ten minute session with the other new junior as well. The first was a natural rower and the second may need a bit of work but they both did well. I dropped my friend off on the dock and said goodbye because she had to leave early.

Once everything was put up I pulled out a gift I got for my kids. I brought a cooler full of popsicles (and not the cheap ones either) and let them have at it. I said my goodbyes to Heather and the juniors with some reassurances that I would come back and visit.

Looking back now, I can see that this practice was the culmination of what I’ve learned this summer. I got out my own launch and took several passengers on board with me. I tried to get a newbie interested in rowing while also multitasking keeping track of boats. I dealt with an experienced boat (well, slightly more experienced) and a troublesome boat successfully. The weather conditions also posed a problem that I would not have known how to deal with from a coaching perspective earlier this summer. I taught two brand new rowers how to scull and carry boats. I coordinated with the other assistant coaches to bring together a fairly successful practice.