The Independent Rowing News

The skills and traits as a coxswain are all interrelated. Knowing this will help you stay focused on your goal of going fast.

Everyone who starts coxing starts off confused. Unless you come from a family with history in the sport, the mountain terminology and information you need to digest can be overwhelming. This is especially true for coxswains. The good news is that there’s a way to keep your role, goals, and priorities straight: I call it “the circle of coxing.”

Here, all aspects of coxing are oriented to a central objective: going fast. The circle of coxing is a series of ideas and traits that interact with, and build upon, each other, creating a well-rounded coxswain capable of helping his or her rowers meet their goals. The outermost ring contains the base concepts that give a foundation from which to work from as you build your coxing skills. Knowledge, experience, leadership, and safety are all crucial to your growth as a coxswain. The inner circle includes traits that all champion coxswain share: they are selfless, positive, confident, aware, decisive, clear, and in control. The outer ring concepts help the inner circle traits develop and grow. All of these lead to speed.

Knowledge is one’s understanding of the sport; experience comes when that knowledge is put into practice. Books, coaching, videos, and clinics all help increase our levels of understanding. But sitting in the seat is the best way to learn, providing you with the hands-on experience necessary to do the job. These allow you to lead with a purpose—the ability to guide your rowers. This ability to lead and direct creates a safe environment from which you can work. A safe crew has the freedom and confidence to focus on themselves.

A strong outer circle sets the framework for inner circle traits that are paramount to achieving your best on the water. Starting at the top, coxswains need to be selfless and positive. By selfless, I mean you put the needs of your crew ahead of your own to achieve your crew’s goals. You get to practice early, stay late to help, and look after the details so others don’t have to. Being a coxswain often means being the strong hero in the background. The corollary to this trait, however, is that you never sacrifice your health in your pursuit of speed. It’s not worth it. Medals are goals realized, but you can’t reach them if you are not able to perform at your best. Remember to always take care of yourself and have fun. If you don’t, you will be breaking this link in the chain.

Coxswains who stay positive can help lift a crew and keep them pointed in the right direction. A positive person is one who is supportive, personable, understanding, and empathetic and who presents these traits in the form of honest encouragement. Part of being positive is being confident in who you are and what you are doing. You gain that ability from knowledge and experience, but it is also a trait you have to develop within yourself. You won’t always know everything and have all the answers, but having confidence in your skills will allow you overcome adverse situations and continue to lead.

Being both aware and decisive are keys to keeping your crew safe—on and off the water. These traits prepare you for those situations in a race or practice when you need to act in the moment. This may be before another crew gets a jump on you or when you know it’s time to make your move. This is leadership, too, and being clear and in control of the situation creates a dynamic energy within a crew. You know what you want and what your crew needs and you don’t hesitate in making it happen. There are risks involved but they are calculated risks based on the sum of your experience.

All of the skills and traits of a coxswain are circular and intertwined. If one link in the process breaks down it will have an impact on everything else. As you start your career as coxswain, keep an eye on the elements circling around you. Doing so will help you achieve your own goals and be the best coxswain you can be.

By George Kirschbaum