TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University football team's coaching staff traded clipboards for oars on Monday morning with the entire staff heading out to American Lake for a morning rowing session to work on teambuilding and cohesion as a new staff. 
 
"(Women's Rowing Head Coach) Andy Foltz, and I connected about doing this team building rowing exercise for our new coaching staff. As a relatively new staff, it was important for me to get us experience working together in a new and unfamiliar environment because this season will be new for our combination of coaches," said Football Head Coach Brant McAdams.
 
"Brant really impressed me this past spring attending every single home regatta we had. It was a great show of support and I wanted to help do something to welcome Brant and the rest of his staff to the Lute family," said Foltz. 
 
"We basically took them through the entire first-year for a walk-on student-athlete in about 90 minutes. It was intense and fast. We really stressed to the guys as they were rowing that it's okay being uncomfortable and to trust their teammates in the boat."
 
McAdams and his staff hit the water early Monday, manning the oars of the Lutes' varsity eight boats, the same boats that have helped PLU win the Northwest Conference Championship in each of the last three years. Current Lute rowing student-athletes helped the coaches throughout the day, from coxing the boats to showing them how to use the ergometers (rowing machines) prior to getting into the lake. 
 
"Overall, it was a great experience seeing guys get out of their comfort zone and communicate in a challenging situation. It was also a great metaphor to see Andy make substitutions in the rowing lineup based on different strengths and weaknesses of the rowers. A direct correlation to building a strong team," said McAdams.
 
The Lutes left the water stronger as a unit as the coaching staff prepares for the opening of fall camp with the Lute football squad reporting next Friday. 
 
"It was also a really neat opportunity to get out of the football offices and get to know student-athletes in another sport on campus," said McAdams. 
 
"Having the student-athletes and staff interact and get to work with other was awesome. We didn't think anything of it as they were there mainly for safety purposes but the interaction helped the coaches to see and understand a bit more of the rowing student-athlete perspective and how tough this sport is. It's awesome. As a staff we don't get the opportunity too often to interact with other programs in practices but I think this will be the start of something really unique here at PLU," said Foltz. 
 
The gridiron Lutes begin camp on August 17 and open the 2018 season on Sept. 8 on the road against California Lutheran University.