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I decided to start coxing in December 2008. Unlike most coxswains, I had no previous rowing experience, so starting out felt really quite intimidating. There is such a huge amount to try and learn. Once you have basic steering skills, there?s rowing language. When you know your bowside from strokeside, you need to start fine tuning calls, work on timing of calls, annunciation, sharpening your steering and all this whilst keeping your crew safe on the Tideway and trying to tweak their rowing technique. The majority of my existing coxswain experience has come from learning ?on the job?, talking to other coxes and listening to the after outing sum up. I desperately wanted as much reading material as I could get to help with rowing terms and basic skills. Whilst information is on the internet, it?s few and far between. So when I saw Rowperfect had started to stock books which were for coxes, my inner rowing geek jumped for joy.
The Good Coxswain Guide Books are designed to be a handy source of information. Their aim is to cover complete basics of coxing for novice coxes to simplified explanations of drills etc for senior coxes. The guide books are also a resource for coaches who would like direction on how to coach coxes. They come in booklet form so they can be easily used as a quick reference. Separated into 12 different sections, they address core coxing topics, without all the jargon.
For someone who is thinking about becoming a cox or has just started, these booklets are invaluable. They explain everything from getting the boat out of the boathouse/shed to what the different components in a boat are called and what they do. I certainly found the section on creating a race plan useful (booklet number 9) and I am always on the lookout for tips to improve my landings (as is my Bowman!). What I also thought was a good aspect, is the section on how you can still be useful and an integral part of the crew when land training. To quote the first booklet, ?I knew how to do it, I just didn?t know why? was exactly my attitude and these booklets explain the Hows, Whats, Wheres and Whys succinctly. Each booklet has a glossary section and then a summary to reinstate what you should?ve learned
My only criticism is that, for coxes who have steered more races and outings than they?ve had hot meals (granted a bad analogy ? we are after all ? always trying to make weight!!), the booklets would be quite redundant. Certainly adding further booklets to the series which concentrate on more advanced topics would be a superb idea.
To summarise, I found the booklets useful and enjoyable to read. They simplify ?rowing speak? without being patronising and all booklets have diagrams and/or tables to explain things further. I?d recommend owning them and I?ll certainly continue glancing at them from time to time to brush up my knowledge.
Celeste Boruvka, Vesta Rowing Club CoxswainRating:
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This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 28 January, 2010.
