July 18, 1996
ONE THAT GOT AWAY
By LARRY TUCKER
Sun Sports
ATLANTA -- Many who've competed for him claim Deryk Snelling's the best thing to happen to swimming in Canada since the first pool of water formed at the end of the ice age.
Soon, like those old 'bergs, he'll be gone.
Deryk Snelling, a Calgarian for the past 16 years, is leaving the country. Upon completion of these Olympic Games, his sixth and final as a coach of the Canadian swim team, he'll move to London, where he'll head Great Britain's na-tional swim program.
"It's going to be difficult to walk onto that pool deck at the university without seeing him there," says Curtis Myden, a Snelling student who'll swim the 100 and 200 individual medleys here. "He's been there so long."
The wall around University of Calgary pool attests to that. Nine CIAU championships for the Dinos; seven CIAU coach-of-the-year awards. And that's just a start.
Impressive numbers
"With the three different clubs in Canada -- Vancouver, Etibocoke and Calgary -- I've had 87 national team championships and more than 500 Canadian champions or relay team championships," Snelling says, justifiably and immensely proud of the record that's earned him membership in the Order of Canada and a place of his own in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
"I came over here in 1967 with the idea of staying a couple of years," the 62-year-old coach says. "I just came to get a few ideas why the Americans were swimming faster than the Brits."
Eventually, his Canadians were to out-swim both, the unquestioned highlight of his efforts occurring four years ago when his pupil Mark Tewksbury swam to gold at the Olympics in Barcelona.
So, why are we losing him?
What's so attractive about this four-year contract and two-year extension at his option?
Why leave the country he's called home for almost 30 years to go back where he started?
The answer is commitment -- the lack of it.
Quite simply, he doesn't think Canada has enough of it -- the country isn't geared toward producing the very best swimmers and athletes we could put on the world stage. The programs simply aren't supported well enough and long enough, Snelling claims, even though we talk a big game.
Stopping short
"Some people have the commitment," he says. "But I don't think enough of them do. We have a pride in Canada in saying `Be the best you can be.' Well, the best you can be is first. It bothers me a little bit we don't have the policy to follow that through."
Others obviously do, which is why he's leaving.
"The support is tremendous," he says of the guaranteed-backing his new national program will receive.
"They've been down in the basement and the prime minister has said he wants to make sure Great Britain doesn't go into sport unprepared.
"They're building hundreds of centres all around the countries. Swimming, cricket ... all sports. It really is something. It's much like we had in Canada in 1972, when we were going into the summer Olympics at Montreal in '76."
Perhaps the saddest part of all this is that despite all the rumors preceding his departure, there was no attempt -- or offers -- to keep him here.
"I don't think Canadians yet know they have to be competitive, even in the coaching field. Coaches have options. There are people looking around all over the world," Snelling notes.
The Brits found a great one, right under our nose.
