Coach Mike Vertullo

Mike Vertullo has a long and distinguished career in rowing, both as a youth and collegiate rower and as a highly successful and respected high school coach. 

Growing up in New York, he was a medal-winning rower in high school and competed at Rutgers University while earning a degree in statistics. More than 30 years ago, his coaching career began at Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, NY. While there, Vertullo revitalized the women’s program, returning it to national prominence, and was twice named Coach of the Year.

Since Winter Park Crew in 1998, the program has a strong history of success under Vertullo’s leadership, having amassed nearly 100 FSRA Scholastic Championship wins and 9 SRAA Championship wins, including winning the girls’ varsity 8+ division four years in a row. As a result of the team's success, they have had the opportunity to compete at the prestigious Royal Henley Regatta in England three times, finishing as a finalist in 2022 and semifinalist in 2023. 

Coach Vertullo has created a lasting legacy of success, with numerous athletes continuing their rowing careers at the collegiate level. In the upcoming season alone, more than 20 athletes from the Winter Park Women’s Team are on Division I rosters, including at Yale, Tennessee, Penn, Virginia, Cornell, and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Additionally, over the past decade, Vertullo has had the opportunity to mentor athletes from around the country by serving as a coach at the USRowing Youth Regional Challenge and Olympic Development Programs.