I'm relatively new at coxing, but by talking to the guys in my boat (I'm a female coxswain for men's crew) I learned that they really enjoy doing a "Hate 10" every now and then. For a Hate 10, you give them a heads up by saying something like "Start thinking of something that makes you reallllly angry" and tell them to focus all of their energy toward whatever it is. Then, "In 2, we're going to do a Hate 10" and all throughout it keep the rowers focused on their anger.

The guys raved about it when a more experienced coxswain on the team did it with them, so I tried it a few weeks later, and they responded very well to it. Of course, if it is overused it will lose its appeal.

I hope this helped!

Well, there is already too much hatred in the World, but whatever keeps the boat going...

In races I find those slightly distracting (what do we hate? Other clubs!) as my #1 belied is that rowers should solely focus on their effort. But I usually do those "hate sets" during practices, esp. those where you have lengthy reps and you tend to lose your focus/commitment (like when you do TWICE 10 times 1 minute full speed / 1 minute paddle ), so I "dedicate" each minute (or whatever is called in the piece) either to the clubs we don't like, or more positely to our school, our coaches, our other crews, just like kids who must finish their soup.

I call various tens, for various things. Im a rower myself, and during a race, there is ALWAYS more left in the tank. If someone asks you for more power, for THIS stroke, you can give it to them, just look at the erg. Ask anyone, in the middle of their 2k test, tell them that you dont think they have it in them to drop their split more than a second. (or something along those lines depending on the person) guaranteed they can do it. Essentially that is what coxing is, taking these rowers who are (usually) legitimately insane, pushing themselves harder than they believe is humanly possible, and moving them ever closer to that edge, just a push of motivation (or force) that will send their physical effort into the realm of straight up ludicrous. If you think you cant get more out of your rowers, and that your tens are useless because the rowers are already at full pressure, then you need to call better tens, or, you have a boat full of spectacular single scullers.**

Now, for my tens, I find the most important thing is a goal, therefore I call these "10s" something like "ten in two, thats one, ready! heres two, NOW! Oh yeah now we're movin', FEEL that boat, BOUNCE that finish, POP that catch..." etc etc, I count out the first two or three strokes, then stop with any numbers. I dont give 9 and 10 until I have to. If it looks like a move for two seats might be 5 more strokes past the ten, DONT CALL 9 and 10! Just call "5 more".

Furthermore, in most boats that I have seen, and been a part of, once you start walking you just keep building speed. For a rower, there is no better feeling than watching the field rowing behind you, and all you want to do is get further and further away from them. The opposite is also true however, if you are being walked on or challenged, you had better have something up your sleeve to get you out of there.

You might notice that apart from very high level competition, there is usually NOT a dogfight on the river, one boat moving ahead, to be overtaken again, usually its a boat gets walked on, then fights to stay alive in second place.

Another interesting thing to do is change the meaning of a "power 10" Think of your power like a fan, with ten settings, 1 is the lowest (paddle) 10 is ALL OUT, and your race pace is just below that. So you are not calling 10 strokes for power, but for ALL OUT power, until you say you are done.

Another one of my favorite moves, the 10 5 10, power 10, LENGTHEN 5, power ten. The increased boatspeed is used from the first 10 to give the lengthened 5 a light and relaxed feeling, so you can pick it back up to another 10. If done properly, this is a faster move than a full power 25. Also another favorite, the SUICIDE 10. Use it sparingly! If you MUST have MORE power coming to the line with a boat right up next to you, call this. Let everyone know, that I WILL ROW THIS BOAT BACK TO THE DOCKS ALONE, GET YOU ALL TO THE HOSPITAL, AND PAY FOR YOUR FUNERAL IF YOU DIE AFTER THIS 10! JUST GIVE ME MORE POWER! Very effective I find...