U Magazine, Spring 1988

Waterprovides a welcomereliefafter runningstairs.

"Peoplewhostick with crew discover a cot111ected11ess. .." - Dr. Tom Cosgrove

Stehly thinks it's the challenge of disciplining one's self to crew's require– me nts th at brings rowers a deep sense of fulfillme nt. There's also a side be nefit to learning di scipline, he admits. "I know I studied better because of the disc ipline I learned from crew."

Toughened phys ically and me ntally by their off-season training, experi– enced rowers begin competing against other universities in mid-March and continue through the end of May. The highlight of each season is the San Diego Crew C lass ic in early April, an event th at attracts upward s of 2,000 rowers from across the nation to San Diego. T he cycle begins all over aga in the foll owing September. The ev ide nce suggests that USD's program is a success, both on the wate r - and more importantly - off it. In competition, a peak for the 10-year old program occ urred in 1986, whe n both the me n's and wome n's crews captured the Cal Cup trophy in their respective di visions at San Diego's Crew C lass ic. Out of th e wate r, the ev idence is the more th an 100 fo rmer rowers who have not let th eir career path s ince refere with the ir e nthu siastic and loyal support of the University's curre nt rowers. Perhaps USD 's Tom Cosgrove, asso– ciate dea n fo r stude nts, sums up the University's crew program best. Says Dr. Cosgrove, known as the "godfathe r'' of USO crew because of his involve– ment since the program's incepti on, "People who stick with crew discover a connectedness with everyo ne else in their boat. If they can lea rn to apply some of the commitment it takes to reach th at connectedness to othe r e ndeavo rs in life, they're headed fo r future success." And maybe, just maybe, one of th ese former rowers will discover another shining mome nt in life that matches the exhilaration associated with the search fo r the Pe rfect Stroke. D

Joe Flohr