Paul Natterson

Harvard senior lightweight crew Captain Paul Natterson tends to lead by example rather than talk, but his quiet dedication is paired with a commitment to one thing--winning.

"There is such a winning tradition here," Natterson says of Harvard crew. "Losing is probably worse than in other sports."

The Los Angeles native never rowed before coming to Harvard. As a sophomore, he rowed in the third boat and as a junior worked his way up to the varsity squad.

"He's the hardest worker in the place...he'll kill himself literally," says senior coxswain Mike Mollerus.

Lightweight crew Coach Bruce Beall says that Natterson came out for double practices last year and encouraged teammates to join him. "He is very persistent and has very clear ideas of the goals of the squad...to win the Eastern championship," Beall says.

So while tomorrow's Head of the Charles regatta is almost recreational competition for the Harvard lightweights, winning it is still a goal.

And while that overwhelming desire to win does put pressure on Natterson, he says it is also one of greatest pleasures of the sport.

The other high point of crew, says the Winthrop House resident, is the people on the team. One member is Natterson's roommate, and all of the seniors on the team share the desire to win the mid-May Eastern Sprints before they graduate. "None of us have ever won it," Natterson says.

"Crew is the the most important thing to me right now," he says frankly. And he doesn't allow the three to five hours, six days a week of training to conflict with his studies.

"My labs are in the morning," he says, but adds that if there was a conflict with school work, crew would come first.

Beall says any extra speed the Crimson generates in tomorrow's regatta will be partially due to Natterson's dedicated attitude, but the captain attributes the potential improvement to the fact that the team's been working harder.

He predicts a top five finish, noting that the Harvard lightweights usually finish seventh or eighth.

Natterson and Beall emphasize the spring races over the Head of the Charles. Natterson says workouts are aimed at doing well in the main--spring--crew season. Today's regatta is supposed to be "fun," he says.

Natterson says there's more to dedication than drive. "I try to talk to sophomores," he says, adding that listening can be more important. "Sometimes they just want someone to listen to them," he explains.

"He doesn't say it, he does it," says teammate Greg Williams.

Natterson attributes much of his belief in leading rather than talking to his coach's example. Natterson says Beall earns the respect of his team through talent and example rather than talk, and that the team is more important to Beall than the coach's own Olympic rowing.

But underlying the quiet commitment is a winning attitude that may bring the Crimson lightweights a little closer to the head of the pack tomorrow.