This is a copy of my keynote speech presented to Colorado Swimming at their awards banquet this past weekend. I think it resonated with many people there and I hope by posting it, it will entertain and possibly inspire you.

What is Your 200 Fly?
By Rose Snyder
Keynote given October 3, 2009
Colorado Swimming Banquet

I’m not an Olympian; I’m not even a national champion. I’m just a person who happens to love swimming and everything that makes up our sport. Although, I may be famous in your eyes after this talk, not for my swimming, but for the famous people I swam next to. I am honored to be speaking to you tonight as a student of the sport, a coach, a swim parent, but most of all, swimming enthusiast. In some way, shape, or form, I have been in or around a pool since I was a baby; swam my first race at age three and have been involved ever since. Given the choice…I would rather be at a pool than nearly anywhere else. I know that sounds crazy, but those that know me, know it’s true.
My talk tonight will feature my swimming adventures over the past 40 years through the experiences I have had with one very special event…..the 200 Fly.
I recall being about age 9 or 10 and when my coach suggested (I use the term loosely) okay, maybe forced me into doing a 200 Fly. I was so young, I hardly remember it….I do know though, that at that time I was the only 10 and under in Arizona to be dumb enough, or to have a coach that bordered on a child abuser (just kidding), to swim the event. It was a state record!
I guess somewhere along the way, I figured out it wasn’t pure torture- I kind of liked it, and I was good at it. I had good role models. I swam with a gal named Kendis Moore, she was the world record holder in 1965 with a time of 2:26.3 I’m not even sure that time today would even make sectionals? You guys should Google World Record Progressions sometime and see that your times today were world records at one time…. not THAT long ago. I recall being 12 and thinking, “Gee, I would have won the Women’s 100 Free in the 1932 Olympics. Anyway, Kendis was my teammate and we swam for Walt Schlueter and a team called the Arizona Desert Rats. Kendis was my first 200 Fly Hero for being so good at my new favorite event.
By the age of 12, I swam a lot of 200′s fly. In fact, my coach believed that in order to swim a great 200 Fly, you needed to do A LOT of them. A regular set we did was 10 x 200 Fly descending 1-5 and number 10 had to be within 5 seconds of you best time. At that time we swam in a pool that did not have lanelines, so this made it even more challenging. This is where I first began to realize the saying “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.” Again my coach impressed upon me that if I regularly did 10 x 200 fly, how easy would one be; hard to argue with that.
I recall swimming my first really big 200 yard fly in the Keating Natatorium in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the lane next to me was Alice Jones; who would go on to become a world record holder in the 200 Fly. She was out and dried off well before I hit my last turn. Later that same year, I met another 200 Fly legend; Karen Moe. I had the “pleasure” of swimming next to Karen when I was 12. Since it was meters, she didn’t lap me…. and in fact, I swam really well…but missed making senior nationals by one tenth of a second. The next summer, 1972, Karen Moe went on to be Olympic Champion and world record holder in the 200 Fly. As an aside, being the swimming nerd, I was excited to be swimming in the LA Coliseum (1932) Olympic pool. It was very cool to me as I was swimming in the pool where Helene Madison won three gold medals for the USA in 1932…. An unheard of haul for women in those days.
I went on to swim the 200 Fly in college where my whole goal was to beat those times I did when I was 12. My senior year, I finally did!
Shortly after college, I began to coach. After all, with the late Walt Schlueter as your mentor and role model, there was nothing I wanted to do more in the world than coach. I coached many kids, but two come to mind; Raina Fromm and Adam Boch. These two kids did the famous 10 x 200 Fly sets on a regular basis. One night at practice, we were doing the favored Fly set and I recall Raina discussing a T.V. show she was watching right before practice– Family Feud, some of you may see this show still on the game show network. Well, Raina was relating this story to me between repeats her 200 fly set…she says, “Rose I was watching Family Feud today”….she pushes off, comes in for a quick breath between repeats and says… “guess what the questions was…..” I wait patiently by her lane…she comes back and says…. “Name the most relaxing sport”….I wait once more…She comes in and says….”guess what the number one answer was”….. “SWIMMING…..Can you believe that?!” After that night, this infamous set was called the “Family Feud” set! Adam Boch went on to place 9^th at Olympic Trials and beat the Atlantic Athletic Conference record his freshman year at Virginia. He went a 47.7 and beat Anthony Nesty’s record.
In 1990, I left coaching in Arizona to move to Colorado to work for USA Swimming. I worked with Dennis Pursely, who happened to be one of the coaches, along with Bill Peak to coach Mary T. Megher “Madame Butterfly”. She first broke the 200 Fly world record in 1979 at the tender age of 13. She went on to break her own record four times; and, in 1981 she swam a 2:05.96 an incredible world record that stood for 19 years. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary T at the Olympic Trials in 1992 where she came and presented an award for that same event.
Hard to believe that this young girl set a record that would go on to last for 19 years. It stood until May of 2000 when Susie O’Neill from Australia broke it during their Olympic trials.
Now we come to my all time favorite 200 Fly Swim. The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia, this small but mighty swimmer named Misty Hyman from the USA gets up to swim the 200 fly. Susie O’Neill, the hometown hero, current world record holder, and the favorite to win the event steps on the blocks to defining cheers. (In Australia; swimming is like the NFL) Misty and the US were just hoping for a medal. The horn sounds and they are off….Misty takes it out hard; in fact, even the announcer believes she has made the mistake of her life; everyone (except Misty and her coaches) is expecting Misty to die and but hopeful that she can hang on for a medal. She hits the turn at the 100 under world record pace, hits the 150 still under world record pace and well in the lead, and down the home stretch, still very much in the lead….never died or fell off pace and touches the wall to win the gold or should I say steal the Gold from Susie O’Neill, just shy of the world record, but an American Record and most amazingly, the Gold medal. This swim is arguably the biggest upset in Olympic history. What I remember most is Misty’s face… pure joy, pure pride, and pure shock!
I was fortunate to be with Misty last week for a clinic in Indiana. I can tell you she is my Hero, not just for that swim, but for who she is. What you may not know is she missed making the Olympic team in 1996 by a one 10^th of a second. Following that defeat, she lost her focus and wanted to quit. She rebounded and made a four year commitment to her coach, and herself. She made a poster of the Olympic rings with her goal times on them; hung them above her bed. This was the first thing she saw when she woke up and the last thing she saw right before she closed her eyes to sleep. This, these goals, she said is what got her up and out of bed each and every morning.
As I mentioned, her goals and a lot of hard work did pay off. But more, Misty is a giver; a rare special person and hero that gives back. Last year, at the Olympic trials in Omaha, Misty made a lasting impression on a 13 year old girl. She placed her Gold medal from Sydney around the young girl’s neck and inspired her in a way that will never be equaled or forgotten.
This little girl is happens to be my daughter Carli. My latest 200 Fly hero…. who happened to swim her first 200 Fly at 10 like her mom before her; but she did it with her goggles around her mouth, didn’t cry, didn’t quit and didn’t stop. She, too, was the only 10 year old crazy enough or tough enough on our team to do this event, so she holds the team record. Certainly Carli has swum faster since then, but on that day, in a tiny pool, with no camera or fan fare, no huge crowds cheering except her teammates, coach, and mom; she did what many kids much older still fear, she swam a 200 fly with guts and determination. She was my hero that day and proved something to herself and everyone who witnessed that swim.
So my story comes full circle. I hope you have enjoyed this small tale of how swimming and one event in particular has touched my life. I love swimming and am so proud of what all of you, coaches, athletes’ officials and volunteers do each and every day to support this great sport. Thank you! I do leave you with one question tonight….what is your 200 Fly, perhaps for you swimmers it is a 200 Fly or the mile, perhaps for others it is public speaking, etc. my advice is to face and embrace the fear, make it part of you and see what happens!

