New coach leads Hoosiers

There was a point in time when the only thing Steve Peterson wanted was to play football. Now, he is the IU rowing team's new head coach.\nPeterson started rowing for the club team his freshman year at the University of Rhode Island. While he was there, he fell in love with the sport and the club was fairly successful. Peterson even rowed for the U.S. National Team and participated in the 1990 World Championships and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.\nAfter a brief stint as a teacher, Peterson started coaching for his alma mater, Rhode Island, then went to Rutgers University, and just prior to IU, George Washington University.\nWhat brought Peterson to IU, though, was "plain and simple," the potential he saw in the program.\n"I looked at the school as obviously a big-state school with a large population of students," Peterson said. "The school had a tremendous reputation as an athletic school. The Big Ten conference has turned into probably one of the strongest conferences in the country for rowing, and all of those things basically lead someone to think they have potential here. Couple that with the fact that the athletic department is really stepping up and supporting the team, and I think we can make a great rowing program here."\nAs a new coach in a new program, Peterson didn't have much in the way of expectations for the immediate year. Peterson is aware any time there is a change of power in an athletic program, there is a bit of difficulty. He knew some adaptation to his new coaching methods would be necessary.\nFor now, some of Peterson's biggest goals are recruiting so the program will reap the benefits in future years, getting his team rowing in a technique he thinks is effective, and promoting the training he feels will get the job done properly. \n"I was looking at this year as sort of a building year," Peterson said.\nThe team opened its spring season this past weekend in Raleigh, N.C., where the Hoosiers competed against North Carolina and Georgetown. The varsity eight, which features eight rowers and the shell's leader, a coxswain, placed first in the meet. \nPeterson's squad went on a spring break training trip in Clemson, S.C., where, according to Peterson, the team made great progress. It finished off the week doing some scrimmaging against Purdue and Maris College.\nPeterson said he believes the team's biggest developing strength is its sense of boat-feel, which in the sport of rowing is described as the rhythm and moving together as one unit. On top of that is the team's enthusiasm.\nBut Peterson knows his crew is not the strongest physically, and said there can be a confidence issue when a team is the underdog. Team co-captain junior Amanda Walker said she hopes this season the team will turn around its underdog reputation simply with heart.\n"The past four years, we were the underdogs of the Big Ten," Walker said. "But after our spring break trip, we have a confidence we didn't have before. We may not be the biggest team, but we have the most desire."\nPeterson has won the respect from his rowers with not only his experience, but also with his coaching style.\n"(Peterson's) great," sophomore Laura Lazaridis said. "He has a lot of confidence and experience with rowing. He's just a good coach, and there's no other way to put it."\n-- Contact staff writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu.