Advice for coxing a disconnected 8 before Nationals!
I’m a novice coxswain looking for advice on getting an unresponsive eight to tune in mentally and technically before a race.
I started this season as the 2V4 cox, and that boat was having a really strong season. My coach moved me into the 1V8 because they’d been struggling with responsiveness and frustration not only from the rowers but the cox as well. After seat racing, I won the 1V8 seat and have been trying to help turn things around before our next race.
The issue is that the boat feels split right now. Bow four and stern four have been out of sync technically (especially bladework/timing), but also mentally. Some days we have really good pieces where everyone locks in and the speed is there, but outside of pieces it’s hard to get consistent focus from the moment we launch.
Our boat has our captain and sometimes they have to yell about tap down, to lock in and press, to actually listen to me, and to get people focused, which weirdly works in the moment, but I don’t want that to be the only way we get intensity or cohesion. I’m struggling with what calls to make and how to create responsiveness without sounding angry or forcing things.
I also would like to add that I try to make everyday feel like a race day by using our competitors boats as the standard and am making those calls in the moment but it doesn't stick well. I started as a rower last year and due to my height/personality my coaches wanted me as a cox this year. I started off strong but now it's my first big race and I am thinking because I am more of a novice then our other coxswains they may not be taking me as serious.
Any advice would really help.
Edit: removed more personal info!