Tim has set up the first online tutorial service to train rowing coxswains and I was delighted to be chatting with him on RowingChat. His experience as a regatta referee and a coxswain coach has showcased the need for improved instruction. In this interview we run through a range of tips and tactics coaches and coxswains can use to up-skill and improve their boat control.
Timestamps to the interview
01:00 Introduction and background in rowing
04:00 How to spot if coaches are failing to teach coxes well. Rowers telling the cox what to do.
05:00 Keeping your point (what it is and how to do it)
10:00 coaching coxswains - books are hard to get people to read.
13:00 start coaching by listening to a recording of a race or a practice. How often do coxes repeat themselves?
16:00 Why coxing improvements is like getting rid of a computer virus
19:00 Should a cox also be a coach?
21:00 How to make corrective calls five different ways e.g. catch timing
24:00 Teaching HOW to make a correction
25:00 Taking notes after an outing - ride in the coach launch and watch rowers individually
26:00 What does a coxswain feel? Rush and Check.
28:00 What a coxswain can hear
29:00 Simultaneously monitoring
32:00 How to choose a remedy - pick the biggest flaw first
33:00 Start by coaching the whole crew before doing individuals. The power of positive calls
38:00 Exercises and drills to reinforce technical changes. Use this to broaden vocabulary. Try new words. Pick a theme for the outing.
41:00 How to take the drill learnings into normal rowing
45:00 Encourage the crew to give feedback on pieces and what went well. Ask people individually, don't let one or two dominate.
50:00 www.coxnschool.com guided tour. 50% discount for April enrolments
55:00 The best way to know they have learned is to quiz the learner
60:00 Evaluating your recordings - number of words per minute.