Awareness. Steering. Organization. Direction.

Let us help you develop these four key areas to be a better coxswain

a young woman talking on a microphone headset

How do College Coaches Evaluate Coxswains?

During the recruiting process coaches can know a lot about a rower through their erg score. Coxswains, on the other hand, do not have erg scores so how will you be evaluated when it comes to collegiate rowing?

Each coach will have their own unique approach when it comes to recruiting. That's why it is very important to have an intimate understanding on how a specific school runs their program. The curriculum was designed by Marcus McElhenney and has been refined since 2010.

Most coaches will evaluate you on:

Your management knowledge
Your understanding of their team
Your ability to strategically add value to the team
Whether your management style is a fit for their team

Therefore the school visits, coaching calls and emails will be crucial for you.

The Sparks Coxswain Curriculum

Since the amount of coxswains that are recruited is much smaller than rowers, Sparks offers coxswain-specific camps and one-on-one coaching to build the three skills every coxswain is judged on: steering, calls, and race organization.

Learn more about our coxswain camps and our unique coxswain training program designed by Olympic bronze medalist Marcus McElhenney and National Team coxswain Steven Young:

We know that not everyone can make it out to a coxswain camp and that’s why we offer a one-on-one coxswain coaching via video conference during the rowing season. This way we can analyze your recent race with you and give immediate feedback that you can take and practice right away.

To talk through where your coxing is and what to work on next, schedule a call.

Schedule a Call

What Our Clients Have to Say

"Our son is a junior year coxswain. When we first heard of Sparks, we were a little caught off guard by the idea that coxswain coaching could happen off the water. Thing is, our son is so involved in the execution of his role when he's on the water we decided this could help - it has exceeded our best expectations. Coxing is an art to be learned, and then much like art it's to be executed by the artist. As we began to buy in to this philosophy, our son experienced tremendous progress instead of just saying 'what he should say' on his tapes. He actively learns the sport his time with his counselor and then executes his way - much to enjoyment of his crew and his coach. We're very happy to have found Sparks."

Parent of a Coxswain From Connecticut

“Both of our children – a boy and a girl - are coxswains enjoying their first year as varsity. They are part of a fabulous competitive club. However, after completing their novice year we realized that much of the program at their club focuses on the rowers. As much as they love their coaches, the coxswain specific coaching was just not there. They attend a couple half-day coxswain clinics but found they lacked stimulation and involved listening to tapes and watching videos. Then we found Sparks Consulting!”

Parent of coxswains from Northern California

Ready to be a better coxswain?

Schedule a Call