Andy Teitelbaum has been the head coach at Ohio State since the inception of the women’s rowing program in 1995. Coach Teitelbaum has built his program into one of the most successful teams in the country during his tenure. Over the last two seasons however Ohio State has elevated their status in the rowing world by taking home two consecutive NCAA Championship titles. Only Brown, Cal, and Washington have accomplished the same feat at NCAAs. Of course Ohio State gained another honor this week as they were crowned row2k’s 2014 Crew of the Year. Row2k caught up with Coach Teitelbaum during OSU’s winter training trip to Clemson.

You have had a lot of success at Ohio State over the last 20 years. What has been the difference over the last 2 seasons that has lead to two consecutive team NCAA Championship runs?
I think people see it in the last two years, but it's kind of been building for longer than that. A lot of things have contributed to our recent results. We have been in a new boathouse for four years now and it's been a steady build of momentum ever since we got into the building. It gave us a place for the kids to see the history of what's come before. It also made them realize that if I achieve a certain level of performance, I have a place to leave a legacy.

Big Tens moving to the middle of May was really helpful for us. We always performed really well at Central Regionals, which occurred during the second week of May. When Big Tens moved to May, the move seemed to fit Ohio State’s rowing biorhythm better. For us, winning the Big Ten Championship at Ohio State is awesome. Winning a regional championship doesn't really get you a whole lot of love… even though it was more important because that's what got you into to the NCAA.

The last thing was, this just happened two years ago, we moved to semesters. All of a sudden we were out of school for the last four weeks of the season instead of in class right through NCAA's (row2k note: Previously the students were on quarters). The kids were in class literally until the week after NCAAs. I think no one factor has necessarily been the biggest difference, but when you added it all together it took us from fifth place to first.

How do you feel your team is situated this winter compared to the last two seasons?
I think we are every bit as competitive as we have been. Each group is different in terms of what makes them strong and where they are vulnerable. This group is different than last year's group. In certain regards, I don't think we necessarily have the proven boat moving skill that we had last year, but I think our fitness base is actually ahead of last year's group. I also think the culture is as stronger or stronger than it has been over the last several years. I guess we will really have to see how it plays out.

How do you define success for your team?
You know, at this point, success is repeating. Okay, maybe there are people that don't say that or don't like to say that, but given the bar that's been set last couple of years… that's it. There's a chance, probably a good chance that we might not meet that bar, but that's the bar at Ohio State.

If you were in a situation where you were able to row year round (winter weather wasn’t a factor) would you alter the amount of time that you spend on land? How do you strike a balance between land and water training?
Obviously right now we are on our winter training trip. You want to try to get in as many water strokes and you can, but you're also looking to prepare for, at least for us, being indoors full time once we get back to Columbus. We want to make sure that we're in touch with the machine enough so that the kids are ready to be on the erg full-time when we get back to campus. Then, once you are indoors, nothing is as good as erging. The trick is being able to do that without hurting too many people. We're always trying to push the envelope of getting as many meters on the erg as possible without injuring people. When people get hurt it’s one step forward and two steps back. You are trying to balance those things

What is your favorite winter training workout?
Anything that tests or evaluates how they're doing. Whether it's a 30 minute test or 6K or 2K or 2 x 6K. Anything that's harder than steady state that we can measure and they can measure their progress or lack of are my favorite workouts. They are also the ones that I get the most nervous about. I don't know if most athletes realize that when you're doing something like that, your coach is probably just as nervous as you are. I know at Ohio State, we are just as eager to see the athlete succeed as I think they are to succeed. I enjoy all of the workouts on the erg. I think it's a really good place to get fit and to prepare. Anything forcing them to perform is always a lot more interesting to see, not only physically what's going on, but also mentally what's going on.

Who has been your biggest influence in your coaching career? Who has had the greatest influence on your coaching style?
I think it depends on what sort of aspect you're talking about. Tom (row2k note: Tom Terhaar – US Women’s coach) has been a really big influence on me and I think that goes back to the fact that we have a relationship that predates him ever being a rowing coach. I think I had a lot of other influences. Jim Tressel (row2k note: former Ohio State football coach) has been a big influence just in terms of learning or trying to learn better control of your emotions and your emotional responses to things. Kevin Sauer (row2k note: UVA women’s head coach) has been a real inspiration not only in watching his intensity and his competitiveness, but also as I become an older coach, moving into those years gracefully.

What do you wish you had known when you began your coaching career that you know now?
When I started coaching it was a lot about intensity and emotion and less about the process. I think that being more patient and just sort of understanding the process as opposed to simply driving, driving, driving all of the time. It is something that I'm a lot more cognizant of now than when I was younger.

Rowing can be a bit all consuming at times. What is your “escape” from the sport?
I have a 16-year-old son, so I like to spend time with him. When I can, I have a woodworking shop. I like to build furniture. It's something that I love to do. Interestingly enough I am getting fewer and fewer opportunities to build furniture. Physically as I get older, I am working out a lot more as I get a little bit more aware of my health and wellbeing. I've been running quite a bit over the past really several years. I don't get a whole lot of free time and that's one thing about moving to semesters. It shortens the summer for us, which has been great for the team and our fitness, but it really cut into my ability to get a piece of furniture done.

If you weren’t a rowing coach, what career would you have pursued?
When I got into coaching I was also working as an economist for AT&T. While I don't know that I would necessarily stayed in that field, I imagine I probably would have ended up somewhere on Wall Street or in banking. Probably working on something on the finance side of things. It's hard to imagine doing anything other than that what I'm doing right now. The fact that I got to do both of those things at the same time at a very young age, made it really really easy for me to be like… I’m going to focus on this.