As one of the original sports contested in the modern Olympic Games, most people have at least a passing familiarity with the sport of rowing. What might not be as familiar to the casual observer is the role of the lone individual in the boat without an oar in her hand.

Known as the coxswain (pronounced cox-n), the position is as vital to the success of an intercollegiate crew as any of the actual rowers.

In NCAA competition, teams race in boats of four or eight rowers. Although there are races in which a coxswain is not used, NCAA rules mandate that all boats have a coxswain in place, regardless of division.

Contrary to a long-held stereotype, the coxswains do not simply sit and yell "stroke" as the rowers push down the course. In fact, the position's primary responsibilities are significant: to steer the boat and to execute the race plan established by the coach. Those descriptions, however, are deceptive in their simplicity.

Brett Johnson, communications director at USRowing, said steering is one of the most important skills a coxswain must master. Straying even slightly off a straight line and having to correct adds a bit more distance to the 2,000-meter race and could cost a crew precious seconds in a sport where speed and precision are keys to success.

Coach in a boat

Barry University head women's rowing coach Paul Mokha agrees that steering is one of the most difficult skills for coxswains to command. A former coxswain with the U.S. National Team, Mokha relates the ability to steer a boat to trying to drive a car without being able to see out the front windshield -- all the while having to follow the white line in addition to being in the heat of competition and having to call the race.

"It's not as easy as people may think," Mokha said. "It's a tough skill to teach. Some people have been coxswains forever and still can't steer straight."

In addition to steering, coxswains are charged with executing the coach's race plan in the boat, a responsibility that requires them to monitor and relay to rowers a multitude of critical information, such as the stroke rate, speed of the boat and whether to speed up -- as well as their position in relation to the other boats in the race. Essentially functioning as the on-the-water coach, depending on how the race is going, it is up to the coxswain to make the decision to adjust or deviate from the race plan in order to win. Accordingly, they call moves -- rowing's equivalent of calling a play -- and use their voices to produce the rhythm and length of the stroke, call technical details, and motivate the crew to row the best possible race.

"The coxswain is the quarterback," said Mokha. "It's a unique situation in rowing where there are no timeouts. There's no coaching during the competition. The coxswains have to make coaching decisions on the water, basically, that in other sports athletes rely on their coaches to tell them."

Athletic stigma

Rowing insiders, for the most part, know and appreciate the importance of the coxswain. However, the significance of the position is far less understood by those outside the sport.

Robbie Tanenbaum, an assistant rowing coach at Ohio State University and a former collegiate coxswain, believes the biggest misperception under which coxswains labor is the idea that they just sit in the shell while the boat goes down the course.

"I think a lot of people don't understand they are carrying out the race plan, they're calling moves during the race, they are making technical calls to help rowers be better rowers. There's a lot going on that you wouldn't know about if you're watching from the outside," he said.

In spite of the tremendous level of responsibility resting with coxswains, they also fall victim to the perception that they are somehow not "real" athletes or are less athletic than their boatmates because their role is less physical. Mokha said it's a perception with which he has personal experience.

"I got that a lot growing up, even from friends who played other sports. So I'd have to go out and beat them in a three-mile race or play soccer with them or something to show I was just as good an athlete, only smaller," he said.

Setting aside the fact that NCAA rules require a coxswain, particularly in racing Eights, the general consensus is that it would be nearly impossible to row a crew of eight without someone in the coxswain's seat.

Tanenbaum said the coxswain is one-ninth of the crew and without that position there to execute the race plan and ensure the boat is being steered in a straight line, it would be difficult for a crew to be competitive.

Beyond concern for the safety of rowers, Mokha notes a more practical reason why success would be more elusive for Eights, specifically, without the steady, guiding direction of the coxswain.

"The only person who has to be in the boat when the boat crosses the finish line is the coxswain. One of the reasons for that rule is that they don't want people jumping out of the boat at the last minute to lighten the load," he said. "You can cross the finish line with less than eight people and it still be considered a legitimate finish, but the coxswain must be in the boat."

Given their distinctive role and responsibilities, what, then, are the attributes of a good coxswain? Physically, coxswains are smaller and lighter than the average rower.

According to Becky Robinson, head coach at Ithaca College, a typical rower is tall, has long limbs and weighs between 160 and 170 pounds. In women's rowing, coxswains must maintain a minimum weight of 110 pounds. Because a coxswain's weight is being carried, the closer they are to 110 pounds, the better. Those who fall below that minimum weight are required to carry deadweight, usually a sand bag, to make up the difference.

Generally the positions of coxswain and rower are not interchangeable because of the size requirement, but there are occasions when a rower can transition into the coxswain's seat.

Mandated size requirements aside, the responsibilities and skills required of rowers and coxswains would make switching the positions rather complicated.

"If somebody trains as a coxswain all year, they can't really jump into a rowing seat because they aren't physically fit to do it. A rower can train as a coxswain, but what they don't have is the skill of managing the boat, which comes down to steering and keeping the rowers safe," Robinson said.

Beyond size and skill, key intangibles a good coxswain should possess include common sense, the ability to think on the fly, see the big picture, pay attention to detail and the ability to deviate from a plan without overstepping the parameters of a team's goals.

While they may run to help control their weight, certainly, training for the coxswain is more mental than physical and includes, in many cases, regularly scheduled meetings with the coaches.

During weekly meetings with her coxswains, Robinson said they not only review drills and race strategy, but also go over how to motivate rowers and how to use the voice tone, volume and cadence as well as word choice in the boat. Many coaches also meet with coxswains daily before each practice to review scheduled drills and expectations.

Coxswains, frequently misunderstood outside the sport, are crucial to the success of any intercollegiate rowing team.

"In a close race, a coxswain can make a huge difference," said Ithaca's Robinson. "Coxswains are the eyes of the race and they have to relay all that information back to the crew and get them to believe they can do it."

Coxswains may not actually propel the boat, but they are essential to any crew's success. Barry University head coach Paul Mohka calls coxswains the "quarterbacks" of the crews and likens their task to that of a driver operating a car without being able to look out the front windshield. "It's not as easy as people may think," he said.