Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Stephanie Barbero was a college student when she entered her first triathlon.

Barbero completed the cycling portion of a team event and was convinced that she would never be able to complete a full triathlon on her own.

She was wrong.

Barbero attempted her first solo triathlon about 15 years ago and – after finishing fourth in her debut – vowed to make the podium from then. She has put in hard training efforts and has been finishing near the top ever since.

An active member of the Rochester Area Triathletes (RATs), Barbero has completed several sprint triathlons, two Ironman events and qualified for world championships in triathlon and competed in Spain at Duathlon Worlds.

When Roberts Wesleyan University announced the addition of four new sports, including women's triathlon, last fall, Barbero knew that she wanted to be a part of it. She applied for the position and was named head coach in March.

A Rochester native, Barbero participated in soccer, track and field and gymnastics as a student at Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women and has taught and coached at her alma mater for the past 20 years. With a strong background in faith-based education, Barbero is eager for the Redhawks to begin their first season of competition this fall.

When she isn't teaching, training or competing, Barbero, who is the mother of three adult children, enjoys mountain biking and photography.

Barbero recently took some time to share more about herself and her new role. Her responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you explain triathlon to people who are not familiar with it?
"Triathlon is amazing. It is a great community of people, it can bring you places within your own head and also take you around the world. It is a great sport to get into, so don't wait until it is later in life. Get into it now and enjoy it. It's exciting, it's fun, it's challenging and it's something that anybody can do. People don't think that they can do it, but they absolutely can."

What will a typical college event look like?
"For women's triathlon at the collegiate NCAA level, it is sprint distance and it is draft legal. Athletes will swim about 750 yards, maybe 800 in open water, then they will go into transition and get the wetsuit off and jump on a bike and do at least a 20K and then they will go back into transition and get their running shoes on and go on a 5K run and that's it. They are allowed to draft on the bikes, which isn't typical of most triathlons in the United States, so we are going to be doing a lot of practicing with drafting." 

What does the roster for this season look like?
"We have three athletes, two seniors and one graduate student. I am excited to start that way. There are some other teams that have been around for years and only have two athletes, so even though it is a small team I think that we are where we need to be for a first-year team and I know that I can give them the individual support that they need, and that's important."

What is your coaching philosophy?
"I try to see what my athletes are capable of and put them a position to reach what they are capable of, or maybe even do more, because sometimes in a sport like triathlon you don't know what you are capable of doing and you really have to push yourself farther. I make it a fun environment, too. I try to make sure that the athletes can laugh and also learn from their mistakes."

What characteristics are you looking for in potential student-athletes?
"Student-athletes that are coachable and want to learn. I am looking for people who are up for a challenge and want to push themselves and see where they can go with athletics."

What makes the triathlon community so special?
"The triathlon community is just so special because everyone really roots for everybody else. No matter how hard that we are trying for ourselves, we are always out there for somebody else as well. We can support other people … and the community that I train with, the RATs, are just fabulous – everyone helps out, everyone pitches in and they will literally give you the shirt off of their back. It's a lot of volunteering, too."

How excited are you to be a part of this new program?
"I am just so excited. When I first heard that this opportunity, I was like 'I want that.' … I can't wait to see what these athletes can do out there. I know that two of them are swimmers and one is a runner and they have a little bit of experience in cycling. One of them has done a few triathlons on her own, so we'll see if we can move her to the next level."