The Coxswain's Journey - In the sport of rowing!

"A race plan is a strategic outline that details the tactics and execution strategy for a your crew during a race. It helps the team to maximize their performance by providing guidelines on pacing, stroke rates, and overall race strategy.+

In this "Casual Convo" we chat with Trevor Knowles from Hawthorn Rowing Club to gleen his thoughts and discuss all things racing plans; why we need them, when we need them and most importantly, are they fluid?

The title speaks for itself, crashes will happen. In this episode we delve into a real situation that occured with me only the day before this podcast while it was still raw and fresh.

What is the coxswains number one job? What matters more than anything else?

In this super short "burst" i will tell you, and its very simple!

In this live and uncut episode recorded from the banks of the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith, I share my thoughts and feelings just minutes before starting gun of the Australian Supersprint Triathlon Championships.

This is not a rowing episode, but rather an exploration of my emotions, ambitions, and realistic goals for the upcoming race, recorded on my phone with no editing or script.

The episode provides listeners with an intimate glimpse into my mindset before a major competition.

In this powerful episode of The Coxswain’s Journey I draw on 40+ years of sporting experience to tackle one of sports most universal challenges: pre-race nerves and anxiety.

From legendary performer Barry Humphries’ pre-show jitters to my personal experiences as a coxswain, rower and triathlete, discover how top performers channel their nerves into peak performance. Whether you’re a coxswain, rower, or athlete in any discipline, this episode delivers practical strategies including:

Key Takeaways:

Pre-race nerves aren’t your enemy – they’re a natural part of performance. Learn how to embrace and channel them effectively.

Side Note:

Here are some effective ways for athletes to manage the additional stress and anxiety they face during races:

The key is finding strategies that work best for your individual personality and experience level. With practice, athletes can learn to harness pre-race anxiety in a productive way.

In this episode I delve into a bunch of tips and ideas to help make you a better and more confident coxswain.

What happens after you hit the water on Raceday, what to be ready for and what to expect.

This is what it is all about, the race! all the preparation has been done, you are organised and have planned as best you can, now to execute all that training!

And most importantly enjoy the ride, it will be a blast! The satisfaction from the coxswain seat in my humble opinion gives a greater buzz than that of the rower.

What you need to know leading up to and including raceday before you hit the water.

Being organised is paramount, "failing to prepare is preparing to fail" nothing holds more true than in the coxswain seat and on raceday!

In this episode we cover the aspects that are required from a coxswain during training, from arriving at training, getting on the water, on water training and what we do after we come off the water.

Its in training we build the "bones" or structure of how the race will unfold, be serious about your training, be organised and stay focussed. Yes there is time for some fun too, but remember the training sessions is where the foundations are laid.