So I’m a novice coxswain who walked on this spring. I’m doing my best to catch up with the other coxswains, but you know I’m the newest so I get the least water time, seniority blah blah blah. Whenever I do get on the boat, the rowers are pissed that they got stuck with the “shitty coxswain.” How do I motivate or correct them when I can tell they don’t want me there? (I used to be good friends with all of them, why I walked on, but now they don’t really like me on land either and I don’t know what to do. I almost regret joining crew.)
This is one of those situations where I really urge people to consider their role on the team, what they can bring to it, and whether or not they’re actually enjoying being a part of the team. I know that quitting in the middle of the season is a shitty thing to do but if you’re not enjoying it, you don’t feel like you’re making an impact, your teammates aren’t treating you well or listening to you, etc. I really believe you’ve got to ask yourself if this is the place you want/need to be. From a coach’s standpoint, I want everyone on the team to have a good time but I also want people who are willing to work their asses off alongside their teammates. If someone can’t/doesn’t want to do that or is just straight up not having a good time, both on land and on the water, I question how effective they’ll be (as either a rower or a coxswain).
Have you talked with your team captain or coach and told them what’s going on? That might be worth doing if you haven’t so that he/she can talk to them and tell them to stop acting like assholes because, I’m assuming, they’re novices too so they don’t really have any room to be complaining about people with little to no experience. I’d also tell them that you want to get better but there’s only so much you can do on land so what can you do to make sure you’re considered for a boat when lineups are made … or something along those lines.
As far as your teammates go, you have to leave the issues on land and cox them like normal, for lack of a better word. They can infer from that whatever they want but as long as you’re making the effort to coach them, call for corrections, motivate them, etc. that’s all that can be asked of you. Keep practicing your steering, calls, etc. every chance you get. Let them know when you’re steering around a corner, getting your point, etc. so that they know you’re actively working on making improvements at the same time they are. They’ll either recognize the fact that you’re making an effort or they’ll keep acting like they are, in which case I’ll repeat what I said earlier – you’ve got to seriously ask yourself if this is a team you want to be a part of.