I hosted a mini “Women in Coaching Retreat” this past weekend in Indy. This program was sponsored by Indiana Swimming and was brought to Indiana through Tony Young, who is the Sport Development Consultant. We had nearly 40 women coaches from all over Indiana attend. It was a great experience. We were honored to have Debbie Hesse, CEO/President for USA Diving be our keynote speaker for our dinner on Friday evening. The retreat theme, “All About Me!” encourages women to focus on personal development. We emphasize improving communication, completing a “PSA: personal self-assessment” and creating a personal development plan. The best part of the weekend of course is the bonds created among the women. Here is a quote from one of the evaluations: “The best part of the retreat was sharing and meeting and talking with other women. I especially enjoyed the time spent on self-reflection and realizing that I have so much in common with my fellow women coaches.”

We are planning to host a full retreat in Indiana sometime in the future. I think the best comment I heard was the fact that many of these women see each other on the pool deck at meets, but didn’t really know each other. Now there is a connection, camaraderie, and a feeling of strength among the women coaches in Indiana. I really enjoyed my time with these wonderful coaches!

Mark your calenders now for the 2010 Women’s Retreat. This will be held April 9-11 in Colorado Springs at the La Foret Retreat and Conference Center. Email me at rose@rosesnyder.com to be placed on the mailing list.

