About Mary Whipple

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9th Seat is the brainchild of Mary Whipple, Olympic gold medalist coxswain of the US women’s eight. Here you’ll find informative blog posts, tips and tricks, and opportunities to learn from the best!

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Stake Boats 101

Racing season is upon us and the long winter training months are finished.  Bring on the Spring and bring on the racing.  The start of a race for me is the most fun because as coxswains, we don’t get to see the flag drop.  By the time we hear the official saying, “Go,” the rowers [...]

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Cascadepowdercats- Congrats on your launch day!

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You Ready? Are you sure? - 03/13/09

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To get more bang for your buck, make sure you keep an eye on your rowers and make sure they are actually sitting ready.  If you do this every time then it will become a habit for your rowers to sit either at the catch or finish, whichever one your program dictates, and wait for you to say the magic words, "Ready, Row!" So make sure you give your rowers a clear command, wait for them to process it and sit ready.  Then go ahead and let them go. Good luck and more importantly ...

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Megan Cooke- great website Mary! I can't wait to forward this to all of my novice coxswains. Keep up the

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How to Balance a Frosh boat - 03/12/09

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There was a question that got sent in asking how to help keep a freshman boat balanced... Q: Do u have any info on how i can help my freshmen boat to keep better balance? A: When yelling, "Set the boat," isn't enough and there is an important fact that simply yelling those words will not work unless you tell your rowers how to set the boat. Right after you think you have to yell, "Set the boat," think why. Why is the boat not set? Is there one side lowering their ...

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