Rowing

Q&A with Coach Andy Foltz

What are some highlights of this year that shows your team succeeding, facing a challenge, and supporting each other?
One of the highlights from this year was the conference, it was at the end of a very challenging week and a week where we as a team kept facing enormous roadblock after roadblock. The Sunday before we had one athlete suffer a major injury, days later a COVID positive case on the team, and then days before the championship a car accident. However, through all these challenges the team kept adapting and rolling with what each new day brought. We were certainly feeling at times that this could be the worst week we’ve experienced, we could have just given in, but the team kept their cool and kept remembering that they had been working so hard as a team and as a unit that we would lift each other up and support each other no matter what. We didn’t row the lineups that we raced until the morning of the championships when they set out for their warm up. We rowed a new lineup everyday that week. Yet, when they lined up for their race they all got themselves onto the same page and made some incredible strokes to get them out into significant leads ultimately winning by some comfortable margins!

What makes your student-athletes special? What makes you feel most proud of your team?
I feel most proud about the fact that so many of our students learned to row, learned to be a student athlete through this experience. So many of them have never participated in a sport and we are helping to provide that community for them to learn and be challenged. An environment where they can learn that failure can be a good thing and that when faced with a challenge to not just give in, but to step up and work through it. I am most proud of the community that this team is and how they share in that community on a daily basis, and how they help others to recognize that there is a huge support system here at PLU. That support system is a group of people united through rowing, who help each other be better people through sport.

How did your team engage with the community this year?
We have not done any full team volunteer or community service projects this year. We have however become involved with Tacoma Rowing, a new program in Tacoma which is directing their efforts to get kids of underrepresented communities into boats. We have helped provide equipment, support and anything that can help best fit their needs.

Looking ahead, what are you most excited about for next year?
There is a lot to be excited for, for next year. Trying to take one more step closer to upgrading our fleet of shells. We race in a boat that is currently older than our first years! We are also looking forward to continuing to work to move the needle forward with our performance at the NCAA Championships. We were pushed this year from our conference competitors and so we expect them to feed off of that, we’re eager to be challenged and are excited to take additional steps forward.

“I love how I am able to take advantage of the great educational opportunities offered at PLU while improving in my sport and adding to my team.”
– Molly Miller

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