CARMINE ROTOLO

Coach Rotolo has been with the camp from its inception and brings a long history of working with young men and women in myriad capacities. He brings a wealth of knowledge in teaching, coaching, tutoring and mentoring to our camp. For the last three years he has been engulfed in personal training for a variety of athletes in baseball, basketball, soccer and track. What started out as another way to help JV and Varsity basketball players after camp has turned into a great addition to the already growing camp. Coach Rotolo earned his personal training certification two years ago and is currently studying to obtain a certificate as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS). He is determined to obtain the most rigorous certifications because he knows it will benefit the kids he has the privilege of training. This past spring, Coach Rotolo was asked to coach a 16U team in the AAU circuit. Calling it a challenge would be an understatement, but Rotolo says that the lessons each player learned physically and most importantly mentally will help them succeed on the varsity level.
Coach Rotolo began his teaching career in the New York City Public Schools. It was there that he honed his skills as an impactful educator. Having no coaching opportunities at his school, Coach Rotolo volunteered his time assisting Coach Mercurio with JV boys basketball team at Harborfields. He is currently in his second stint with the team, with the 2012-2013 season being his second year. After 4 years of teaching at IS 61Q, Coach Rotolo made the trek out to Long Island where he brought his valued experiences to the Glen Cove School District. Not wasting any time, Rotolo became known as a turnaround specialist, transforming teams with losing records into winners and turning non believers into believers.
In his first coaching experience at Glen Cove, Coach Rotolo took over the 8th grade girl’s soccer program. Under his guidance, the team saw its victory total triple for two consecutive years, going from one win in 7th grade to three wins in 8th grade. Over the next two years, Rotolo would lead his teams to winning records. His next venture would be the JV girls basketball team; a team that had not won a single game in their previous seven seasons. This is the type of challenge that motivates Coach Rotolo. He set the course with a defensive mentality. Knowing that the best offense is a great defense, Rotolo used his athletic girls to create turnovers leading to easy layups. In the first two years at the helm, the girls won a total of nine games. When the varsity baseball job was vacated, the team had only one victory the previous year. Rotolo couldn’t resist the temptation of bringing stability back to this once storied program, even though he knew what he was getting himself into. Competing in one of the toughest conferences on Long Island, Rotolo was able to get the most out of his players and lead his first varsity squad to an eight win season. The team followed up the following season with eight more victories. He has had nothing but success in turning around fledgling programs.

Coach Rotolo is a former collegiate athlete who played baseball for the Stony Brook Seawolves. He knows what it takes to make it to the next level. He instils that same passion and emotion for playing and getting better as he does for coaching. He is a big proponent of attitude, work ethic and aggressiveness. Coach Rotolo is keen on the team approach and the mental aspects of a sport. It's those intangible skills that Coach Rotolo stresses to get his players to reach their potential. The Mercurio Camp and all of the campers that pass through our program are extremely fortunate to have spent time with Coach Rotolo.

"Start with practice, build with desire, finish with discipline!" -Carmine Rotolo