DENTON – She arrives to practice before it begins and immediately sets her student-athletes to work. Head coach Brittany Roth is no stranger to the trials and tribulations of being a Division-I head coach.
 
When she took over as interim head coach at North Texas in 2016 at the age of 31, she became one of the youngest head coaches in the country, and one of the few female head coaches at the Div. I level. Roth understands her role as a female head coach in a sport mostly dominated by male coaches. The Mean Green swimming and diving program is now hers, and it is coming off its most successful year under Roth and since entering Conference USA. But since last year, Roth has adapted to a new challenge – motherhood.
 
"I am very aware of what I am setting an example of for her," Roth said. "I know what I am doing as a division one head coach, being a female, is rare. But I know it is my obligation, and need these young women to see, that even if the world thinks you should not be there…you don't have to be another number. You can make some noise and make change happen."
 
Each morning before she gets her team in the pool, she is dropping off her daughter, Isadora, at daycare. The results her student-athletes are providing in the pool speak to her ability to adapt to her new challenge. Led by one of the few staffs in Conference USA to feature a female head coach and top assistant in Rachel Friel, the duo hopes to set an example for both their children and athletes.
 
"We want them to see two women, who have families, and are working full time with young children – we can do it. It's hard work, it's not easy. But what we show our student-athletes inspires them to go after what they really want to do. We are setting our children up to see the world in a different light," Roth said.
 
After her team finished third at the C-USA Championships, Roth was named the Co-Coach of the Year in the conference alongside Rice's Seth Huston. Roth is the first female to win the award since Old Dominion's Carol Withus won in 2015.
 
Roth is one of only two female head coaches in C-USA and the only female head coach that leads with an exclusively female roster.
 
"Dealing with only female athletes really makes me dig deep and think about the experiences I had as a female student athlete," Roth said. "What outside pressure are they facing? What are things that maybe a male coach wouldn't even think of. Rather than immediately assuming that it has something to do with her swimming, we are quick to pull the athlete aside because we know it's most likely something going on in her life. When the student-athlete is happy outside the pool, the results will come in the pool."
 
After six school records and two national qualifiers in the biggest meet of 2019, the logic is hard to argue. Roth and Friel both look towards the future of North Texas swim and dive as being bright.
 
Not only bright in the pool, but outside of it.
 
"I love working with these athletes," Friel said. "It's really a time when they are molded and shaped into the women they will be in the future. I like to explain it as having 25 sisters. You guys love each other – there's going to be drama and tiffs with each other. But ultimately you are working towards the same goals we have set as a team."
 
In celebration of International Women's Day, Roth and Friel want people to appreciate the impact the women in your life have had on you. 
 
"I love that there is a day to recognize women," Friel said. "All women, all girls should have the chance to participate in a sport. It's way more than whatever sport it is – it's about working with other strong females and accomplishing a goal you set for yourselves."