Senior Spotlight: James O'Toole
5/6/2020
James O'Toole is a four-year member of the Owls hailing from Newtown Square, Pa. He started in the freshman eight boat his first year at Temple and became a mainstay in the Owls' varsity crews soon after. As a freshman, he helped his F8 crew to a wildly successful year where they won SIRA and Murphy Cup Gold, as well as Dad Vail and Bergen Cup silver. As a sophomore, O'Toole etched his name in Temple's record book, making the 2018 Henley Royal Regatta roster, capping an outstanding year in the second varsity eight that saw them take Dad Vail gold. His final two seasons with the Owls were spent in the Cherry & White's top boats, where in 2019, he was part of Temple winning the Dad Vail overall points trophy. O'Toole will graduate from the Fox School of Business with a degree in Finance.
Owlsports.com caught up with O'Toole, as he finishes his degree at Temple.
In the book of your life, what’s the title of the Temple chapter? The title of the Temple chapter would definitely be, "The good, the bad, the boys." Coming to Temple, I was really unsure of what to expect but looking back at how far I've come, I wouldn't have changed a second of it and I am incredibly happy with all the friendships I've made.
What’s the best part about being a member of the crew team at Temple/what will you miss the most? It's really hard to pick one thing, but the best thing about being part of TUMC is the brotherhood we have. You build a different type of bond with people when you know that they are also waking up at 5am in the morning and getting ready for a hard practice on the water when it's 30 degrees and windy outside. Without a doubt knowing that your closest friends are going through the same thing as you makes it just a tad bit easier.
What is your favorite memory of being a student-athlete at Temple? My best memory was being in the 2V during the spring 2018 season where we won gold at the Dad Vails, got to compete in the IRA, and earned a bid to go to Henley, which was the cherry on top of an incredible year.
If you could give advice to your freshman year self, what would it be? If I could give my freshmen year self any advice it would be to "Trust The Process." It's easy to get down on yourself at times, but you just need to remember that all your friends are doing the same thing and all working to achieve the same goal.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I would like to be a broker working in a commercial real estate firm.
I would like to thank my Mom, Dad and sister for their constant love and support through these last 4 years. I think a memory that my friends and I will always carry with us are all the times my Dad would come down with pretzels, doughnuts and Capri Suns after a hard Saturday practice. I would also like to thank Coach Perkins, Coach Gus, and Coach Fergal. They took a chance on a kid from a really small high school with little success on my high school crew team and turned me into a "Temple Guy." The last coach I would like to thank is Coach Scott Waters. Without Coach Waters' constant "tender, love and care" that he showed to our 2V, we would not have been able to accomplish everything that we did.James O'Toole, Temple Crew Class of 2020
Lastly, to the boys. Thank you, for everything.
