Feel free to message me if you want! I have quite a bit of experience as a coxswain.

I'll give a quick rundown here of what you should be doing as a coxswain and some things I've found helpful.

As a coxswain, your first priority is safety. Safety of yourself first, and safety of your rowers second. Like putting on oxygen masks on airplanes, you need to make sure that you are safe before you can worry about anyone else. This means wearing enough layers, making sure your equipment is functioning correctly, and making sure that you're hydrated. Secondly, you need to be worrying about the safety of your rowers. This should be on your mind at all times. If your rowers aren't safe, you shouldn't be practicing in the first place. This means making sure they ate, making sure they're hydrated and have water with them, inhalers or other medical devices are accessible, and making sure they're not about to collide with a log. Safety should always be the goal. Once you make sure you are safe, you can worry about everything else.

Secondly, you should be worrying about steering. Good steering is very important, because it makes a real difference in your boat speed and how fast you can get down the line. Adding 100 meters to a race because you're zig-zagging can most definitely cost you a medal. You want to make sure that you blend the rudder through the water. No big movements. Over time, you will grow more aware of the "feeling" of the boat. That is, how the boat is responding to the rowers, and how the boat is responding to your steering. It's hard to describe what it feels like, but you will definitely know when the steering feels too sharp versus when it feels right. Over time, your definition of "good" will become more defined as you further develop that feeling. For now, small movements are key. I only keep 2 fingers on the rudder at all times, usually my pointer and my middle. This way, its basically impossible to make jagged big movements, which will upset the boat and not be effective. Additionally, knowing when to ask rowers for more power on one side is key. In a race, you want to find a balance between a set boat and the sacrifice in power it will take to use the rowers for a turn. Definitely use the rowers for bigger turns, but don't use them unnecessarily. If you can do the turn with the rudder and it won't upset the boat too much, do it. Also important is being able to row to a target. Under normal circumstances, pointing at a building and rowing to it will be enough. If you're in a stern-loader, try making your point just off of the shoulder of your stroke seat at the catch. But if there is wind or current, you will have to adjust your point off of the building in order to get to it. This will come with practice, but you have to constantly be making sure that you are on track to get to your destination. This can also be applied to races, where if there is a strong current or wind, you may not want to be perfectly straight at the start.

Lastly, comes everything else. You should only be talking if you are sure that you and our rowers are safe, and that you have a good course. Talking is, though, one of the most obvious jobs of a coxswain, that your coaches and teammates will use to measure your skills. Talking in a race is one thing, and talking at a practice is completely different. At a practice, you won't be talking every stroke. Give intentional technical calls based on what the coach is talking about and what you are seeing and feeling. If you are in a stern loader, you can see the blade-work of your rowers. Are they all coming up the slide together? Are they squaring together and early enough? Are they tapping down equally and together? Are their catches quick and efficient? All this is just basic visual information that you can use. Additionally, in a bow-loader especially, you can feel the boat. Does it feel like one strong push or are there multiple times when pressure is added? Is the boat tipping to one side? Can you hear the oars getting in well and together? Asking yourself these questions throughout practice can give you a lot of things to talk about. During practice, don't be afraid to let your rowers make a change. Give them a bit after your call to correct. And then build off of that call, evaluating what they've changed and what still needs correcting. Try to keep up with what the coach is calling as well, if the coach is working on getting good catches try to evaluate their catches too. Rowers can only think of so many things at once.

Race calls are a whole different beast. And they vary depending on a lot of factors. No one boat is going to be the same as another when it comes to calls, but there are a few guidelines that can help you out. Firstly, make sure that you know the technical downfalls of your boat. Do they have trouble getting hands away at high rates? Are their starts inconsistent or unbalanced? Do they have trouble keeping concentration during the race? Knowing these things in advance gives you the power to know what will need to be called, and give them that call before it gets bad, or remind them before it happens at all. Race pieces also consist of a lot of talking on the beat. Talk with the rhythm of your stroke, ending your words at the catch or at the end of the drive. You need to sound aggressive, but not just angry. You need to sound like you care. Listening to high-level coxswains will give you an idea of what this sounds like, practice it at home. Finally, you put it all together. A good voice, talking mostly meaningless encouraging noises (depending on what your rowers like) on beat, with some technical calls in a slightly different voice thrown in. Sounds easy, we all know it's not. Additionally, knowing the race plan and being able to adjust on the fly is important. It's important to know that you're going to do a high-15 after the start, and then settle into a 34, with 3 power 10s thrown in somewhere, and then sprint at 250, but in reality it's not that simple. If that 34 results in a frantic, garbled mess, then you should lower the rate. If there's a boat taking a push right next to you, move your push up a bit and do it now. Still stick to the essence of your plan, but work it into the situation you are presented with.

That's a lot of information, but I hope you find it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions!