Olympic Champion Reflects on Synchronized Swimming as a Unique Training Ground for Life

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. 

Synchronized Swimming - the ultimate team sport!

ANA Synchro: Synchronized swimming is often called “the ultimate team sport,” so teamwork has to be on the list of life lessons as well.

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.

Amazing friendships and connections are made possible
through synchronized swimming.

ANA Synchro:  Synchronized swimming is mostly female.  How does that affect the overall life experience the athletes will have?

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.

ANA Synchro Head Coach Leah Pinette surrounded by
athletes she is leading on the journey to build
amazing life qualities and experiences through synchro.

ANA Synchro:  And, as you pointed out, there are lots of different pathways and different types of synchronized swimmers.

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.

A Year Abroad for Study & Synchro!

High school Junior Gates Bryan is one of approximately 1,100 American teenagers studying abroad this year with American Field Service(AFS-USA).  But Gates, a long-time member (since 5^th grade!) of ANA Synchro, didn’t want to just study abroad, she wanted to swim synchro too!  So, with the help ANA Synchro Head Coach Leah Pinette, Gates found a host family in the south of France who was involved with synchronized swimming as well! 

Gates, third from right, poses with her new French
friends and teammates after a recent competition.

We checked in with Gates shortly after her French team’s first competition.  Read on to find out how she’s getting along with swimming synchro in France:

ANA Synchro:  What’s the name of your team?

Gates:  My team is Nautil Club Boucain.  Our colors are lime green and black, which is pretty nice. You look kind of intimidating when you wear it. <she smiles>  It’s a big team – just under 100 people.  I don't really know everybody on the team because I don't practice with everybody at the same time. 

ANA Synchro:  Does France have the same age groupings as we do in the US?  Are you a “16 – 19 Age Group” athlete over there?

Gates:  No. Here, they have Novice, they have “Espoirs,” which translates to “hope,” and they have Junior and Senior. I’m a Junior.  “Senior” functions as a masters team because Senior is for everyone above the age of 18. My coach, for example, is on the Senior team.  I would say Espoirs is in-between what we know as Intermediate and Age Group.  Here in France, you also have to pass tests to move up levels.  I had to pass the gold test to be able to swim as a Junior in France.  It really wasn't too hard, but I was still stressed about it because, if I didn’t pass, I wouldn't have been able to compete.

ANA Synchro:  Are you swimming a team routine?

Gates:  Yes I am.  We have seven people on my team.  I'm not swimming a small routine, which is fine by me.  It's already enough work swimming my team routine because it's extremely strenuous.  It's an extremely fast-paced, non-stop routine, so, by the time it's finished I'm good with just having to swim my team routine and not a small routine as well.

ANA Synchro:  How often does your team practice?

Gates:  Three times a week, which is less than my team back home. We practice two hours on Monday, three hours on Thursday, and three hours on Saturday.  So that's a lot less.  I can see the effect that has on my endurance, which kind of stinks because my team routine is so much harder here!  It's a very, very strenuous routine, and I am completely dead by the end of it.  So I'm missing that endurance that I wish I had.  Last year, and the year before that, and as far back as I can remember at least in high school, I really ate, slept, and lived synchro.  And so now on Sunday, when I don't have practice and I don't have homework, I say to myself “Whoa! What am I supposed to do with all this time? I have to find a hobby!”

ANA Synchro:  What kind of music do synchro athletes in France like to use for routines?

Gates:  Mostly about the same as back home.  They do have themes to most of their routines. The music to my team routine this year reminds me of aliens and extraterrestrials.  It's really, really weird, but it's kind of awesome at the same time!  They'll sometimes use classical music, and they'll sometimes use music with lyrics.  What I find funny is that, if they’re using music with English lyrics, I’m not sure they always know what the lyrics mean.  But it’s the same in the US.  We might use music that’s in Spanish or Russian, and we won't exactly know what the song is saying all the time either.  Sometimes, I'll hear some English lyrics that are either explicit or racy, and I can just imagine the faces of the judges back home if they heard it played for a routine!

ANA Synchro sends its warmest regards to Nautil Club Boucain

ANA Synchro:  Are the figures the same as the US?

Gates:  Yes, they're all the same.  My coach will say “Aurora” and my team will say, “which one is that again?”  But Aurora is something I've been doing for a while, so I know what she’s talking about.

ANA Synchro:  What has been the hardest thing about joining a French Synchro team?

