'Full Measure' documentary released on former Cal crew coach

BERKELEY, Calif. - Steve Gladstone is one of the world’s premiere crew coaches, and at age 83 he recently came out of retirement to coach at the Naval Academy in Maryland.

His extraordinary coaching career began in 1966 at Princeton with stops at Harvard, Cal, Brown, Yale and now, the Navy.

He has retired three times but keeps answering the bell because of his deep love and commitment to the sport that he was introduced to in prep school in the early 1960s.   

He has won numerous championships at every stop, always leaving a program at the top of its game. 

Gladstone took over the Cal program in 1973 and retired in 1980. 

 After a 13-year championship ride at Brown, he returned to Berkeley for a second tour of duty from 1997 to 2008 before coming out of retirement -- again – for the Yale job in 2010. 

His attention to detail and workouts are legendary.

Film director Jean Strauss rowed at Cal in the 70s, and thought that Gladstone’s career needed to be showcased in a documentary.  

Her 80-minute film "Full Measure" chronicles Gladstone growing up on the East Coast and how crew became so vital in his life both as a rower and a coach.

The film debuted at the Orinda Theatre on Dec. 14 to rave reviews.

The goal is to eventually get the documentary on a streaming platform in the new year.