New Faculty Coaches- Becca Marcus

Hanna Jennings ’24 Assistant Sports Editor Eli Ratner ’24 Assistant Sports Editor

Becca Marcus came to Hopkins in 2020 to teach English and coach crew. Marcus “began rowing as a freshman in high school, the age that many kids at Hopkins begin as well.”

After finishing high school, Marcus continued her crew career at Columbia University, “switching from [her] role [as a rower] to a coxswain.” In crew, a rower performs the physical work in the boat while the coxswain instructs the rowers during practices, motivates them during races, and steers the boat. After college, Marcus coached crew at Blair Academy in New Jersey, the Ross School in New York, and the St. Paul School in New Hampshire.

Marcus explained that part of the reason she was drawn to Hopkins was that she heard that Hopkins “students were really serious about both their academics and their work ethic in general. I know I can trust any athlete I encounter at Hopkins to have a diligent work ethic [and] to put one hundred percent effort in.” Marcus said, “Hopkins is this blend of teaching students what the best of athletics is without necessarily overwhelming them in comparison to the rest of their lives.”

Last season, Hopkins Crew was unable to have any regattas, which are meets consisting of multiple teams and heats of races; however, the team was able “to practice as a whole team halfway through the spring,” Marcus said. “This season I hope for all of our boats to make the grand final.”

Crew Captain Mykaila Meunier ’22 sees Marcus as a role model: “Becca feels more like a big sister than anything, and I think that has allowed her to mold herself into someone who we [the team] look up to and seek advice from.” Katherine Tombaugh ’24 is thankful for how Marcus “has a ton of energy and makes me want to push myself during practice, even when I don’t think I can row anymore.” Meunier appreciated how “crew feels like a really big family and [how] Becca worked really well with our ‘21 captains to continue that.” Tombaugh agreed with this sentiment, “[Marcus] has definitely made the crew family tighter.”

Meunier articulated Marcus’ goal of focusing beyond the sport: “[Marcus] set the team up to allow the captains to take on a lot of leadership and that has made the connection between the rowers and the coach much stronger. [In] mid-fall, Becca [was] already thinking about how to prepare for the spring season and that just goes to show how dedicated she is to being our coach and [how] eager [she is] to see us grow not only as athletes but also as young women.”

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New Faculty Coaches- Becca Marcus