Two-time national team member Steven Coppola, who attends Princeton University, won a gold medal in the men's eight at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan. Click here for Steven's bio.

The college season is just getting ready to kick into high gear. What are your goals and expectations for the Princeton squad this year?

My goal for this season is to go fast, and along the way, I want to win some races too.  I think we can do both this year, and I’ll be upset if we don’t.

After rowing on the national team the past two summers, how has your approach to the collegiate season changed in terms of your training, goals, etc., both from a personal standpoint and a team standpoint?

The only thing that has changed is that the field that I’m training with has grown. Now whenever we do test pieces for Princeton, I’m also comparing my results with how other guys on the team went, not just my Princeton teammates. I think that’s helped me train a little harder this year. 

What have you tried to take away from working with the national team that you try to incorporate into your own preparation for the college season?

I’ve learned that you get nothing for free, and I try and remind myself of that every day. The other crews aren’t just going to roll over and let you win. If you want to win, you have to first put yourself in a position to win and then take it. I’ve tried to use the winter to put myself in that position, now we’ll see.

You won a gold medal in the men’s eight at last year’s world championships in Gifu, Japan. Talk a little about that experience.

That was an incredible experience. I got the opportunity to race with and against some very fast guys. But, they were all normal (if you could call them that). It’s different to go from knowing of these guys to really knowing them. Also, I think I was just able to mature as a rower. The racing is very different from college racing. I got a taste of that in Banyoles, but I don’t think it really set in until this year. 

How did the experience in Gifu differ from your experience in 2004 in Banyoles?

It was mainly the food and atmosphere that differed. In Spain, we were traveling with the junior national team, and we were out in the middle of nowhere. It was the five of us and a bunch of “little kids,” though some of those little kids are my teammates now. In Gifu, we were in the middle of a city and traveling with the entire senior squad. The conversations at the dinner table were different for a start. As far as the food goes, Japanese cooking isn’t all sushi. I think for a couple of nights we had the “Pizza of raw hamburger,” or something that didn’t sound that appetizing but wound up being delicious. In Spain, they tried to incorporate some of the local stuff into the meals instead of sticking with the FISA menu. Since coming back from Spain I have acquired a taste for cheap Spanish table wine. 

For those who don't know, how did you get involved with rowing?

I started rowing just before going off to high school. It was the summer and basically my parents were looking to get me out of the house. They didn’t want me sleeping until 1 p.m. every day, so they brought me down to the West Side Rowing Club for their crew camp. I got lucky and had a great coach/counselor who taught me the basics and then showed me how to have fun. I still have to remember every time I want to laugh at a “gong show” of little kids that I was there once myself. Anyway, it turns out I really liked rowing and when I started at Canisius, I figured let’s keep rowing. I showed up for the first practice and what do you know, same counselor I had over the summer is now my high school frosh coach. We had some good times. Two years later I gave up my other sport, basketball, and as they say, “the rest is history.”

When did you realize you wanted to compete at the elite level and what drew you to that challenge?

I sort of stumbled into elite rowing just like I stumbled into rowing. I got a good taste of it rowing for Vesper between my freshmen and sophomore year of college. We knocked heads a bit, but the guys who were there were good racers. I said hey, I want to do this next summer but maybe go out for the Vesper trials four with. The next year. I did just that and we were off.  In Spain, I found out for the first time what real tight racing is about. We came up short, but I wanted to do it again. The college racing last year and then in the eight over in Japan was a real rush.

What are your most memorable moments in rowing?

From high school, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the NYS Championships my freshman year. We stayed in a shady, run-down hotel that charged by the hour because everywhere else was full. The next day, we went on to win the frosh eight. I’ll remember it most, though, because of that shady hotel. From college, I don’t think I’ll ever forget our Henley trip. It was fun to travel across the Atlantic just to race our lightweights like we do every Wednesday in the spring. From the national team, I’ll never forget the 1999 Worlds party. The worlds were in St. Catharines that year, and the West Side Rowing Club was throwing the team a party. My dad took me over there to meet some of the guys. I remember having a talk with Jim Neil, another Buffalo guy, and he told me that I had a future in rowing and that I should make sure I rowed in college and maybe I would have a shot for the team some day.

What are your goals both inside and outside of rowing?

I’m a thrill seeker. As long as I’m getting a rush from doing something, I’m happy whether it’s on the water or in the class room

What do you like to do outside of rowing?

Well, right now any time I have is spent working on my senior thesis, but once that is done, I think I’d like to get into some leisure sports, maybe join a bowling league, and catch up on all the TV I’ve been missing.

What advice would you give a high school rower with national team aspirations?

Be willing to work harder than the guy next to you and eventually you’ll get there. It may take a while, but it will come.