Boyce earned a spot as the six seat of the lightweight varsity eight in 2008, and helped his boat to first place at both Eastern Sprints and the IRA National Championships.

At IRAs, the boat came from behind to win in the final 500 meters of the race. After claiming the national title, Boyce and his team reached the quarterfinals at the Henley Royal Regatta.

“They were a pretty darn good boat,” Kennett praised. “And [Boyce] was a big part of it … he was going to get out of it what he put into it.”

After his season and graduation from Cornell, Boyce remained in the rowing community and became a coaching intern at Cornell for the 2008-2009 season.

He then left Cornell and joined the Bulldogs. Boyce was assistant coach on the varsity men’s heavyweight team for the 2009 and 2010 seasons before joining the Crimson squad as the freshmen men’s crew coach this year.

“We’re just really pleased [to have Boyce]”, said Harvard heavyweight coach Harry Parker. “He has a great background as an oarsman at Cornell ... very successful, a good student of coaching … We think it’s going to work out really well.”

Boyce’s trials, experiences, and successes as a rower have definitely made a contribution to his coaching abilities.

“I hate coaching against him,” Kennett said. “And [Cornell is] not looking forward to it because we know he works really really hard at what he does … and he knows how to be determined and persevere.“

Folks at Harvard have already caught on to Boyce’s coaching skills.

“He obviously knows what it takes to win; there is no doubt there,” captain Mike DiSanto said. “I think that he pushes the freshmen to work pretty hard.”

Boyce is looking forward to using his experiences to provide freshmen with the opportunity to thrive as competitors.

“I definitely enjoyed being on a team that if you worked hard you have a chance to be successful,” he says. “I want to be able to give back to the sport in that way and allow these guys to have their own successful experiences.”