At first glance, it may appear that coxswains have easy jobs. All they do is sit, order people around and steer a boat. Simple, right? Wrong!

A coxswain’s job has many parts, including steering, coaching, cheerleading, leading, communicating, strategizing and, most importantly, keeping a crew safe at all times. Rowers who find themselves in the cox seat often feel nervous about coxing because they don’t know where to begin. It’s not easy to steer, count and coach at the same time. Some aspects of the job are basic, others more advanced. This article covers the basics to help you be the most effective rower-turned-coxswain you can be.

Most novice coxswains make the mistake of trying to do more than they can handle.

If you’re a rower who is substituting for a coxswain for just one practice, you should focus on the essentials: SAFETY, SEEING and STEERING. Unless you are a more advanced coxswain, don’t worry about making the crew faster. Leave that to the coach.

Safety

Safety is the most important part of a coxswain’s job. It is the coxswain, working with a coach, who keeps the boat and rowers free from harm. A successful practice, coxing-wise, is any practice in which the coxswain does nothing that hinders a crew’s performance, slows down the crew unnecessarily or harms the crew or boat.

Seeing

The main way to keep the crew safe is to watch. Watch all around you. Yes, a coxswain should focus on the rowers and where the bow is pointing. But s/he also should continually scan the waters off the port and starboard sides of the boat. Don’t forget to scan behind the boat too. Many accidents occur when a coxswain calls “weigh enough” and stops the boat without first looking behind to see if any traffic is coming.

When scanning the course ahead of you, scan as much as one mile ahead, not just immediately off your bow. Is there a turn ahead? A bridge? Is there any traffic? Find your obstacles and plan accordingly. Stay in control of your environment as much as possible. You are the eyes for your crew.

Steering

If you’re a rower-turned-coxswain, steering should be your main focus. To steer the boat, you’ll use a rope connected to the rudder. If you’re in a stern-loader, the rope will be at your sides. You turn the rudder by pushing or pulling on one of the ropes. Making a boat turn is fairly simple. Pushing your left hand forward on the rope turns the boat to PORT (your left); pushing your right hand forward turns the boat to STARBOARD (your right). In other words, whichever hand you push forward is the direction the bow will turn.

Pushing all the way forward on the rope will turn the boat faster and more sharply than by pushing on it an inch at a time. This is an important point. In most situations, you’ll want to make small adjustments with the rudder. This is because the boat continues to turn one or two strokes after you make a correction. If you over-steer, your boat will serpentine down the river, driving both the crew (and the coach) crazy. The only situations in which you should make more than minor adjustments are when an obstacle appears suddenly in your path or you’re about to enter a big turn. In these types of situations, your job is to do whatever is necessary to keep your boat safe.

You may have heard debate about whether the cox should push on the rope during the drive or during the recovery. If you’re new to coxing, don’t worry about this. Just concern yourself with getting your crew from Point A to Point B safely. 

Holding Your Point

Unless you are in the rare situation of being on flat water with no current, no wind and rowers who match each other perfectly, steering straight is not as easy as it might seem. Here’s how to do it. Look off your bow and find something tall in the distance in the direction you wish to travel. Say it’s a tree. You keep your bow pointing toward that tree by making small adjustments with the rope.

Sometimes wind will blow you “off your point” a few degrees. Try to figure out ahead of time which way the wind will blow you so you can adjust your course before you get started. For example, if you decide to point on a tree but you notice your bow keeps drifting to the left of the tree, when maneuvering for your point place, aim your bow to the RIGHT of the tree, that is, into the wind. This will help you start on your point when it is time to go.

Know Your Limits

Safety, seeing and steering are the basics for any inexperienced coxswain. Leave the coaching and cheerleading to the coach. You may be the best motivator your team has ever had, but if you crash into a bridge during practice, you will not be remembered for your motivation!

MastersCoaching guest columnist Julie Gesch coxes at most MastersCoaching clinics and races. To learn more about MastersCoaching, go to www.masterscoaching.com .