Back to School with Lindsay Dare Shoop

Lindsay Shoop with her gold medal from the W8 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Lindsay, third from left, with her NCAA V8 during her senior year at the University of Virginia.

Lindsay’s Olympic ring.

Lindsay mentioned the weight – both physical and philosophical – of the Olympic gold medal, whic she earned in 2008 after bringing home a World Championship in 2007.

Lindsay has worked with hundreds of athletes, and returned to the University of Virginia in Fall 2023 as a strength and conditioning coach.

During a 2022 SteeringUWright / Endeavor Racing Alliance camp, Steady State Podcast co-host Rachel Freedman snapped this photo from the cox seat when Lindsay hopped in the boat to demonstrate how to make better use of your legs.

This episode was made possible in part by Barb, Breakwater Realty, Concept2, EB5 Investors, RowSource, and our Patrons.

In 2002, Lindsay Dare Shoop reluctantly walked-on at the University of Virginia. Within a year she became an NCAA Division I All American. In four years she broke a world record and earned her first World Championship. Within six years her hard work manifested a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (watch the final)

Today she seeks to help others remove self-imposed limitations. This Fall, 20 years after it all began, the author of Better Great Than Never returns to UVA as an assistant coach, paying it forward. 

This thought-provoking conversation considers serendipity, struggle, pressures on student athletes, walk-ons, team-building, rowing for life, Head Of The Charles (and being coxed by Mary Whipple), and a whole lot more.

GUEST
Lindsay Dare Shoop
lindsaydareshoop.com

QUICK LOOK

00:00 - Intro
04:50 - How 9/11 indirectly led to Lindsay walking on at the University of Virginia
07:38 - When Rachel met Lindsay at Steeringuwright / Endeavor Racing Alliance Camp; coaching rowers to consider the long timeline
11:30 - The Huddle
12:48 - Coaching CrossFit coaches and developing an indoor rowing curriculum with USRowing
15:31 - Rowing Week
16:00 - Preparing for HOCR, being coxed by 3-time Olympic medalist Mary Whipple
18:14 - Beijing teammate Anna Mickelson on savoring the moment
19:30 - The Hot Seat Q&A
23:23 - Growing up on a farm in Virginia, playing with boys, and trying “all the sports”
25:19 - Early Olympic dreams and the notion of “not being a real athlete”
27:40 - Losing her athletic self and finding it again at the University of Virginia
32:44 - The waning prevalence of collegiate walk-ons, the importance of novice rowing, and optimizing movement patterns
38:48 - How social media, NILs, and the prospect of financial contracts  have put additional pressure on college athletes
43:15 - Beyond erg scores: intangibles that make for positive team culture
46:19 - Better Great Than Never, inspiring others, “catching up with the things your parents always said,” and taking it one day at a time
50:49 - “Team” as the tribes of today; and the importance of paying attention, getting and staying connected with people
53:00 - Winning gold in Beijing and the weight of the moment she was handed a medal from Anita DeFrantz

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EPISODE Mentions

BOOKS
Better Great than Never 

BUSINESSES
CrossFit
Orange Theory

CAMPS
Steeringuwright

CLUBS
Endeavor Racing Alliance

COACHES
Cassandra Cunningham
Kevin Sauer
Leslie Wright

COXSWAINS
🎧 Mitch King
Mary Whipple

REGATTAS & EVENTS
🎥 2008 Beijing Olympics - USA W8+
Erg Sprints
Head of the Charles

RESOURCES
Jim Collins’ Good to Great

ROWERS
Jen Goldsack
Anna Goodale
Anna Mickelson Cummins
🎧 Sara Nevin

UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
University of Virginia

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This episode was written, produced, hosted, and edited by Tara Morgan and Rachel Freedman. Tara provides additional audio engineering and is our sponsor coordinator. Rachel manages the website, social media, and e-newsletter. Our theme music is by Jonas Hipper.

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