Tim has set up the first online tutorial service to train rowing coxswains and I was delighted to be chatting with him on RowingChat. His experience as a regatta referee and a coxswain coach has showcased the need for improved instruction. In this interview we run through a range of tips and tactics coaches and coxswains can use to up-skill and improve their boat control.

Timestamps to the interview

01:00 Introduction and background in rowing

04:00 How to spot if coaches are failing to teach coxes well. Rowers telling the cox what to do.

05:00 Keeping your point (what it is and how to do it)

10:00 coaching coxswains - books are hard to get people to read.

13:00 start coaching by listening to a recording of a race or a practice. How often do coxes repeat themselves?

16:00 Why coxing improvements is like getting rid of a computer virus

19:00 Should a cox also be a coach?

21:00 How to make corrective calls five different ways e.g. catch timing

24:00 Teaching HOW to make a correction

25:00 Taking notes after an outing - ride in the coach launch and watch rowers individually

26:00 What does a coxswain feel? Rush and Check.

28:00 What a coxswain can hear

29:00 Simultaneously monitoring

32:00 How to choose a remedy - pick the biggest flaw first

33:00 Start by coaching the whole crew before doing individuals. The power of positive calls

38:00 Exercises and drills to reinforce technical changes. Use this to broaden vocabulary. Try new words. Pick a theme for the outing.

41:00 How to take the drill learnings into normal rowing

45:00 Encourage the crew to give feedback on pieces and what went well. Ask people individually, don't let one or two dominate.

50:00 www.coxnschool.com guided tour. 50% discount for April enrolments

55:00 The best way to know they have learned is to quiz the learner

60:00 Evaluating your recordings - number of words per minute.