The Notre Dame coaching staff has been together for many years, creating a consistent process that develops their rowers on and off the water. Martin Stone has been head coach since Notre Dame women's rowing received varsity status in...

A coxswain has an incredible amount of control. We are responsible for the crew rowing together technically and strategically, yet we are in a completely unique role. We can make or break a race simply through attention to what our crew needs in...

The collegiate athletic scholarship has long been a mark of pride for those that receive it and their families – especially in an esteemed sport like rowing. However, there are a number of assumptions about coxing & rowing scholarships...

by Ben O'Grady For this article, we polled a group of coaches from universities all across the country–men’s and women’s programs–to find out what the top mistakes recruits are making during the recruiting...

“Keep your mouth shut. Don’t tell me–Show me!” The number one thing most coxswains (including me) like to do is tell everyone just how good we are at coxing. We like to talk, because it is part of our job. So we...

Writing an op-ed piece in our newsletter, I feel kind of like the executives who write columns in their airline magazines–does anyone actually read that stuff? I’ll endeavor to be entertaining here, brief, and informative, though my...

We at Sparks announces the release of a new film on the coxswain curriculum coxswain staff has created over the last four years. Ryan Sparks writes "The curriculum is result of the work and thoughts of more brilliant, successful

At Brown, "everyone matters" says assistant coach JB Cholnoky. The guys in the fourth eight push the guys in the third eight. This "upward pressure" drives the top boat to "raise its game." "It doesn't...

Recently I was asked my opinion on seat racing coxswains. Over the years I have been involved in several and have witnessed many more. I actually have done quite well with them, but regardless I do not support them. Let me know what...

We've been looking at the core skills that top coxswains use, but don't talk about. In the last article, we discussed how top coxswains can learn from rowers’ criticism about how to give criticism productively and positively...

How do you coach coxswains? Coaches regularly ask me how to coach their coxswains. Most coaches have never been in a coxswain’s seat or steered a boat. They have no idea how to actually make their coxswains better. ...

In a previous article , we talked about the difficult situation coaches face when a coxswain brings them a question to which they don’t know the answer. This happens relatively often, since we expect coaches with zero coxing...