Toward the end of the Big Ten Invitational press conference Monday, Michigan rowing coach Mark Rothstein appeared to be frozen on the Zoom call. Eight seconds of silence later, it turns out he just needed some extra time to ponder the question posed to him.
Asked how the culture of Michigan rowing might manifest in this weekend’s races, Rothstein faced a “stumper” of a question. The Wolverines’ culture is so ingrained in him and his team that it doesn’t require discussion in their day-to-day. So it took him a moment to find the right words.
“It’s just something I’ve always believed in is the team concept,” Rothstein said. “It’s not about me, it’s not about All-American or the Olympian, or any individuals about the team. I think that’s just fundamental to how we recruit, how we coach.”
Amid a less-than-ideal season to date, No. 13 Michigan has leaned on this philosophy to pull positives out of its underwhelming finishes. At the Big Ten/Ivy Dust Up a few weeks ago, the Wolverines didn’t have the outcome they wanted. They had only one first-place finish accompanied by six second-place finishes. Instead of dwelling on its shortcomings, though, Michigan snapped into action, realizing it needed to “look under the hood,” and remedy the root of the problem within the program.
Whatever problems the Wolverines found under the hood, they also saw the very same team culture that has kept them afloat thus far.
“It’s not a culture issue, it’s not a leadership issue, it’s not a work ethic issue,” Rothstein said. “It’s really just, we’re rowing the boat like crap. And that’s fixable.”
To begin fixing some of the issues that have plagued it in the water this season, Michigan plans to lean on the strong leadership that is the foundation of its team-first philosophy. And no one embodies the culture better than senior Katie Easton. As team captain, a two-time All-American and an integral part of the Wolverines’ back-to-back Big Ten Championships the last two years, Easton is ideally suited to push her teammates and herself while working to overcome a slow start to the season.
“I guess you’re not supposed to have favorites, but Katie’s definitely one of my favorites,” Rothstein said. “She’s kind of a rare combination of three things. She’s talented, she’s the hardest worker on the team, one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached, and she is all about the team, like she doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body.”
Rothstein may have had trouble putting his team’s culture into words when asked directly, but his eventual answer distinctly mirrors how he described one of his favorite players. Clearly, Easton has deeply subscribed to Michigan and Rothstein’s philosophy — and through her leadership, she spreads the message throughout the entire team.
This weekend, facing a stacked field of 23 teams at the Big Ten Invitational, the Wolverines will need Easton’s leadership plus contributions from every member of the team to continue “looking under the hood,” and diagnose its issues ahead of championship season.
“Regardless of results, I just think that they are one of the best teams we’ve ever had,” Rothstein said. “They’re not necessarily one of the fastest, but they’re going to keep fighting. … I don’t know what kind of results we’ll get, but I think we’ll row with a lot of pride, so I’m excited.”
Usually, fast equals best when it comes to judging a rowing team. So Rothstein considering this team one of the best he’s ever had despite its struggles just goes to show the strength of this squad’s culture. It might have taken him eight seconds to begin his answer, but really, fragments of Michigan’s philosophy were sprinkled throughout everything he said.
The post Michigan leaning on strong culture ahead of Big Ten Invitational appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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