This is Joe McMullin’s take on when he thinks crews should use speed coaches, who should use them, and when they shouldn’t be used and who should not use them. This isn’t a perfect guide nor exhaustive, but reflects his personal biases and thoughts on how they have lead to his championship level crews. This guide assumes a program is running 2 8+s worth of varsity high school rowers.

The industry leader in speed coaches is NK. Though their product is rather pricey, they are an amazing tool. The best choice is the the SpeedCoach GPS. The minimum amount of speed coaches a program should have is two with the maximum being 8.

If the program only has 2 speed coaches, the coxswain or six seat should have the speed coach. The one big draw back of having the coxswain use the speed coach is the coxswain will default to relaying the splits of the crew. The coxswain should be focused on steering, running the boat, timing, and telling the crew the stroke rate. Split is the last thing coxswains should focus on. However, a good tip is when doing pieces with another crew, have the coxswains start the speed coach and record meters. Have the coxswains report the total meters for the piece. If 1 crew won and another crew lost, but the losing crew rowed more meters, it likely means the coxswain of the losing crew had their crew row extra meters with poor steering. This information should be relayed back to the coxswain so they understand that steering is critical to the success of a crew.

I mentioned giving the 6 seat the speed coach and excluded the stroke. I believe the stroke should be focused on listening to the coxswain, relaying information to the coxswain if there needs to be an adjustment, focusing on rate, and making changes to the rate. The seat 6 is perfect for having the speed coach in that they can help with the rate and help control the rush from bow. 6 seats should also be leaders in moves(power tens) and will be encouraged when they see splits drop during a move.

If the program has 2 more speed coaches, I think 4 seats should be next in line to have them. They can act as an additional 6 seat in that they can help control rush from bow and help influence the power on the moves. Also, 4 seats will have an instant feedback of rate when the boat is rowing by 4s since magnets for rate are usually under the stroke seat’s seat.

With the program having 4 dedicated speed coaches, if the crews are broken down into either straight fours or coxed fours, the stroke seats should have the speed coach. This is to help the stroke seat get immediate feedback on rate and speed because the coxswain is likely in the bow or there isn’t a cox in the shell of a straight four. I would hesitate to give a stroke seat the speed coach if the stroke has the additional burden of steering the straight four.

If the program has 6 speed coaches, I would only then give the coxswains the speed coaches. This is assuming the coxswain is doing all the above mentioned and being able to relay splits will enhance the speed of the crew. Though, if the program has a 3rd 8+, I would defer to giving the 6 and 4 seats in the 3rd level 8+ speed coaches as well over giving coxswains speed coaches.

Finally, if the program has 8 speed coaches, I would give bow seats of straight fours speed coaches. Typically the bow person is the coxswain for the shell and will make calls to the crew. If the team is rowing coxed 4+s, the coxswains should have a speed coach. Since the coxswain is in the bow of the shell facing forward, the coxswain cannot see all 4 oars and would be better served having additional information to inform the crew on, like split.

I would not give 2 seats in 8+s speed coaches. They should be focused on providing rhythm, length, and set for the crew.

Also, if the program has 8 speed coaches and the program has access to 8 pairs and/or doubles, every crew should have a speed coach. This is an excellent way to manage rate for the crew and help keep the crew focused during steady state and race pieces. In the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, the program I was coaching was limited to only using singles, doubles, and pairs. Almost every double had a speed coach and was able to hit the prescribed rates. We were able to prescribe rate shifts during pieces and the crews had no issue getting to them. When the team was able to row big boats in the spring of 2021, the crews had zero difficulty rowing together and hitting rate. This lead to every varsity crew earning a medal at the WMIRA championship on the varsity squad. The Lightweight 4+ earned a silver medal at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta and the Junior 8+ took 4th in the Grand Final. At the SRAA championship, the varsity 8+ won the repechage and posted the 5th fastest time before the regatta was canceled.

Hopefully this explanation helps your program identify who should and shouldn’t have speed coaches and helps them faster!