\n
Since its varsity inception in 1997, the Michigan rowing team has fostered hundreds of collegiate rowing careers as well as team wide results on the leaderboard. And while the program has fostered various personalities, gained immense success and suffered frustrating defeats, one person has remained constant \u2014 head coach Mark Rothstein.<\/p>\n
A Michigan alum and Ann Arbor native himself, Rothstein has been a lifelong supporter of the Wolverines. At Michigan, he rowed on the men\u2019s crew team while pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in physics and continued to work as a club rowing coach after graduating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when the University of Michigan announced that it was adding a women\u2019s varsity rowing team, it didn\u2019t have to look far for the perfect coach.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1995, the athletic department announced that they were going to add a women\u2019s sport,\u201d Rothstein told The Michigan Daily. \u201cSo they chose rowing as the sport to elevate and I was the club coach at the time. \u2026 I got pretty lucky. I was kind of in the right place at the right time and they hired me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nThe decision proved successful for both Rothstein and the Wolverines, as he has led the program to nine Big Ten titles and numerous top-five NCAA finishes. Under his instruction, the program has also produced a multitude of Olympians and All-Americans, as well as many former athletes who have seen major successes in their professional endeavors outside of the boathouse.<\/p>\n
In Rothstein\u2019s early seasons, the rowing team saw quick success, with a fifth-place overall finish in its second year and a Big Ten championship title two years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is not necessarily to produce Olympians, although we\u2019ve produced a lot from our program, but it\u2019s really to produce Olympic-caliber people,\u201d Rothstein said. \u201cNot everyone wants to pursue that, but I think everyone can be really impactful in their life post-Michigan and that\u2019s the goal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Rothstein\u2019s impact extends far beyond the many trophies and accolades he\u2019s brought to the program. The rowers Rothstein have coached often cite him as \u2018the best\u2019 and reflect fondly on their experiences with him, largely due to the individual attention he provides each member of his team. Rothstein\u2019s mentorship has helped student-athletes in their lives beyond the boat. There is a common sentiment among Rothstein\u2019s rowers \u2014 no matter what these athletes pursue after college, they all laud Rothstein for his role in shaping their well-rounded abilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMark is a really great coach because he can adapt his coaching style to meet different people\u2019s needs,\u201d former volunteer assistant coach Felice Mueller told The Daily. \u201cHe could be more of a hard driver with people who need it, he had an adaptable coaching style, which really speaks to his strength and time on the field and being able to understand the nuances between athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nRothstein\u2019s drive to help his athletes develop is a testament to his overall strength as a coach. Rather than just focusing on the strength of the team as a whole, he cares about individual athletes and motivates them to be their best selves \u2014 both in and outside the boat \u2014 a belief that has brought him success in his many years of coaching.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
The rowing team is the largest women\u2019s varsity sport at Michigan, with 58 athletes on its roster in the 2024-25 season and amassing as many as 85 rowers in previous seasons. Despite the size of the team, Rothstein continues to focus on each individual rower, always striving to grow and improve the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI really try to evaluate myself as a coach and our program and what we\u2019re doing well, what I\u2019m doing well and when I\u2019m not doing well,\u201d Rothstein said. \u201cI just try to stay in a mindset of perpetually getting better. Every year I learn something new and every year is different. Every team is different and I think it\u2019s just really fun to constantly learn and grow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rothstein\u2019s equal focus on himself as a coach, and the team as a whole, are hallmarks of a dedicated leader. He radiates passion and positivity through difficult times, highlighting his ability to be not just a coach, but a role model for those on his team.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nWhile coaching is no easy task, Rothstein makes it look effortless. Most rowers who look up to him don\u2019t realize how difficult it is to maintain a steady team until they have to step into leadership roles themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that I fully understood what Mark has to deal with until my senior year,\u201d former rower Caroline Hendershot told The Daily. \u201cWe, the senior class, really took on more of a leadership role because there are so many different personalities, so many different learning styles. \u2026 There are so many people, and being able to connect with all of them, and lead all of them and find that underlying purpose with all of them is one of the most amazing things that (Rothstein) is able to do year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rothstein\u2019s ability to foster both a competitive team anda cohesive camaraderie speaks to his skills as a coach. His work shows that teams perform their best when every member is valued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s four things that we talk about with the team, I guess you can call them values or concepts that we focus on,\u201d Rothstein said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of summarized by \u2018do it, own it, give it, appreciate it.\u2019 We want people to understand that if you\u2019re on this team, it\u2019s really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four concepts the team continues to follow serve as the foundation for Rothstein\u2019s coaching style. They go hand in hand with his determination to see every rower for their individual strengths, creating a hardworking dynamic within the team. While the competitive nature of rowing requires heavy responsibility and work, the difficulties are eased when every member of the team shares the same values.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nMark Rothstein\u2019s coaching style emphasizes that a rowing team is nothing without contributions from each and every member. His dedication to the needs and strengths of each individual and commitment to a multifaceted coaching approach show that he goes above and beyond to serve as an ideal coach. And it\u2019s these values and traditions that have led Rothstein to succeed over his nearly 30 years at the helm, from the program\u2019s inception to today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n
Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since its varsity inception in 1997, the Michigan rowing team has fostered hundreds of collegiate rowing careers as well as team wide results on the leaderboard. And while the program has fostered various personalities, gained immense success and suffered frustrating defeats, one person has remained constant \u2014 head coach Mark Rothstein. A Michigan alum and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1997,2243,222,2244,2245,527],"class_list":{"0":"post-2008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-coaching","9":"tag-mark","10":"tag-michigan","12":"tag-rowing","13":"tag-shaped"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2010,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008\/revisions\/2010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}