Gates:  Definitely the language barrier. My coaches don’t speak English, so all the instruction is in French!  It can be really confusing and annoying at times when they say something, and I'll have to say “What was that word again?  I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  And you don’t want your coach thinking that you're not working hard because you don't understand something…like when everybody says “yeah, let's go” and they all go underwater, and I'm just left there on top of the water looking like an idiot because I didn’t know what was going on!  I can get frustrated and mad with myself if I end up getting yelled at because I didn’t understand something.  Luckily, in synchro, the pool deck is really loud most of the time anyway, so my coach can tell me with hand signals whether I was arched or that I piked, for example. 

ANA Synchro:  Are you fluent in French now?

Gates:  That's a tough question.  French fluency is not something that I can see myself ever achieving because there will always be something I can get better at.  There will always be more words to learn, more expressions, and more phrases.  I can conjugate better.  And so I would say I'm very proficient. I can get by just fine.  However, there are definitely moments when I don't know words.

ANA Synchro:  Do you automatically count to 8 really fast in French now or do you still count in English?

Gates:  I do both. They’re exactly the same for me now.  My teammates find it really funny when I count in English.  When I'm all alone, I'm in the habit of counting in English, but if I'm counting with my team, we all count in French.

ANA Synchro:  Have you had a meet yet?

Gates:  Yes, we just had our first meet this weekend!  <big smile!> It was extremely nerve-wracking for me!  My first meet in France!  Definitely a marked point in my life!  We got first in team, which was so awesome for me. I was so excited to blow the competition out of the water.  We had a score of 65, and the next team down had a 63.  I know a lot of people would look at that and say “that's nothing,” but, to me, that was a really big deal!  I came in 15th in figures, which wasn't my best figures day.  But I did all-right.  I'm going to look to advance next time.

Land drilling is done differently in the US and France.

ANA Synchro:  Any other similarities or differences that you'd like to share?

Gates:  Yes.  The way they land drill here is all in reverse compared to what we do in the US!  They land drill with their arms out in front of them, and it's really weird to me.  I really had to adjust the way I land drill.  Now, my teammates say I speak both land drilling languages!  Competitions are also much more relaxed, I think.  And it threw me off at first when the judges didn’t say “go” to start figures.  And my teammates find it so cute when I cheer in English because I don’t know how to cheer in French.  All they say is “Allez!” and I say “this is boring – I’m going to mix it up!  I’m going to cheer in English!”  They find that so funny!

ANA Synchro's 16-19 athletes with a message for Gates :-)

ANA Synchro:  Any final thoughts?

Gates:  I really love it here.  I have an awesome team.  I have a good coach.  She's nice and she's funny, but she definitely scares me – in a good way.  We’re really working hard.  I’m mentally preparing myself to die in practice this week because we have to get down to business before our next meet. We have a two-week vacation coming up, and in the second week, we will have seven practices in a row.  That's going to be so rough!  I'm just really looking forward to the rest of this season.  We’ll have French Nationals in May.  And then we have a big show the 20^th of June which my parents are going to be able to see, so I’m really excited!  They'll be able to see me swim in France!  

Annual ANA Synchro Show – A Lot of Work, but a Lot of Reward!

Smiles are bigger and energy is higher when performing
for friends & family at the annual ANA Synchro show!

Last month, ANA Synchro hosted its annual show at the Andover/North Andover Y.  We are thrilled to announce that this year’s production, Defying Gravity, surpassed last year’s box office record and introduced synchronized swimming to many new fans in the community!

Putting on three performances like we do is a huge, annual, undertaking.  Is it worth it?  The coaches could have easily just worked with the athletes to prepare for the next competition.  The volunteers surely could have found other things to do with their time!  And the Y could have experienced just another calm weekend pool schedule. 

We asked a number of people involved in the show in different capacities their opinion on why we do a show.  Not be a spoiler, but the consensus was overwhelmingly positive in spite of the work!  Check out the different perspectives of the people we asked:

ANA Synchro athletes develop close bonds
by swimming all together at the annual show. 

Maxie Zimmerman, Athlete, Senior Team:  The show is a very fun event for the girls.  We all put a lot of work into the show, but it definitely pays off when show time comes around and we get to show off our routines and how great a sport synchro is!  I think we all love the show so much because it is the one time of year when we get to swim with not only our team of 8 people, but with all of our ANA sisters!  It brings all of us so much closer as a team!  

Audiences, and especially the athletes,
enjoyed seeing five coaches perform
an exhibition swim.  They still have it!

