What gets you up in the morning? Isn’t motivation the powerhouse behind all actions we commit day in and day out? Motivation as well as passion are the blueprints before everything done throughout a day. Like, the nap that awaits after finishing schoolwork or that Hunan Wok dinner special you get when you ace a final and realize just enough Boro Bucks (well, “Rowan Bucks” now) are left in your account at the end of a semester. We all have a self-rewarding passion system.

Brad Bowser, head coach of both the women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams, is no different. Maybe he does not reward himself with Hunan Wok, but Bowser has his own motivations for being a successful coach and enjoying coming into work daily.

“I really would say that the passion I have for this sport and the passion I have to help out each individual and be there for each swimmer and each athlete [is why coaching is special],” Bowser said. “It doesn’t even have to be swimmers, just each athlete in general, and giving the approach that hard work does pay off.”

After moving locally at a young age, Bowser’s mother wanted him to get involved and become active. Swimming seemed to run in the family, so he was introduced to the Deer Brook Swim and Tennis Club in Medford, N.J.

“I think I got started when I was younger,” Bowser said. “My mom put me in so I wouldn’t drown and my sister was in competitive swimming, so I got involved for the summer leagues. I did other sports besides swimming but I started year-round swimming when I was about nine. I had the most success with that one because my name was in the paper and was the only thing really, in our town, that had sports coverage other than the high schools. So, I enjoyed seeing myself in the paper and my name there, so I just kept pushing myself to excel and to be better at the local area. As I got older, it grew into a national thing and I went on to college and swam.”

This is Bowser’s first go as a college coach. Prior to Rowan, he was a club coach on the national and international levels for close to 20 years. He’s been with Rowan for four years now and has already built up quite the resume. On the men’s side, Bowser has a combined 31-7 record and has won at the Metropolitan Championships in back-to-back years. The team goes for a three-peat later on this season. He’s been named New Jersey Athletic Conference’s (NJAC) Men’s Coach of the Year three times. Last year, Bowser led the women’s team to an NJAC title for the first time in 18 years. He was also named Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. Both teams have won the NJAC again this season.

Bowser stated that stress is the biggest comparison when it comes to coaching on a college level and coaching on a club level.

“It’s a different stress level,” Bowser said. “The swimming is the same, the development is the same. You fine-tune a little bit more and clean up some things a little bit better and you put a little bit more attention to some details than you do on the club level. On the club level, you look at endurance and getting better, stronger and faster as the body grows. Here, it’s a little bit more of a skill-set and putting yourself into getting each athlete prepared at the right possible time so they are peaking at the right moment.”

The proof is in the pudding. Bowser has already left a mark here at Rowan. And, by the looks of how both teams’ seasons are going this year, he’s looking for even more awards for the university and the athletic department.

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