Selection time is a stressful period for everyone in a boat club. For coaches, it’s long evenings of reviewing telemetry, timed pieces, and planning if there needs to be further rounds of seat racing. For the oarsmen, the stress is obvious. A year’s worth of training now comes down to just a few sessions to decide if they are in the top boat that they have spent the whole season aiming for. Every session, stroke, and timed piece takes on an extra importance as multiple rowers compete for those limited places.
But there is one area of crew selection that can sometimes be overlooked and misunderstood.
The selection of coxes can be fierce and, almost by definition, more subjective than the selection of rowers. No two coxes will be identical in how they approach their role in the boat. Coaches and rowers can often fail to understand how personal this process feels for those coxes involved and the importance of having a clear and fair approach. So how can this be done?
Transparency
Any approach for cox selection should begin from a position of openness.
This means that, within a club, the start of the season should be viewed as a fresh start and an opportunity to move coxes between crews. Not only does this create the opportunity for coxes to show their ability when placed with a stronger boat, but it also allows some of the lower boats to gain from working with a more experienced cox who can provide more detailed technical feedback and assist those newer rowers in making greater progress. Rowers can form their own preferences on what they look for in a cox for their crew, while coaches can gain different perspectives on a cox’s style. All this helps provide detailed feedback to coxes.
This openness should encourage coxes to apply. If nothing else, it helps them understand the criteria and level of competence that they need to be competitive in that process.
Feedback
For any cox to improve, it is vital that they receive regular and detailed feedback on their coxing.
A coach must ask themselves – what does a cox want from the feedback they receive? Telling a cox to “just make better calls” should receive the same level of derision as anyone who tells a rower to “just row better.” That is not feedback or advice. It’s simply a lazy way to tell a cox they aren’t giving you the information you want or need but without putting in the effort to actually tell the cox what information you desire.
Do you need more technical calls? Do you want more encouragement and motivation? Should the cox focus more on individual athletes or focus on bringing the whole crew together? What past calls or approaches have you found with other coxes that have really worked for you? This is what a cox needs to know to make a positive change.
Crew engagement
Rowers should actively discuss with their coxes what they are seeking from their cox through the whole season. Waiting till the summer race season leaves them no time to adapt or work on their coxing to meet these demands. Feedback can be both negative and positive. While, it is obviously important to point out where a cox can improve, it is just as vital to note instances where a cox performs well. Not only does this give any cox confidence, but will also encourage them to continue to build upon those highlighted points.
Commitment and experience
When selecting coxes, so much will be subjective: different crews and rowers will prefer different styles of coxing; when listening to cox recordings, what one person might view as motivating, another might find unclear and lacking in technical focus. It is for this reason I would suggest that more objective criteria should also be included in the selection of coxes. This would include aspects such as experience.
A cox who has a history of performing consistently well under pressure or who has a deep knowledge of a certain course or competition should be ranked above a cox who is less experienced. I also believe strongly that commitment should be factored into any selection process. Those coxes who show up day in day out to every training session no matter whether it’s raining, snowing or gale force winds, should be rewarded for their commitment and dedication to the rowing program and see this rewarded.
And finally some advice for coxes
Finally, I wish to just conclude with some advice to those coxes who face those tough battles for a seat.
Try not to view the outcome as personal to you. Where there are multiple coxes and only one or two seats available, there will inevitably be those who are left disappointed.
Make sure that you receive clear reasoning on the decision and advice on how you can improve your coxing for the future. Learn from the process and be open to changing your approach based on the feedback you receive. This, though, should not come at the cost of who you are and your coxing style.
Being confident in yourself and your coxing is vital if you are to lead a crew and assume that responsibility as a cox. The selection period will be tough for everyone involved, as it should be.
It can, however, also be a rewarding experience that can help set up a cox for future success, even when the selection doesn’t fall in their favour. It is therefore absolutely vital for all those involved that they approach the process with the seriousness and rigorousness that the coxes deserve.
