NCAA Division III Coach of the Year: 2015, 2017, 2018
NESCAC Women's Coach of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
NESCAC Men's Coach of the Year: 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
Since he was named head rowing coach at Bates in March 2009, Peter Steenstra has led the program into undoubtedly one of the finest in Division III. Bates women's rowing has competed in the NCAA Championships in every year, including seven second-place finishes and five NCAA Division III championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021) -- the only Bobcats in Bates College history to win a national team championship.
In 2019, the women's rowing first varsity eight won its third straight (and fourth overall) gold medal in the collegiate eights race at the world-famous Head of the Charles Regatta. And in 2018, the men's rowing team became the first in NESCAC history to compete at the prestigious IRA National Championship regatta.
Under Steenstra's leadership, the Bates women won five straight NESCAC championships from 2017-2022. The women have claimed seven NESCAC titles in the last nine seasons and the men have won four NESCAC titles in the last eight.
Steenstra moved into the head coach position after stints as assistant and interim head coach at Bates. In his first full year as head coach, Steenstra led the women’s rowing team to second place at the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships, the highest team finish by any Bates team in an NCAA championship at that time. The team matched that feat at the 2010 NCAA Championships, repeating as the national runner-up, then did it for the third year in a row in 2011, coming closer than ever to the team’s goal of an NCAA Championship.
The Bates men's rowing team also reached new heights in 2015, going undefeated throughout the regatta season until winning the bronze medal at the ECAC/National Invitational Rowing Championship, behind only Michigan and Hobart. For defeating all of their conference rivals, Bates claimed its first NESCAC Men's Rowing Championship. In the summer of 2009, Steenstra led the men’s rowing team on a trip to compete in the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, England, after the men earned a No. 3 final Northeast regional ranking in the spring season.
Steenstra served as Bates’ assistant rowing coach during the 2007-08 academic year, then was named interim coach in July 2008. Steenstra helped coach both the Bobcat men and women to successful years while also acting as the programs’ recruiting coordinator. The women’s team finished fifth at the 2008 NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships in their second straight appearance at nationals, while the men’s varsity eight ranked No. 5 in New England.
Steenstra has vast experience in rowing, beginning with his career on the men’s varsity eight at Hobart College, where he graduated in 1996. Steenstra coached the men’s and women’s novice crews at Colby College for three years, then was the head coach of the men’s and women’s crew club at The Ohio State University from 1999 to 2006. Steenstra also coached at Cornell University, first as varsity assistant coach of the heavyweight men and then as the assistant women’s coach, while earning a master of science degree in sports management from Ithaca College.
