Next up In The Driver's Seat--where we hear from the folks who keep the shells straight and the crews fast—-is coxswain Ava Kelly.

Ava coxes at the Westminster School in Atlanta, GA, where she learned to steer on the Chattahoochee River.

Let's hop In The Driver's Seat with Ava:

row2k - Give us your top three essentials for being ready on Race Day:
Ava Kelly -

1. Understanding the course - I never miss a Coaches and Coxswains meeting and it’s here that I gain one of my most important essentials for being ready on race day: a good understanding of the course and venue as a whole. I always review a course map to ensure an efficient, productive, and successful race and warm-up. If they’re not covered already during the meeting, I make sure to ask questions at the end to ensure I know where my crew will be launching from, how far in advance we should launch, and what yielding looks like. Over the years I’ve learned that it’s different at every regatta and asking these questions is crucial to a stress-free and successful race day.

2. Meeting with my rowers - I make sure to meet with my crew individually before each race and ask if there’s anything specific they want to focus on. Not only does this provide more variety from race to race in my coxing, but it also creates a better boat flow. It’s likely that if one rower wants to work on something, it could be helpful to the whole crew. It also allows my calls to be more personalized, which I have found my rowers respond much better to. We also meet as an entire boat to discuss our race plan; everything from the start, to the middle moves, to the sprint at the finish. It allows everyone to be on the same page, gives us all a chance to ask questions, reflect on what worked and what didn’t in past races, and most of all, get excited for the upcoming race.

3. Boat checks - Prior to race day, I make a point to check every seat, rigger, and speaker. This is a simple task that can save significant time on the water and it’s important to run these checks more than once. However, just in case something does go wrong, I make sure to keep a Vespoli tool, bungee, and spare hardware in a fanny pack that I can easily bring with me in the boat.

Calling the start at SRAAs, 2023

row2k - What is your favorite drill to run with your crews? Any tips on how to do the drill well, for maximum effectiveness?
Ava Kelly - My favorite drill to run with my crews is one that we run every single day at the start of practice. Whether it’s 8s, 4s, doubles, or singles, we always begin with a pick/reverse-pick drill. It’s the most basic, yet most fundamental drill and always gets everyone on the same page and into the same rhythm, ready to jump into practice.

I find that the most effective way to run the drill is by rolling sixes, starting with a pick drill and then transitioning into a reverse pick drill. I find that running the drill by rolling sixes versus by fours is more time efficient, and also does a better job of keeping all 8 rowers alert, paying attention, and feeling the movements of the boat as we work through the drill. Another component I like to add after our pick/reverse pick warm-up is to row with a pause at the catch or the finish before diving right into continuous rowing. It gives us time to focus on the set, catch, and blade timing.

row2k - What's some of the best coaching advice you've received about your coxing?
Ava Kelly - The best coaching advice I’ve received about my coxing was unexpected, but completely changed the game for me.

I’m always looking for new ways to improve, add variety, keep things up to date, and be productive with my coxing. One week during the spring when I felt things getting repetitive during practice, I stopped by my coach's office to hear her opinions and try to gain a new perspective on what I could adjust to change things up for my crew. She explained to me that it’s not only about the calls you’re making but about the tone you’re delivering these calls. She showed me a social media post by one of the Team USA coxswains demonstrating how different tones can completely change the meaning of a call and how rowers respond more effectively as you change your tone.

After hearing this, I was immediately eager to try it out in the boat. Over the coming weeks, I focused on perfecting when to change my tone to be ready for an upcoming race. After this race, my crew commented on how my calls were easier to understand and more impactful during the race; all of which I can credit to the advice I was given regarding tone.

Time trialling at Stotes, 2024

row2k - What is a mid-race call or move that you've made that you'll remember for the rest of your life?
Ava Kelly - During SRAAs 2023, I called for a move around the 750 meter mark. We were sitting bow-to-bow with a crew we had raced earlier in the season, losing to them by only a few seconds. When I turned to see where we were placed, I knew that my rowers had it in them to take the rate up and make a move on the other crew.

I instructed them to increase the pressure and announced to my rowers as I watched the splits decrease. As this was our final race of the season, I reminded them how far they had come thanks to the endless hours of hard work they had put in. Before I knew it, I was calling bow ball, and we finished the race with the same intensity and drive that came with the mid-race motivation and competition. I’ll remember this move for the rest of my life because of how much it was truly a testament that hard work pays off.

row2k - Can you tell us anything about about how you learned to steer straight?
Ava Kelly - I was lucky enough to learn to steer on the Chattahoochee River. Over the years, the river has gotten shallower, which creates new sandbars each season. Understanding the river and where the shallow spots are has taught me the importance of steering and how to best go about it mid-piece or drill.

After plenty of trial and error, my best piece of advice would be to utilize the steering in the most minimal way possible and to make moves and turns with multiple small adjustments. As for staying straight during races or pieces on longer sections of the river, understanding how your crew moves, pulls, and rows as a whole, along with taking the port and starboard sides into account in unison, is crucial to maintaining a straight point. Again, making micro-adjustments in your steering is completely normal, but you want to ensure that you’re never overcorrecting an imbalance in the boat through the steering.

Racing at SRAAs, 2023

row2k - Tell us about the best race/practice you've ever had?
Ava Kelly - The best race that I’ve ever had with my crew was our semi-final at the Stotesbury Cup in 2024. Our goal all season was to finish in the top ten. That was a goal we worked for each day and something we pushed ourselves and each other to achieve. Despite the early hour, we lined up at the start beyond excited and ready to burst with energy. Seeing everything we had worked on all season come together in one of our last races in the event we’d been rowing for the last 2 years was unlike anything else. On top of this, the race was tight between all 6 crews for the entire 1500 meters, which added even more excitement, drive, and competition to the race. Our race plan was well-practiced and perfectly executed and we finished feeling proud of everything we did ahead of the race in preparation. When we finished in 10th, it felt like everything came together perfectly how it was supposed to and our whole crew was so happy!

row2k - How about the worst race/practice you remember?
Ava Kelly - The first regatta of my freshman year was absolutely one to remember. Before the race, my coach gave me one instruction: "No matter what you do, do not 'way enough.'" At the time I thought this would be easy and it’s safe to say that I didn’t expect what happened next. About 500 meters in, my stroke seat caught a boat-stopping crab that caused my crew to go completely perpendicular to the course. I had no idea how to react, given that the one thing I was not supposed to do was stop the boat. We eventually did end up stopping and remarkably made it back onto the course to finish the race.

Thanks for riding along with Ava...and, remember, this column is open to all "drivers" out there, so if you are an experienced coxswain at any level--from juniors to masters--and would be willing to invite row2k to join you in your ride, just contact us here. We’d love to hear from you about what you see from the Driver's Seat.