This week we have a guest post written by Robert Colburn. Its just one of many great coxing articles he has written as part of the Believers in the Stern Blog on the Row2k website.

One of the biggest challangers for a coxswain is entering a new highschool, college or club rowing programme and having to adapt under new coaches. Facing new expectations can be frustrating but here are some handy tips to help you out in thsi situation and keep your coaches happy.

First, put yourself mentally in your coach's position. Be aware that coaching -- especially coaching more than one boat at one time -- can be very stressful. The coach wants to be able to concentrate on the rowers; the more you as coxswain can do to relieve your coach's worries about the handling of the shell, the more productive the practice will be. If you are a freshman cox, your freshman coach has probably been given the oldest, most cantankerous launch in the fleet, which only adds to the complexities the coach has to juggle.

"Keep 'em apart and keep 'em together." The first bedrock rule is not to hit other boats or bridges. The second is to keep the boats close enough to make it easy to coach two (or more) of them at once. When drilling, you can add pauses or lengthen them if your boat is drawing ahead, or shorten or eliminate them if your boat is falling behind.

Communication: Coaches (and race officials too) like assurance that you will execute their instructions reliably and immediately. For that reason, always acknowledge their instructions by raising your hand (preferably the one closest to the launch) to acknowledge that you have heard and understood. That way, even if takes you a few strokes to drop out a pair or execute a maneuver, your coach can be sure that it is in progress, and doesn't have to keep shouting and wondering if you have heard.

Anticipation. Learn your coach's "handwriting" and the pattern of drills, so that you and your coach begin working instinctively together. Warmups tend to be somewhat standard, so within a few practices you will probably find yourself calling them without requiring specific guidance from your coach, thus freeing your coach to concentrate on the rowers' technique.

Do not usurp the coaching duties. Yes, the coxswain has a valuable role as on-board coach, but be cautious in assuming it until you have learned the "handwriting." Never talk to your boat (except for the normal administrative calls) while the coach is talking to the rowers, and it's a good rule of thumb not to talk while the coach's launch is close to the boat. Practice ways of pitching your voice and intensity lower so that you can give necessary commands without interfering with the flow of the coach's information.

As the season progresses, and you and your coach build up a rapport, chances are your coach will be happy to know that he or she can rely on you to drill the boat -- especially if they need to concentrate on another boat. However, wait until you have a clear indication that this stage has been reached (most coaches have a way of letting you know when they want you to shoulder this responsibility).

Remember that most coaches are former rowers. Their job is to work with the rowers. Time spent coaching the coxswain is time taken from the rowers, so you probably will not receive much direct coaching on your coxing technique. If you do, consider yourself fortunate, but expect to learn primarily by talking to the other coxswains on your crew. The coxswains who tend to be most highly valued by their coaches are the ones whom the coaches do not have to think about much, or at all. To be invisibly reliable is to be loved.

Copyright © Robert Colburn. Reprinted with permission from row2k.com. All rights reserved.  No part of this article may be reprinted without written consent of Robert Colburn.

The International Coxing News Flash is a bi-weekly article published on the Coxmate Newspage and will feature news, events and everything interesting in the coxing world from the previous two weeks. This is a great resource for keeping tabs on whats going on in the international coxing scene or just for having a laugh at some funny coxing articles. For more great coxing resources, visit our·Resources for Coxswains page. Enjoy!

An Unexpected Role - At 16, Phelan Hill would have never dreamed that he could be a coxswain candidate for Britain’s men’s eight for the 2012 Olympics. Hill took up the position merely as a favor, helping out some of his rowing friends, but now he might just be competing for Olympic glory. Check out this article for Hill’s reflection on how he made it to the top.

DIY - Coxing Camera Mount - Alright coxswains, time to roll up your selves. Have a look at this instructional guide for how to make your own camera mount that sits above the coxswain’s head and give it a go.

Blog of the week - This week we have Olympic Gold Medalist Coxswain Mary Whipple´s blog. The 9th Seat includes articles, one-on-one coaching opportunities, tips from Mary and a question/anwser blog

Coxswain Humor - This classy message was spotted on a T-shirt at a rowing regatta

New to coxing? Need some pointers on how to handle race day?  No worries! Olympic coxswain Michael Toon has outlined his approach to race day, racing and provides insight as to what it takes to cox at Olymipc level. A must read for all aspiring  coxswains out there!

