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| Becky Dyroen-Lancer |
Olympic Gold
Medal….World Champion ….International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree…. These are just some of the amazing accomplishments
of Becky Dyroen-Lancer, one of synchronized swimming’s most decorated athletes.
We could easily fill up an entire year’s worth of blog posts
conveying all that Becky knows and wants to share with the world about
synchronized swimming. But for this blog
post, as we head into this season’s final championship meet, we’ve simply
asked Becky to reflect on synchronized swimming as a sport of choice for young
girls and what they can expect to get out of it.
We caught up with Becky at the 2014 Age Group National Championships in Seattle, WA. Although she retired shortly thereafter as Head Coach for Synchro Gainesville Gaviatas, she continues to work with them as a consultant, and she coaches clinics around the country. Interested athletes can train with her this summer at the 2015 East Coast Synchro Camp, July 19-24, at the Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, VA. Click here for more information, and click here to register.
ANA Synchro: What do girls get out of synchronized swimming as a sport?
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: I grew up in San Jose, CA and swam for Santa
Clara. We trained to win
everything. I was raised that way, and
you just do it. Coaching a grass roots
team today, however, has given me an interesting perspective. I realize there are lots of different pathways
and different types of synchronized swimmers.
I feel like synchronized swimming is a training ground for life. That’s how I approach it with my
swimmers.
ANA Synchro: How
is it a training ground for life, given that few athletes will work in the
sport after high school and college?
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: Synchronized swimming takes dedication and a
lot of multitasking. It is just one of
many things they’re doing in their successful lives – high academics,
synchronized swimming, band, drama, volunteering – all the different things
that fill up their transcript for college.
And many young people don’t get put into high stress situations like a
big meet in their regular lives. School
doesn’t really create an equivalent unless you are in really high
academics. But even if you have to
prepare for and give a big speech, or present a paper, it’s different than
preparing for a competition and performing in the spotlight.
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| Synchronized Swimming - the ultimate team sport! |
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: The biggest thing in terms of training for
life is how to become unified with the multiple personalities that a team brings. Having to work in a team for synchronized
swimming is different than getting a partner for a science fair. You have to figure out how to really work with people, not just who’s
going to do the most work on the science fair project to get the better grade. You have to figure out how to play to
different strengths and how to get along with different personalities.
ANA Synchro: How does the added stress from a competition
play into the teamwork aspect?
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: Different years and different seasons will bring
different personalities to the team, and you have to figure out how to deal
with that. And how do you deal with that
when it’s all on the line at a competition?
Some girls handle this naturally, and others don’t. Learning from the experiences at a meet can
really give the girls perspective and different life qualities that they can
bring as they move forward and become successful young women.
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| Amazing friendships and connections are made possible through synchronized swimming. |
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: Being a mostly female sport does give it a
different kind of dynamic than multi-gender sports. You have to really focus in a different way
and enjoy having all your female friends and teammates. It’s different than the distraction of what I
see in other sports. Some of the friends
I made when I was going through the age group program, I am still super good
friends with so many years later. And I
still keep in touch with them every week.
So these are my lifelong friends.
There is just something about having that support of girls.
I see it more now with my coach’s eyes – this sport brings
together girls, especially in middle school and high school, who may not have
naturally become friends. No matter how
much you try to avoid it, there’s always going to be different groups and
cliques, and juniors aren’t necessarily going to hang out with seniors. What synchro does is bring all these girls
together that have a similar strain of personality, or likes or interests, and
they’re able to make a really amazing connection – a connection which they may
not have made in regular high school or middle school life. And I think that’s great!
ANA Synchro: Do you have any final words for girls who are
considering synchro as a sport or parents whose daughters have chosen this
sport?
Becky Dyroen-Lancer:
What I’ve found is that the people who
get involved with this sport are the ones who are very intelligent. We tend to get a very intelligent batch of
girls! I don’t know if it’s the multitasking
or the different elements that are involved with synchronized swimming, why it
draws this type of person, but it draws a very intelligent group. It draws highly creative group as well. It’s funny because some girls are creative in
an artsy way, but other girls are very detail oriented. Synchro can bring out the natural abilities
that all these girls have.
ANA Synchro: It must be a challenge then as a coach, to
help the girls balance the sport with their academics.
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: Nowadays, it feels like it is so important to
be fully successful in every area that you go into, and I don’t remember that
so much during my era. Today, it’s like
you need to be successful at synchro and all the other clubs and sports you’re
in to get into the university you want.
So, I do find it tricky to keep the girls in the sport after sophomore
year. So many high schoolers don’t think
they can do a sport and academics at the same time, and I totally
disagree. I believe sports help the
academics. I see people who have left
synchro and aren’t necessarily getting better grades. They might have more time to study, but
they’re not necessarily a healthier person.
I believe most swimmers could do both if they really have the desire to
do it.
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| ANA Synchro Head Coach Leah Pinette surrounded by athletes she is leading on the journey to build amazing life qualities and experiences through synchro. |
Becky Dyroen-Lancer: It’s nice to be able to see that there are
multiple ways that you can be successful in this sport. Just because you didn’t get a gold medal at a
meet doesn’t mean you’re not a success.
If you finish up this sport with some really amazing life qualities and
experiences, then that’s a successful journey.
