There is a multitude of after-school sports offered at Staples, some of which are more popular than others. Soccer, basketball, and football are very popular, but there are numerous other sports that are central to people’s lives. Rowing is one of those very sports that is criminally underrated. For certain students, like Cooper Levinson ’24, rowing is an integral piece of their lives.

Jean: How did you start rowing? What were the events that led you to continue with the sport after you started? 

Levinson: “I never really found any sports interesting when I was younger. My friends and I started in 2019, and that’s when it really started to sink in. I kept on doing it, and all of my other friends joined coincidentally, so I kept doing it.”  

Jean: What was your competitive turning point? What made you from someone who just does the sport, to someone that really loved it? 

Levinson: “I slouched off during fall offseason[…] I ended up at the bottom of the team. This was the decider of what rowing meant to me. Fall 2021 I put in more work. I ended up getting 4th on the team during the 6k. My coaches personally congratulated me, which was the best feeling of my life.” 

Jean: What was one of the lowest points in your rowing career? 

Levinson: “My appendix burst last February break. I couldn’t go to the San Diego Crew Classic and learned how to learn from an injury. I was out for a month. It was an instance where without rowing school was boring, but due to the injury I learned to work hard in school.” 

Jean: How did you work your way up to captain? 

Levinson: “The way I say I became a captain was when a couple of the former captains made me feel good […] I wanted to be the kind of guy everyone could talk to and be friendly with. I didn’t think people saw me as a captain. Being a captain was really empowering.”

Jean: What is your favorite accomplishment when it comes to rowing? 

Levinson: “I was upset with my own body- I didn’t think I could make a change, but once I dropped 20 lbs, I realized that I could do it. I went from 239 to 189. That was a big impact. The medals don’t really mean much to me, it’s more the experience of me being there.”