Emily Orsini, Sports Editor–
Denison’s Strength and Conditioning Department welcomed Cat Rossi this semester as a new assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“I think it’s important that every coach in our program is different. I don’t coach like they do, and I don’t want them to coach like me. So far, [Rossi] has done a really nice job. The feedback’s been really good from the athletes and coaches [she works with],” said Beau Scott, Director of Sports Performance and Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Big Red.
Each coach in the strength and conditioning department works with multiple sports. Rossi’s teams include men’s and women’s cross country, track and field, and squash, along with volleyball and women’s soccer.
“It’s fun, because some of these teams I’ve never worked with before,” said Rossi. “It’s filling my buckets as a coach and forcing me to add assets to my toolbox and learning how to train different sports that I haven’t trained yet.”
Prior to joining the staff at Denison, Rossi’s only experiences were at Division I institutions, such as Sacred Heart University, Harvard College, and Merrimack College. It wasn’t until she held a similar role at Washington and Lee University that she knew Division III athletics was where she belonged.
“Washington and Lee really opened up the door to Division III for me, and especially with high academically achieving athletes. It just really made me fall in love with Division III because of how hard [athletes] work day in and day out,” said Rossi.
“At Washington and Lee, we’ve had a lot of people come from Denison. They had nothing but great remarks for Denison as an athletic department, university, and the core values that everyone stood for. That’s what really drew me in to apply.”
As soon as she stepped on The Hill, Rossi knew that Denison is where she belonged. “The stars aligned perfectly,” said Rossi.
“When I stepped foot on campus, it was very apparent that it was a similar environment to Washington and Lee. All I could hope was that Coach Scott would hire me.”
“[Rossi] brings in a really good background, and I think this is a place where she can continue to grow and continue to push me and push Coach John Hoobler and push our athletes,” said Scott.
Rossi’s approach to coaching gives athletes the best opportunity to succeed, both on and off the field.
“Her level of care [for athletes] is really high. I’ve seen her hold athletes to standards and hold them accountable, which I think is one of the most important things we do here,” said Scott.
“I have three core values,” said Rossi. “The first one is your attitude– just show up with your best every single day.The next is authenticity– show up who you are. I’m not expecting athletes to fit a certain mold or model.
The third is communication– let me help you. If I don’t know you’re in pain or you got injured during practice, I can’t help you. I’m not looking for my athletes to just push through everything all the time.”
These values give Rossi the ability to not only help student athletes get stronger in the weightroom, but also aid in forming relationships and dynamics.
“In the weightroom, athletes know that I have standards and I mean business, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to enjoy my time with them and have fun. You’d probably hear me ugly laughing at something either I said that I found amusing, or something an athlete said. We want to be [in the weightroom], and we want to get better with each training session,” said Rossi.
Although Rossi has only been working with athletes at Denison since August, she’s already looking ahead at what the athletics program can do. “I think what’s going to continue to grow is our high performance models and our knowledge of force plate technology,” said Rossi.
“We’re happy with what we do, but we’re always thinking in the back of our minds, ‘What can we do better?’ Because if there’s no growth, you just stay the same while everything around you is changing.”
Rossi cares about each athlete individually, not just their role in the weightroom.
“I’ve seen [Rossi] have one-on-one sessions with athletes that have class conflicts. I’ve seen her go out of her way to not just start but also continue to form those relationships and be there for those teams,” said Scott. “I know she’s been at their games supporting them as well.”
From the weightroom to the sidelines, Rossi’s laughter, leadership, and dedication are quickly becoming part of the heartbeat of Denison athletics.