For Pro Coxswain Yana Ocheretiana, a Knowledge of Physics Is Invaluable

Fate tapped Yana Ocheretiana on the shoulder in the summer of 2013. Kyiv was warmed by a pleasant sun, the Dnipro flowed by in its casual, unhurried way, and Yana, then 11, was about to be set on her path. By chance, a friend had invited her to go rowing on the river in an old boat.

"It had authentic oars that I will never forget," she recalls. "Ever since rowing has taken a special place in my heart."

Yana's mother had been a coxswain in high school and had learned to be responsible for rowing boats, including their steering, navigating, and setting the pace for the crew's rhythm and tactics. She noted the interest her daughter had taken in rowing and decided to show her more of that life. One day, her mother took her to see the Ukrainian National Rowing Championships in Kyiv.

"While passing by the coaches with my mom, we decided to stop by to congratulate the team," she recalls. "That was the moment when they actually proposed that I become their coxswain." Her mother, naturally, approved and encouraged Yana to stick with rowing as her career path.

"It's something I'll always be grateful for," she says.

The Brains in the Boat

What is a coxswain? A coxswain is the brains in the boat, the person responsible for steering it, by giving directions to the rowers and keeping the boatin the proper lane to avoid penalties. A coxswain watches the crew, making observations and suggesting technical adjustments. Because of these responsibilities, a coxswain also has to be an experienced rower, so that they know rowing techniques firsthand and know what corrections to make when necessary.

From their perch in the boat, a coxswain has to tell their crew where to go, what their position is in relation to other boats, and how much farther they have to go to win the race. In addition to serving as the crew's eyes and ears, the coxswain is also the representative of the coach onboard. Coaches can't compete with their rowing teams, so the coxswain is like a coaching assistant. "As a coxswain I'm the one who can talk and motivate my crew," remarks Yana.

When asked what primary skills are most needed to be a successful coxswain, she says leadership, communication, determination, motivation, strategic thinking, and safety awareness. One also needs to be able to earn the trust and respect of teammates and to stay composed in high-pressure environments while retaining an almost scientific level of analytical precision.

There are also the interpersonal dynamics within the crew, and a coxswain strives to foster cohesion, focus, and trust under physically and psychologically demanding circumstances.

"Balancing these multifaceted expectations underscores the complexity of the position," says Yana. "And it highlights the high level of leadership required to optimize boat performance."

Scientific Realities

As a coxswain, Yana has strived to integrate her education, both in school and on the water, into her skillset. In 2024, she obtained a bachelor's degree in physical culture and sport, with a specialization in fitness and recreation at the National University of Ukraine in Kyiv. She credits her university education with providing her with the theoretical foundation and applied knowledge essential for high-performance rowing.

"Through coursework in biomechanics, physiology, and sports psychology, I gained a deeper understanding of movement efficiency, energy systems, and athlete motivation," she says, "concepts that directly inform my in-boat decision-making and technical feedback."

It also fostered an analytical, evidence-based mindset. "From the coxswain's seat, physics is not abstract," Yana notes. "The boat responds to force applied elsewhere, and the coxswain's task is to ensure none of that force is wasted," she says.

While a knowledge of physics allows Yana, as a coxswain, to understand how the boat moves, its statistics that plays an important role, as it can be used to measure how well the boat is moving. Statistics provide insights into performance changes while accounting for normal variability and external conditions, such as winds and currents. Technology here can serve as a kind of assistant for a coxswain, as a cox-box system with SpeedCoach can help track speed, and other tools can measure stroke and rate, enabling performance comparisons across conditions. This also comes in handy after a race, when it's time for the team to gather and discuss what could be improved in the future.

"Every race produces a learning dataset," says Yana. "In my opinion, coxswains sit at the intersection of physics, statistics, and leadership," she says. "By understanding how forces move the boat and how numbers reveal performance, coxswains become real strategists."

Long-Term Visions

In her professional role as coxswain for the Ukrainian National Rowing Team, Yana has guided crews through some of the most demanding regattas in the world. One that certainly sticks out is the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts, with its famous bends and crowds. And Yana has led her team across Europe, earning gold medals at the European Rowing Junior Championships in 2018 in Gravelines, France, and again in 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia, both in the 4+ class. A silver medal at the European U23 Championships in Brest, Belarus, and a hard-earned fourth place at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, in 4+, have rounded out her career, one marked not just by the medals, but the effort.

Where is she going next? Forward, of course. "As a coxswain, my long-term career as a coxswain is to focus on developing both technical expertise and leadership capacity within the sport of rowing," she says. With the help of her expertise, education, and a healthy helping of statistical data, Yana intends to refine her strategies, leading to evidence-based coaching.

"Ultimately, I aspire to assume leadership roles within competitive rowing programs," she says. "I know I can guide teams to win while fostering a culture of discipline, cohesion, and resilience."