June 12, 2007
The Patriot League recently conducted a brief question and answer session with Bucknell Rowing Head Coach Stephen Kish. Kish guided the Bison to their second-straight Patriot League Championship title in 2007 and was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. In his 11th year at the helm of the Bison, the 1992 Bucknell graduate was also tabbed the 2007 CRCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and 2007 CRCA Lightweight Coach of the Year.
PL: How did you get into coaching rowing?
SK: I began rowing as a junior at Bucknell, the year that Bucknell added men's and women's rowing as varsity sports. It was still very much a club in the sense that it was growing by leaps and bounds and the rowers had the opportunity to have an impact on that growth. I had a great experience, a lot of which I credit to the leadership of our head coach, John Skotedis, and somewhere in my senior year, I knew I was going to be a rowing coach.
PL: What is it like coaching at the school you attended as an undergraduate? What was your experience at Bucknell like?
SK: Similar to our rowing program, it has been very special to watch
Bucknell develop over the last 17 years. Obviously, I feel very connected to the university and the rowing program. As for my experience at Bucknell it was a very supportive place. I remember feeling very lucky to have the professors and staff that I had. I always felt like my education and my experience was very important to them.
PL: Talk about Katherine Brewster-Duffy, your program's first All-American.
SK: Katherine Brewster-Duffy has been a joy to coach and watch. I don't
think I have a full understanding of her motivations and goals, but she is one heck of an athlete. Being one of our best on the team, and with the potential to be one of the best we have ever had, what is most impressive is that she is still working to improve. I think she appreciates the fact that this opportunity does not last forever. She has a mature perspective, and that is not the most common attribute in an 18-22-year-old college student.
PL: Share you thoughts in coaching in the Patriot League - a conference that prides itself on the scholar-athlete model.
SK: I think we are all very fortunate to be part of a university and a
conference that takes the scholar-athlete model so seriously. The concept of being a scholar-athlete is a cornerstone to our program. Our women thrive on being successful in the classroom and on the water. I think the varsity experience at Bucknell would be much different without this balanced focus.
PL: Any special plans for the summer?
SK: I am taking some time to enjoy and reflect upon the success we experienced this year, while working on our plans for next year. The
2007-2008 season should be a heck of a ride. It is a great time to be a Bucknell rower, student-athlete, staff member and alum.