On Race Day

In this series of discussions I hope to outline my approach to racing, both in terms of practical considerations and a broader philosophy behind coxing on these occasions, starting with arriving at the Regatta.

The end goal for competitive coxing, like most team endeavors, is to impact positively on the outcome of your race. This starts from the minute you arrive and is a useful thought to consider during all your activities at a regatta venue.

This positive impact will manifest itself in one of two ways. Either something you say or do, an active initiative on your behalf, can prove a decisive factor in the outcome. More commonly however, the inconspicuous and unheralded performance of your tasks meticulously can allow your crew to row to their potential and succeed in a way that may have been inhibited but for your presence.

Thinking about this latter point and consistently facilitating your crew’s finest abilities is vital to long-term success as an elite coxswain.

I often tell other coxes, and I learnt this from my own failed attempts to impose myself in situations, that you should think of yourself as the roadie at a band performance and let the rowers be the rockstars, even though you are the one with the microphone. Far from being an unsung hero, your consistent attention to more mundane tasks and pride in details will, in the long run, be recognized for the indispensable role it plays and in no small way earn you the most vital of all coxing attributes, respect and authority.

Preperation

Your preparation actually begins the night before, especially with the common occurrence of early starts on a Saturday in the dark drive to far away courses. Check your bag, that your coxmate is on charge (I charge it IN the bag so I don’t grab the bag and leave the coxmate) and you have your racing uniform, hat, tools, wet weather gear, and a change of clothes. Lastly, set 2 alarms, away from the bedside.

Always try to arrive at a Regatta venue first, or better yet, arrange a lift with your coach so you can’t be late and can have some uninterrupted time to discuss the race. Make your first task to ensure that the boat and other equipment has arrived safely and that a plan is in place to rig and ready the ship. The next thing I do is to take a walk around the judge’s tower and see if the regatta is on time (or expected to start on time) and to check the conditions. Check the traffic pattern, especially in unfamiliar venues. A glance down the course and a check of any flags will alert you early to any prevailing winds that may influence your approach and preparation for the day. Adjusting the inboard on the oars to suit the conditions is better done before the early warm-up row as you are putting the boat on the water to race. I usually say Hi to the judges at the tower and ask them nicely if there are any concerns or delays for the day. Apart from the information you may receive they may recognize you later as a sensible, polite and diligent coxswain that deserves a break in the event of a ruling they have to make against your crew in unforeseen circumstances…

Report back to the coach at this stage and advise them of the conditions and check the plan for the day. Rounding up the athletes is next and reiterating with them the plan from the coach.

Approaching Race Time

As the race time approaches, touching base with key members of the crew provides you with an opportunity to ascertain their thoughts and feelings. Often I am asked how to motivate the crew and I find asking explicitly to a crewmember what they like to hear to get them rowing hard helps. These moments are ideal for fleshing out words, phrases and approaches that will motivate your crewmate for the upcoming effort. Discussing other crews with the rowers now is useful as on the water attention towards your competitors is obviously discouraged and counterproductive. Allow the rowers time to relax and once again ask them if there is anything you can do to facilitate this such as checking their rig or cleaning their oar handle.

You need downtime of your own, so I usually take these required moments to myself during my weigh-in. Usually this is an accepted requirement for you between 1-2 hours prior to a race. I usually have to get down to weight so like to weigh in as soon as I am able and allow a bit of food and drink afterwards. After informing the coach, I keep my date with the scales and then grab a few moments by myself to eat and relax and go over the warm-up plan and race plan and any other issues on my mind. During the latter stages of my career I warmed up my voice as well using techniques learnt from an acting coach, a routine best performed away from eye and earshot.

An hour before race time I would complete one last housekeeping check, ensuring that we had a bownumber (secured with tape or a small nut and bolt), the oars were adjusted and at the waterside that all the nuts on the riggers and footstretchers were tight. Make sure you check your rudder wire is secure and not frayed as well and that the speakers and ratemeter work. It is embarrassing and costly to overlook your own equipment having checked everyone else’s.

I then reconvene with the crew and give them a regular timing countdown and gentle reminders to get themselves ready (toilet, sunscreen, waterbottles) at this stage. As the crew has ample time for thoughts and reflection and usually a formal meeting with the coach before boating I keep quiet from here until launch so later discussions have more impact and not too much emotional energy is spent.

What you say between launching and the starters gun is often the most important, so using your words and dispensing your thoughts carefully and sparingly is vital now.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Coxmate would like to indroduce its newst resource for coxswains - The International Coxing Newsflash

The International Coxing News Flash is a bi-weekly article published on the Coxmate Newspage and will feature news, events and everything interesting in the coxing world from the previous two weeks. This is a great resource for keeping tabs on whats going on in the international coxing scene or just for having a laugh at some funny coxing articles. For more great coxing resources, visit our Resources for Coxswains page. Enjoy!

Coxswain Cartoon - Each edition we like to bring a bit of humor to the sport that can often be taken a little too seriously. 

The right words for motivation - We’ve all heard it before: a coxswain telling her rowers they’ve done “a great job” after royally losing a race.  But don’t blame the coxswain, if anything blame some age-old coaching misconceptions.  Check out this article and learn some helpful techniques to not only become a better coach, but also a better coxswain.

The Main Line Slide Indoor Rowing Championship - Moorestown Crew excells at indoor rowing championships after approximately 550 individual rowers competed on ergs or rowing machines.

Blog of the week - There are some great blogs out there written by coxswains. Have a look at our blog of the week and compare your experiences as a coxswain with others from all around the globe.

We are always interested in hearing about coxing news, blogs or stories involving coxswains, so This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have anything interesting!

Todays Coxmate guest post is from CoachingTheCox. They have provided us with a great article on how to listen to coxswain recordings and be able to provide good feedback to your cox. After reading this post, head over to CoachingTheCox for more great articles and imformation on how to coach a coxswain. 

Today, in honor of our presence as a guest post on Coxmate’s blog, we’re going to try some new things. Normally at CoachingTheCox, we talk about frameworks and scripts to become super-effective at coaching your coxswains. Today I’ll give you a framework, but you’ll also listen to a coxswain recording and (I hope) help me do an experiment to learn exactly how coaches listen to recordings. So thank you in advance for helping me with my experiment! To help, just follow the instructions interspersed in this blog post. I promise it will all make sense at the end.

This is the second post in a series about coxswain recordings: last week, we discussed how and when to record your coxswains so you can have high-quality audio samples. This week, we dive into what to do with those samples. We’ll use an example recording from the Head of the Charles to test different listening strategies.

Imagine that you have a sample recording from your coxswain at the Head of the Charles, and you want to listen to that recording and provide feedback for your coxswain. How do you prepare? Do you get out a pencil and paper to make note of things you hear? Do you reduce the distractions around you? Whatever it is you do, I want you to stop reading and do it now. We’re going to listen to a recording and then decide how to coach the coxswain who made the recording.

Ready? Good. Now do one more thing. Pull out your iPhone or your watch, or click on this link. I want you to time the listening process for yourself. You’re not supposed to do this in some set amount of time, so don’t worry. I just want you to get a gauge on how long it takes you to listen to a tape.

Now, here are the links to the recording (it’s in three parts). I want you to listen to this recording. Feel free to pause it, rewind it, et cetera, but don’t ever touch your stopwatch until you are satisfied that you have heard everything you need to hear of this tape.

The links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM0G-Bne8zQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-hinktoK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj-zdY0kLJo&feature=related

Listen to the recording, make any notes you want to make, and scroll down when you are finished.

Done? OK. Everyone has their preferences for listening to coxswain tapes, but the majority of coaches seem to fall into one of the following two camps:

1. The Play-by-Plays: You are in the Play-by-Play camp if you have a sheet of paper with a time-stamped list of the particular words the coxswain used that you liked or disliked. When giving your coxswain feedback, you might play the tape, pausing at each time stamp to give your critique. Alternatively, you might just read off the list you wrote down without playing the tape at all, instead letting your coxswain refer to the tape on her own.