Coxing: Making the Most of Launch Time

No matter your program, the day will arrive when you’ll get to the boathouse and see that you’re up for a ride in the coaching launch. Maybe it’s a small-boats session; maybe you’re in a rotation of coxswains competing for a seat. Either way, time in the launch is an incredibly valuable way to develop your skills.

First, always be mentally and physically prepared to go in the boat. Even if you don’t have your CoxBox with you, you should be ready to hop in. Whether it’s part of the plan or an impromptu decision by the coach, coxswains can be replaced mid-session, so be ready.

I talked with Abby Knight, head junior coach at Cambridge Boat Club, about how coxswains can get the most out of their time in the launch. Since CBC spends a lot of time in small boats, coxswains in the program have ample opportunity to ride in the launch.

Be prepared.

“The first thing I’m looking for when a coxswain is going to come out in the launch with me is: Do they have a notebook?”  Knight said.

Don’t expect yourself to remember everything. It’s useful to have a record of practice notes to which you can refer throughout the year and beyond. Many coxswains bring a small notebook to every practice, and you can make the most of it when you’re in the launch (one that is small and waterproof is a good investment).

“If you’re not taking notes, you’re not really soaking in everything you can get out of the opportunity of being in the launch,” Knight said.

Really listen and observe.

During practice, you’re trying to manage traffic, run drills, steer, and listen to and give feedback. The launch is your opportunity to do one thing at a time, so this is an excellent occasion to get granular with what your coach is saying.

“The launch is the time when coxswains can slow down and listen very specifically to the words I’m using when I’m coaching,” Knight said. “I always try to relay to my coxswains that I want them using the exact same technical words I’m using.

“I expect them to be writing down what technical cues I’m using so they can have that as a template for their calls, whether that’s in practice or in racing.”

As a coxswain, you want to choose your words carefully to reinforce and complement the coaching. In the launch, you can ask why certain phrases are or aren’t used in your program. Asking the why behind the words will yield insight into your program’s technical priorities.

Watch the rowing.

This should be a really fun part of being in the launch. Challenge yourself to see what your coach is seeing but also to make your own technical observations. See if you can identify the individual or collective technical issues within the boat.

“This is a coxswain’s opportunity to get a really good look at the rowers,” Knight said. “What are you noticing technically from them, what is the coach pointing out technically for them? Then when you’re in an eight or a four you know specifically what each rower is working on.”

Try to connect what you see and feel in the boat with what your coach is saying to your rowers. If there’s something that’s tough to understand or different from what you observe in the boat, this is a great moment to ask questions. Connecting what you see from a side view to what you can see in an eight (or feel in a four) will increase your ability quickly to give accurate technical feedback to your crew.

If you’re watching other coxed boats, this is a fine opportunity to take note of steering feedback given to other boats and to ask your coach where you should be on the river.

“A big part of managing practice is your being where I want you to be,” Knight said. “So this is your opportunity to see where I’m telling the coxswains to point, which is a little easier to see from the launch.”

Ask questions.

This is a precious opportunity to be one-on-one with your coach. Pick your moments well (don’t interrupt!), and it’s a sure bet your coach will love talking rowing with you.

“I’m looking for coxswains to be inquisitive— anything to show me that they are trying not just to get better but also lean into what we’re trying to do as a group,” Knight said.

Using your time in the launch well will sharpen your skills as a coxswain and help advance the technical development of your team by ensuring that you and your coach are sending the same message. 

Hannah Woodruff is an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Radcliffe heavyweight team. She began rowing at Phillips Exeter Academy, was a coxswain at Wellesley College, and has coached college, high-school, and club crews for over 10 years.

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