Novice season #1: My first time coxing was in 2012. I was a junior in college and coxed for a masters team. I was barely getting the basics but left the team after only a few months to study abroad in Morocco! Those few months were enough for me to always dream of coming back.

Novice season #2: In 2016, two years after I started my full-time job that made me a fully functioning adult who could pay her own bills, I went back to the same team, did the learn-to-row camp all over again then started rowing and coxing. This time, I knew I was in it for the long haul. I even brought my boyfriend to Crew Classic a few weeks before my learn-to-row to announce that our lives were about to change! He enjoyed the beer garden and gave me all the support from his heart. We are now engaged, and he is the best Team Fiancé ever… better than some of the crew dads. 😉

Most of the things I learned back in 2012 had left my brain storage at that point, and I started my USRowing official novice clock as a racer.

Novice season #3: In 2018, I moved from San Diego to Sacramento and hesitantly joined another rowing club. I thought I wanted to take a break but guess not. So even though I wasn’t technically a “novice” racer, I still felt like I was doing it all over again. New rules, new safety protocols, new people…

When I started coxing again seriously was 2016, so this spring would be my last semester of senior year if I were in college. Ha! Thought it’d be a good time to share some mistakes I made as a novice coxswain so that future coxswains can learn from them or laugh at them.

Not having a plan when taking the boat down

“Hands on, up an inch, ready, up!” is the easiest part. But what comes next? Sometimes morning routines become so mundane that I only realize after the heavy boat is on my rowers’ shoulders that I have no where to go or I don’t know what to do next.

Before I get my rowers to get hands on, I now always check the traffic at the dock and check the rowers’ heights and positions to make sure they are at the right spots for everyone to carry as comfortably as possible. I run through my boat moving plan in my head before my first call.

Sometimes I guest cox for our men’s team, and they use shells that require very specific steps. I consult with the coach or the men’s team coxswain to either make sure I know wtf I am doing or sometimes I just have the team’s coach or coxswain take the boat to the dock for me. I am kind of a princess coxswain, I must admit…

Taking a bad practice to ruin the rest of the day

Reflection after a bad practice is important to me. Talking to the coach, the rowers, or other coxswains help me improve. However, I make my absolute best to get my mood back to normal during the drive home (blasting country music helps me).

Turning down an opportunity to go in the launch with the coach

Whenever my coach didn’t need me, I always wanted to just stay in the boathouse and get a workout. When I was getting to know my coach soon after I finished my learn-to-row, she encouraged me to ride with her during one of those practices when she didn’t need me to row or cox. She said it would help me develop better eyes. Oh. my. goodness. I never ever ever turn down an opportunity to ride with the coach anymore. Also, listening to your coaches talk shit is funny.

Forgetting to steer in the middle of an intense piece

You know what I am talking about. It is so fucking exciting to be in the zone during a race piece and feel how your calls are making a difference. It feels like some sort of coxswain sprit took over your body, and you are executing everything perfectly. The stroke and you have an intense eye contact, and you both agree: you are killing it! Until you hear the coach yelling, “LEA! GO STRAIGGGGHHHHTTTTT!!!!” Ugh.

This seems like more than enough for one day! Tomorrow, I will share five more mistakes including some from regattas.