Leah Pinette, Head Coach (and someone who has been in her share of shows over the years!):  The show is a very fun event for the girls.  They’re performing just because they love the sport and want to share it with the community.  And it actually really helps us for competition because it closely simulates a competition environment – much more so than we’re able to achieve in an ordinary practice.  Even without the scoring pressure, the athletes will still get nervous because they want to do well in front of their friends and family.  The show gives them an important chance to learn how to control those nerves.  It definitely helps them bond so that when they do go to compete, they are a stronger team.  Not all that coincidentally, our Age Group athletes had an important qualifying meet the very next weekend after the show, and I’m happy to say all of them moved forward to the next round, on their way to Age Group Nationals later this summer.  The show was a nice warm-up for that.

Novice athletes get ready to show their stuff
in their first ANA Synchro show!

Ken and Marsha Cordio, first-year parents of a novice athlete:  We thought that the show was a great way to end the season for the novices, with an event that was very entertaining for all demographics.  Our daughter really enjoyed the opportunity to perform for her family and friends.  The show really educated our extended family about the sport, but in a thoroughly entertaining way.  We were so proud of and impressed with what the novice team could do!  

ANA Synchro teaches teamwork and other important life
skills - all in a fun, youth development-oriented environment!

Maureen M., Long-time Parent:  I saw my first show 9 years ago.  It really shows the heart of the Y people and how their programs shape and transform the lives of the people who are involved in them. Synchronized swimming has taught our daughters more than how to be great athletes. It has taught them so many life lessons about friendship, family, hard work, disappointment, conflict resolutions just to name a few.  It has been a vital part in making them into the strong, confident, healthy, happy, productive individuals that they are. I am so grateful for all the Y has done for our family.  I see the show as a way the swimmers and families can give back to the Y and show what a wonderful program we have and get others involved in the Y's programs.  

ANA Synchro athletes
develop confidence at the Y!

Alex Turek, Executive Director of the Andover/North Andover Y:  There are a few reasons the show is so important to the Y.  First, it is a great way to bring people into the branch that may never have been here before or know what we have to offer.  Second, we see the rich tradition associated with the show and with Marilyn Fitzgerald starting the team so long ago.  What a great way to honor our early beginnings in the sport!  But more than either of those, is the opportunity for the girls to showcase their talents in front of a crowd.  There is nothing like performing in public to boost one’s self-confidence and build character.  That’s what we are all about! 

Girls as young as 6 years old can join ANA Synchro!
Check our website for the next "Learn to Synch" class!

  Kate D’Ambrosio, Aquatics Director (and former synchronized swimmer herself!):  I think it’s so important for us to put on our annual Synchro show.  First, it’s a great way to get more information out there about what exactly synchronized swimming is and how difficult a sport it is!  Second, it’s a great way for the girls to showcase all their hard work for family and friends.  Third, it also shows young girls some of the different opportunities there are after swim lessons. So many kids track towards swim team because they don’t realize that there is another option.  The show highlights how much fun synchro can be, and it can really inspire younger kids.

Synchronized swimming - a unique and beautiful sport.

Zsuzsa Belhazy-Kovacs, Veteran Coach of ANA Synchro:  Our show is a cohesive piece of work that brings everyone – parents, athletes and coaches – together, with significant help from the Y, to run our biggest community event and fundraiser of the year.  It allows everyone to participate and shine, regardless of their skill level, and be a part of a larger, integrated whole.  The athletes display not only excellence in the water, but sportsmanship, kindness, cohesive action, and lots and lots of fun.  All of this shines through every single performance, creates a very positive vibe, and attracts new athletes and their parents to our unique and beautiful sport.

A final dramatic solo swim for
 this graduating senior!

Gloria McNamara, Captain and Graduating Senior:   As a swimmer, the show means a lot to me. It's an opportunity for our friends and family to support the team and experience synchro as a performing art!   I don't think the audience realizes how much work goes on behind the scenes, but it's an amazing experience working with the entire team at once. I especially love seeing all the younger girls swimming next to the older girls. It does get stressful at times, but I think that the team, as a whole, really bonds through the experience.

The ANA Synchro show is an awesome team
and community event!  Join us next year
for the 38th annual show!

Readers….how about you? What benefits do you see for the athletes? Have you ever been part of a major production like the ANA Synchro Show? What benefits do you see for the athletes? For the volunteers? Let’s hear your stories in the comments section!

ANA Synchro – You Start as Friends, You Graduate as Sisters

Last month, we interviewed recent ANA Synchro alum Alice Rodgers about what she likes about coming back to coach on her college breaks.  Here is Part 2 of our interview:

ANA Synchro:  How did you get involved with ANA Synchro?

Alice Rodgers:  My friend Caitlyn, who was already on the team, brought me to “Bring a Friend to Synchro Day” when we were both in third grade.   At the time, I did swim lessons and dance.  I didn’t really like dance, but I loved the music. The music was the most fun.  So when I tried synchro, I remember being in the pool and thinking, “they get to dance to the music??!!”  I came to the show that year, and I was enamored.  I felt I really needed to try this.

Alice (far right) with some "friends" at the beginning
of her synchro career, including another recent alum,
Laina Gray, second from left!

ANA Synchro:  What do you remember from your first year?

Alice Rodgers:  I tried out for novice, and we swam to “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!”  And I remember being in the show that first year.  My most vivid memory is from the rehearsal.  I remember the lights going off in the pool, and I was shocked!  I didn't know they could do that!  I wasn't sure if I should open my eyes underwater because it was pitch black. It was so scary, but it was so much fun too. I remember thinking, "Wow! This is so intense! This is awesome! I want to do this!"  And then the next year I swam with the Intermediates, and we swam to “Jungle Book”.  It was great!

ANA Synchro:  What would you tell young girls (and their parents) who are considering synchro as a sport?

Alice Rodgers:  Synchro has just the same amount of struggle and strife, (and drama sometimes!), as any other sport.  For me, lifelong friendships is the coolest thing I got out of this sport.  I'm sure lots of sports contribute to your daughter's ability to build and maintain lifelong friendships, but I did not have literal sisters until I came to this team.  And I have left with people that I view as siblings in a way I couldn’t possibly comprehend.  Even after synchro they are still my closest friends.

We’re also not internally competitive as some other sports because you really do have to swim all together, requiring a unique kind of teamwork.  The common goal is to succeed, and, to do that, everyone has to be as one to be able to do the same thing in the water.  And there is something that is so weird and special about breathing at the exact same time as seven other girls to music. You wouldn’t think it because it sounds just weird, but after a certain while, when you realize you are doing it, you say to yourself, “Wow!  That's eight human beings who are taking their breath, which is the most important thing we do consciously, at the same time.”  That's pretty crazy.

Alice (standing, middle-right) with her "sisters" in
one of her final team performances at the annual show.

ANA Synchro:  Any final thoughts?

Alice Rodgers:  ANA Synchro has improved as a team so much since my first year as a novice.  The girls I’m coaching today are so much better, I think, than we ever were!  I remember going to our first nationals and seeing the caliber of teams from the west coast, and that made us want to work so much harder. We were so determined after that.  And, two years later, we made finals at nationals for the first time, and that was a huge deal.

I look at the most successful girls on the team, and there’s a certain amount of natural talent there.  But I don’t believe for a second that anyone without the natural talent can’t achieve the exact same thing provided she’s working extremely hard for it.  The really young girls who come to our team who did gymnastics or dance and already have their splits, for example, can just come here and maintain that flexibility.  I only got my split down for the first time in my whole life as a junior in high school.  That’s very, very unusual.  But I got my split that year because I was on the senior team and I desperately, desperately wanted it.  So, to the girls, I would say that your ability to improve drastically in this sport is completely determined by your willingness to work for it – 100% willingness.

Of course, it's not enough to just want something; you have to have someone to show you the path to get there.  And, with Head Coach Leah Pinette, we have a great person to show us!

ANA Synchro is hosting its next “Bring-A-Friend” Day on Sunday, April 6th. Please Email us at synchroana@gmail.com for more information.

Also, ANA Synchro will hold its Annual Show on April 26th and 27th. We invite you to see our novices, intermediates, age groups, senior team, and even our outstanding coaches swim exciting routines to show their stuff in the water. Maybe your daughter, like Alice, will be inspired to join ANA Synchro! Tickets are available now at the front desk of the Andover/North Andover YMCA, 978-685-3541. See our fabulous poster with all the details by clicking here: http://anasynchro.org/meets/2014Show/index.php

ANA Synchro is the competitive synchronized swimming team of the Merrimack Valley YMCA’s Andover/North Andover Branch.  To visit the ANA YMCA’s website, click here: http://andover.mvymca.org/ANASynchro