What makes someone want to wake up early every morning to run endless miles in cold? What is the motivation for letting yourself get hit by another man in combat? Perhaps the unwilling drive to win.
"You gotta win. Everyone wants to win, that's the individual goal. Bring home the trophy", Steve Bumbaco (Sophomore - Economics) said.
For the Penn State boxing team, confidence is running high at the beginning on the new season. Making it all the way to Nationals is the realistic goal for the team.
"Anything short of Nationals will be a disappointment for me. I think we can be one of the best teams in the nation. We've got great kids, a good coach, and we know what we're doing," sophomore Chris Picerni said.
Steve Bumbaco echoes Picerni's expectations: "We have a very strong team this year. We had a lot of guys who came back. We should make a strong push at Nationals this year."
As far as motivation goes, look no further than inside the fighters themselves.
"It's a test for yourself, you versus another kid who's in the same situation as you are. It's a one-on-one battle. That's what I love about it," Picerni said.
It's been three years since Penn State has had National Champion when two fighters won the honor in 2003. Members of this year's squad look to return to the ultimate event held in Reno, NV., the first weekend of April.
Boxing was dropped as a collegiate sport in 1954. The National Collegiate Boxing Association began in 1975, and is now the home of 24 teams, including the Nittany Lions. Competition is set to begin in February, but fighters hope to get in some experience before that time. "We're supposed to get started in February, but we're going to try and get some fights before then to get everyone ready for when the big tournaments come around".
The Lions tend to fight with a slightly different style than others teams in the NCBA. Picerni said, "We come with a little different style; a little more movement, a little more fluid, similar to amateur boxing instead of collegiate boxing, so I think we'll do well."
