STROKE OF BRILLIANCE: Princeton University men’s heavyweight rowing star Ian Silveira pulls hard from the stroke seat in a race this spring. Utilizing his leadership and skill, senior captain Silveira has set a positive tone for the Tigers. This weekend, Silveira will be looking to finish his Princeton career in style as his varsity 8 boat goes for a national title at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) championships on Cooper River in Cherry Hill. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton Crew/Tom Nowak)

Some rowers shy away from the stroke seat and the accompanying responsibility to initiate the cadence for a boat but not Ian Silveira.

“I like the feeling that there is a bit more control,” said Silveira, reflecting on the stroke position which is the rower closest to the stern.

“It sets the rhythm for the rest of the boat; there is a lot of pressure but I like it. I like the feeling of setting the tone and the feeling when the guys really start going.”

This spring, the senior star has been setting the tone in and out of the water as the senior captain of the Princeton University men’s heavyweight program.

“I was honored that my teammates thought highly enough of me; it put expectations on me,” said Silveira.

“You want to set a good example and display a work ethic that others would emulate. I am trying to live up to the standard of the guys who came before me and continue what we have done in the past. The juniors and rest of seniors are helping me out; it is basically a collective effort.”

This week, Silveira and his teammates will be looking to produce a big effort as they go after a national title in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) championships on Cooper River in Cherry Hill.

Silveira likes the way his first varsity boat has been training as it prepares for the IRA.

“It has been going well; we are carrying a lot of the speed we took into sprints,” said Silveira, referring to the Eastern Sprints where the top boat finished fourth.

“The theme this year is learning and developing and we have been able to do that. I look forward to racing.”

It didn’t take long for Silveira to learn that he loved racing. “From the first practice in high school, I was hooked on it,” recalled Silveira, a native of West Bloomfield, Mich. who went to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep.

“It was completely different than the other sports I had tried. It was not on a field or a court, it was on a lake.”

Showing ability to go with his passion for the sport, Silveira made the U.S. junior 8 and competed internationally.

“I was used to rowing in Michigan and competing against rowers in my region; being on the world stage was a big jump,” said Silveira. “Rowing against kids from all over the world was more exciting than anything; it is fun to race.”

When it came time to row in college, Silveira was excited to join the Princeton crew program.

“I had spent time at Princeton; the juniors selection camp was there so I had an idea what it was like,” said Silveira.

“I liked the way they ran the program, it was the best fit for me team-wise. I also picked the school where I would be most comfortable if anything happened to me and I couldn’t row.”

It took Silveira a while to develop a comfort level with college rowing. “The work load is different; it is definitely a jump in the training load,” said Silveira.

“The workouts are harder; you are recruited and expected to perform. You think you are going to have a lot of time but you are in class from 8-3 and then you have practice. You have to figure out how to balance things; you want to perform in class and on the water.”

Silveira has certainly performed well on the water for the Tigers. By sophomore year, he was ensconced in the stroke seat for the varsity 8, helping the boat place second at the Eastern Sprints. Last year, he helped the Tigers take silver again at the Eastern Sprints and sixth in the IRA national championship regatta.

Over the past two summers, Silveira has honed his skills by competing for the U.S.’s U23 men’s quadruple sculls (M4x), which involves a rower using two oars rather than one as in college sweep competition.

“In high school, I did the single at the end of the year so I’m used to sculling,” said Silveira

“It is something different. It is fun to race in different boats. The first year, we went to Belarus and finished 10th. We finished 4th last year at Amsterdam, it was the best finish ever for the U.S. in that event.”

As Silveira finishes up his career at Princeton, he has been thrust in the role of mentoring a group of younger rowers.

“It has definitely been different working with the young guys; I have thought about things I have never thought about,” said Silveira.

“I was the only sophomore in a boat of juniors and seniors. As a junior, we had a bunch of seniors. Now there are five sophomores on the boat. I am having to remember the lessons I was learning when I was a sophomore and spending more time taking guys under my wing. It is a new challenge.”

The Tigers have faced some challenges this spring, suffering defeats to Harvard, Cornell, and Brown in their final three regular season regattas before the fourth-place finish at the Eastern Sprints.

“I think that the younger guys are dealing with taking lumps; each of the losses showed all of us what we needed to work on to develop,” said Silveira. “At sprints, we displayed how we had taken those lessons.”

Silveira is savoring his final days of work at the Princeton boathouse. “It is bittersweet; it is good to be done with the school part,” said Silveira, a sociology major who is contemplating going to law school after his rowing career.

“Every day I go out on the water, I can count the days left on one hand. It is a little sad having to leave; I have enjoyed the people I have rowed with.”

Utilizing the mentality that has served him well in the stroke seat, Silveira is looking to get the most out of the people he will be rowing with this weekend.

“I have had to learn to adapt and work with others and be a better leader,” said Silveira, who plans to compete with the U.S. U-23 boat this summer with an eye to continuing with the national program through the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“I have been learning how to manage people’s attitudes and learning what it takes to get people coming from different positions to work with each other and come together.”