Callahan Named One Of Seattle's Most Influential People
October 20, 2015 | Men's Rowing
SEATTLE – Washington men's rowing head coach Michael Callahan has been named one of Seattle's Most Influential People by the Seattle Magazine.
Callahan has led the Huskie to five straight IRA National Championships and six in his eight years at the helm of UW men's crew. He has won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in each of the last six seasons.
Below is what Seattle Magazine had to say about Callahan and his spot on this prestigious list, as written by Patrick Knowles.
The University of Washington's campus was a blur of purple and gold the first time Michael Callahan walked to the banks of Montlake Cut 25 years ago. The then-17-year-old, on a rowing recruiting trip to the UW, watched a group of UW students sing a jubilant version of “Bow Down to Washington” as they jumped headfirst into the chilly waters.
“It was not only my first introduction to a UW rowing team, but the first time in my life that I truly felt at home,” says Callahan, now the UW men's head rowing coach. In his eight-year tenure, Callahan has brought home six Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. Last May, he became the first coach since the organization was founded in 1895 to win five titles in a row, reaffirming a legacy and a style of coaching that not even the past dynasties of Cornell, the University of California at Berkeley, or even the UW's famed The Boys in the Boat teams achieved. The secret is to “live by a theme that excellence is fluid, whether that is achieving your best GPA, being a better family person, team player or friend,” Callahan says. “Bring 100 percent, be genuine to yourself and keep that Husky spirit.”
The full story can be found on Seattle Magazine's website, seattlemag.com.
UW men's crew will host the Head of Lake on Nov. 8 on the Montlake Cut, the Huskies' only other competition in the fall before beginning the spring season on Sunday, March 26, with the Class Day Regatta.
For more on Washington Rowing, follow the Huskies on Facebook, Instagram andTwitter at @UWHuskyCrew.
