When Deirdre McLoughlin's collegiate eligibility ran out and her time as a varsity rower at Boston University ended, she still had one year left in the physical therapy department and wanted to stay with the sport she had grown to love as a walk-on athlete.
So she volunteered to help coach the women's novice team. It was the beginning of a career in coaching that took her from BU to Northeastern University to Kansas State University, where she coached the men's club team and finally to California's Marin Rowing Association.
Beginning in 1999, McLoughlin taught Marin masters women of all ages and levels of experience - from novice to advanced - and forged them into a nationally dominant team. Under McLoughlin, Marin's women won four consecutive San Diego Crew Classic Club Championships, from 2010 to 2013, the women's points trophy at USRowing Masters National Championships in 2008 and 2011, five Head of the Charles gold medals and set three Head of the Charles course records.
In recognition for her accomplishment and dedication to her team, McLoughlin was voted the 2013 Fan's Choice Award winner for Masters Coach. She will be honored for her accomplishments at the third annual Golden Oars Awards Dinner on Wednesday, November 20, at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.
"I was really excited when I found out I won," said McLoughlin. "I feel honored that my team nominated me because they're the ones that have to deal with me everyday. It's one thing to have results and have someone else nominate you, but it means a lot to me that my team did that."
McLoughlin, who played basketball in high school in Demarest, N.J., went to BU to become a physical therapist. She got a letter from the rowing team inviting her to attend a novice walk-on meeting.
She had seen people rowing on the Charles River when she visited the school and decided to go. She said she fell in love with the sport and was on the junior varsity squad when the team won a national championship.
"I was really fortunate that I was there when that happened, because I saw what it took to win."
McLoughlin's love for the sport grew to the point that she wanted to find a way to share her experience and jumped at an opportunity to coach. She joined Marin after moving to California and has been a fixture there since.
As a physical therapist, McLoughlin was motivated to work with rowers after experiencing a back injury that kept her out of the Head of The Charles one year while at BU. She now works with rowers in the San Francisco Bay Area including the University of California men's and women's teams, local clubs and U.S. National Team as a physical therapist on the medical staff, including this past summer at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea.
Coaching has been a rewarding experience on many levels, from teaching novices to winning championships, McLoughlin said.
"I think the best thing is when you're in a launch and you're working with a boat and the boat goes by and they're doing a 10 or a 20 or a piece and it looks so good, and you just feel it in your bones," she said. "It's really rewarding to teach others to row, to get that experience, because I know what that feels like. It doesn't really matter to me if it's a beginner boat and their goal is to try and row all eight, or an advanced team and their goal is to win the Head of the Charles, it's just helping them to reach that goal. It's really satisfying to see when a boat goes by and just nails it. You can't get that feeling anywhere else."
McLoughlin is admired by her team, not just for the victories she has helped them win, but also for the energy and dedication she brings to her work. When she announced that she was retiring after this season to spend time with her two young daughters, the crew got together and nominated her for the award.
"We decided to nominate Deirdre for the Masters Coach of the Year award for a number of reasons," said Anita Sarrett, coxswain for Marin's championship women's masters eight. "Her results over the past few years speak for themselves, but of course they do not tell the whole story.
"Deirdre's tireless work ethic, absolute commitment and passion for technical excellence has been the catalyst for the significant success we have experienced over the past few years. Four times a week, she successfully juggles the practice routines of over 40 women, both on and off the water. With varying skill levels, boat sizes and ages ranging from 22 to 72 years old, Deirdre has efficiently and effectively implemented a successful training plan, organized efficient practices and created an environment where hard work and competitiveness thrive," Sarrett said.
"Deirdre is officially retiring as the coach of the masters women's program in a few weeks to spend more time with her young children. We are ecstatic to cap off her incredible coaching career at Marin with not only two wins and two course records at Head of the Charles, but also with a nationally-recognized award that celebrates her work, time, and the heart and soul that she has put into building our program into what it is today," she said