We spotted this question on the Talk Rowing website:

Hi guys, Ive just joined my uni rowing team as a cox. I have no previous rowing experience or knowledge and don’t really want to row due to a back injury. Can anyone give me any advice for becoming a good cox? I’d like to learn really quickly as they’d like to try and get me to cox the senior men as soon as possible for training for the upcoming races over the winter/spring.

Our advice to Sammy – Check out the Resources for Coxswains page on Coxmate. There are recordings of coxes doing races, books about coxing,  free articles by famous coxswains and links to bloggers/tweeters and helpful forums like this one to discuss coxing stuff.

If you are just starting, I recommend you sign up to receive Andy Probert’s Coxing Top Tips email series… written by a former Great Britain cox, it’s free and will help you improve your skills.