Russ Giaccobbee

Freshman coach, 2011-2018

As Gregg’s message a couple months ago shared, for the last decade, the Michigan Men's Rowing Team has bounced around three different venues after losing the shared space in the Intramural Sports Building in 2015. While these spaces produced competitive teams that continued to win ACRA National Championships year after year, they lacked one key feature: enough space for the entire team to train at one time, at whatever time suited the needs of the team. If practices on the water were canceled due to the weather, training had to be modified or athletes had to do workouts on their own. 

The move to 1250 N. Main is the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of work trying to return to full-team indoor practices. Gone are the days of coaches needing to run two or three practice shifts every day in order to ensure that each of our 60-70 athletes gets the attention and training that they deserve. I have seen how the new facility has increased competition between athletes and has built upon the team’s culture of hard work and fast boats.

Finally, the Michigan Men’s Rowing Team has a permanent home that brings everyone together to train and creates a cohesive team culture. Over the last 45 years, what has allowed the team to grow and sustain a larger squad is the day-to-day competition within each practice. A training space that has 70 guys going at it six days a week will allow this to continue for future generations.   

Now, we need your help to make this permanent. Please contribute today and invest in the team’s future competitiveness, security, and success..

Row Blue!

Russ Giaccobbe, Freshman Coach 2011-2018