I had a great weekend working with the Tri-States Figure Skating Council in Bowling Green this past weekend. We had over 50 board members from 25 figure skating clubs from all over Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. One of the suggestions I had was for every club to create a governance committee. I promised to put some thoughts in my blog about what a governance committee is and what it should do. Here you go….

In a nutshell, the Board Governance Committee is responsible for making sure the board is qualified, capable, and govering the organization appropriately. This important committee ensures quality leaders that govern efficiently and in accordance with nonprofit best practices. It also sees to it that the organization remains current on compliance requirements and educates and informs the board on these important areas.

Areas of Responsibility:

• Board Composition
• Defining Board Roles and Responsibilities
• Board knowledge
• Board effectiveness
• Board practices
• Board leadership

For more information on how I can help you implement this best practice, contact me at rose@rosesnyder.com

I am honored and excited to be a part of a Master Mind group. We meet monthly and range in skills and experiences. This group is like “power networking” and we share ideas and motivate each other. We met this week and discussed putting together a conference type program that would be attractive to the corporate world. Topics would range from safety to diversity and from motivation and leadership to accountability! I plan to feature each person from my group in my Blog. Check back in to see who is my first feature. You can also catch up with me on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m getting ready to move my home office into an office space! I will still be available at the same contact information. I will have a training space and plan to offer some educational programming and “Lunch and Learn” sessions. Please sign up for my newsletter if you have not already done so.

I have several clients this fall and plan to make “blogging” a priority! Check out my calendar and if I’m in your area of the country and you would be interested in having me visit your organization, please send me an email and we will see what can be worked out.

Rose 

 

I just returned from Philly where I had the honor of working with the oldest Figure Skating Club in the world, the Philadephia Skating Club and Humane Society http://www.pschs.org/

This club was home to Olympic Champions Dick Button and Scott Hamiliton.

I did a Strategic Think Tank with the club and then hosted a Figure Skating Club Education seminar at their rink in Ardmore. We had 45 people from clubs from as far away as New York.

What a great group of people. The evaluations were incredible and we have been invited to come back next year.

I know many of you might have heard of this from youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo, if not. Please take an hour and listen.

I picked up his book by the same name on the road to Minnapolis this past weekend. I read it on the plane. This book will have a lesson and meaning for anyone that takes a couple of hours to read it.

I will write a bit more once I hear back from anyone who has read it or watched Randy’s last lecture on You Tube.

I decided that I would start or formally start, dicussing the book I’m reading when I speak to a group. Funny how there is something applicable that I can share. It works every time!

I travel for work or swim meets for the next four weekends and hope to be posting a lot more often.

Make the most of your minutes!

Rose

I can’t believe that this year marks the third annual Women in Coaching Retreat. Special thanks to Dave Thomas and USA Swimming who sent out a blast this week, we have had a great response of interested women contacting me. Last year was unbelievable. Here are a few quotes from past participants:

“I leave this retreat all smiles. What a wonderful group of professionals! Thanks so much for the experience.”

“I was reluctant and in 48 hours I have new friends, a better feeling about what I am doing well and gained an appreciation for the talents these women have.”

I look forward to the 2009 Retreat. Something special happens each year…the people who were suppose to be there for some reason are there. I hope many of you join us this year in Colorado Springs for another incredible experience with a great group of professional women.

Please email me at rose@rosesnyder.com for an application and agenda.

I just returned from Copper Mountain in Colorado after presenting to the Team USA
delegation, preparing for the Special Olympics World Games. There were over 450 athletes, plus, coaches and team managers who will represent the U.S. in Boise next February.

The training session was a wonderful experience; going in it was a bit scary as I had not presented to such a large group of athletes with special needs before, but it couldn’t have been more rewarding. I walked into a ballroom with over 50 tables and was wondering how well these athletes would respond to Psycho-geometrics. Well, in no time we had nearly 500 moving around the room, meeting and interacting with athletes from other sports and states, using pipecleaners to create their shape.

We all had a ball. The pipecleaners were a huge hit. I felt like I was coaching again. It was a great team building experience and the Special Olympics North America administrators were thrilled.

I’m writing today from Copper Mountain. I just spoke to the team manages, coaches, and sport partners for Team USA. Tonight, I will be the keynote for all the athletes. All in all, about 450 people! I’m doing Psycho-geometrics (Shapes) with all of them. This is the first time many of these athletes and coaches will meet at this camp. The World Games will take place in Boise, Idaho, in February.

I’ll post tomorrow and let you know how it goes with the athletes. The coaches were a lot of fun this morning. A special thank you to my friend Terri Hermes who came up to lend a hand!