by Mark Rauterkus, Head Swim Coach at Plum High School
Both the boys and girls swimming teams at Plum finished among the sweet-16 at last year’s state championships. Plum swimming, like that of most of the other programs throughout the area, is as strong as ever. Good programs stretch from Penn Hills, to Kiski Area and local bragging-rights encompass the state-champions, North Allegheny.
High school swimmers and divers look forward to the WPIAL meet and advancing to states. For serious athletes, it is a big-deal to compete at WPIALs. This year, the WPIAL championships were split into two different meets, one for large schools and another for smaller schools.
The kids on today’s scholastic teams know that to be good, it takes year-round involvement and plenty of additional practice beyond the school-team season. The club swimmers and divers rule at the championship meets. For decades, the champion athletes could be found on the club teams which offer year-round training. Everyone knows that the best way to reach the finals in swimming or diving is to stay in shape and practice well beyond the short, 4-month high school season. Hard work pays off in swimming, and it will continue to do so for many years to come.
In the 1960s, many of the suburban and rural schools did not have swim teams. And in the near future, the swim team structure in place today in many of our area schools might die. Today, many of the swim teams are alive, but a majority are choking and could be in their final twilight hours.
Don’t get me wrong. Competitive swim racing, and the equally important aquatic sports, are here to stay. However, things are bound to be quite different in the years to come.
“I don’t think diving has a chance in the long-term, said Scott Klugh, Shaler’s diving coach. “When I was a kid, if a school had enough people to do an activity, it would start something, even if it was intra-murals at first. Now the administrators at the schools are worried about money.”
Communities will continue to operate their facilities and realize a return on its investments, but community leaders will further emphasize programing and educational enrichment, rather than the recreational benefits. The trend toward more independent coaches will lead to partnerships in the schools and at the pools in due time.
Plum built its pool in 1976 and Penn Hills started its team in 1962. In the older years, kids swam at the Ys and in the summers.
Back in the 1950s, the good teams were in the City of Pittsburgh where swimming pools were in the schools. Vandergrift High also had a pool and a team in its old school, which became part of Kiski Area in 1963. Obviously, swimming pools and swimming teams go hand-in-hand and as the modern high schools in the area were built, they included the pool within the school facilities.
Today’s exceptions are Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic who bus their teams to practices and survive with rented pool time.
Robert Kozak was a Pittsburgh resident and former, City Swimming Champion in the past period of time. Kozak recently retired after working a career in the printing trade and moved to the North Hills. Kozak says he thoroughly enjoys swimming at the N.A. pool in the evenings and weekends.
In the 1940s, butterfly wasn’t in the rulebooks and the 220-yard race was competed at A.A.U. Nationals.
In those times, the war was near, and it touched everything, including swimming. For competition, the focus was the U.S.A. against the world. The swim races reflected the times of society.
In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, the competitive focus became more localized and pitted one school against another. In the 1980s and 1990s, the competitive drive was often found in face-to-face settings, often among classmates. In today’s competitive swimming meets, it is rare to find a school or a team getting an overtly competitive focus of beating an arch-rival. In recent years, the competitive drive has turned to the individuals to better their own personal records.
Individually, some awesome talent and excellent results are being posted in the aquatic sports at schools. But the gap between the competitors is huge.
At Plum, there are no “try-outs and cuts” to make varsity teams. In lean years, Plum does not have enough students on the team to complete a meet line-up. Plum does not have many male divers. Anyone who shows-up for practice can make the swimming team.
It is common to see the star swimmers lap the field. A 55-second race for some finds others finishing in 1-minute-55-seconds. The best athletes are getting better and better while the lower-end seem to be getting progressively worse.
Chris Troilo, Kiski Area Swim Coach in 1990s said, “With better training and better preparation, the kids are going faster and faster. Swimming has less in quantity but more in quality.”
Head-to-head, close races are rare. In swimming, the clock is an objective judge and improving one’s time is where self-satisfaction occurs, not in winning.
The future for swimming needs to stress personal excellence. Swim teams should be incubators for excellence. With a shift in athletics away from the team concepts, coaches and athletes can get individualized attention and develop personal bonds. Teams with 3 or 6 or less than 12 members are more common.
Team sports needing large numbers of participants will flounder or have to adapt in the future. The best athletes will compete in individual sports. Plus, professional swimming is in its infancy. Other professional leagues are starting to diminish, obviously in attendance, but also in TV viewers.
In the future, athletic departments in schools will not be able to boast valid win-loss records because the competition will be too diverse and unreliable.
Swimming is an ideal environment to teach and experiment with high-level learning. The technical, physical and motivational components of the aquatic sports are demanding and require year-round attention. The fundamental lessons in ethics, decision-making, analysis and performance are difficult concepts to teach and study. The lessons of hard-work and fitness at the pool transfer beyond the athletic arena and into everyday life.
In the future, let’s utilize swimming pools and coaches with vision to capture the imaginations and to inspire greatness in some of our students.
Mark Rauterkus, was the Head Swim Coach at Plum High School, and was the publisher of the Sports Support Syndicate, an independent, small-press in Pittsburgh. The SSS published cutting-edge books on sports-participation. Mark has coached swimming state-record holders in five different states. In Mark’s first and second years of coaching swimming at Plum, the girls team finished in 2nd place at the WPIAL championships in 1992 and 1993.
Part One:
Opening Letter
Mark Rauterkus
Publisher & Founder
Sports Support Syndicate, Inc.
108 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203-1226 USA
Office: 412-481-2497
Fax: 412-481-2540
Orders: 800-869-0758
April 13, 1993
Mathews Printing
Pittsburgh, PA
Dear Paul Mathews and
Other Important Players at Mathews Printing,
I’d like to come and work with you. It is my intention to present this proposal to you, and, in turn, become a full-time, long-term employee of Mathews Printing. I hope you will allow me the opportunity to explain my vision and sell myself to you.
As a publisher of an active, independent, small press, my arrival at Mathews as an employee means I’ll be bringing projects, ideas, ambitions and experiences. When these activities become properly engaged with you, together we can build a dynamic and profitable publishing/printing solution. Furthermore, I have thought through the benefits and scope of these ventures. I’m sure this win-win arrangement will do wonders for your business.
As I approach Mathews Printing with my projects in tow, Mathews Printing will have to open the door and expand its business. I suggest the formation of a new division within Mathews Printing, to be called, Points Press. My new role and job title would be director of Points Press.
I’m excited about our possibilities. I am anxious to go to work and put my skills into place among Mathews’ resources. I’m thrilled to be in a position to bring my talents and efforts to a “company” setting. I’ve been a lone, entrepreneur for the majority of my professional years. Not only have I been financially drained, but I’m also eager for on-the-job companionship and a being able to contribute to a larger sense of corporate identity. My stepping to Mathews could be just what I’m looking for, and Mathews Printing will realize plenty of new business orders and obtain a new stream of revenue and profits. I believe this plan is ideal for both of us.
In the last weeks, I’ve pull together lots of plans that I would like to convey to you. I met with Paul, and he gave me a sense of direction. Now, I’d love to get started and find myself on the job in a matter of days. There are plenty of rich opportunities and challenges I’d like to tackle together.
Looking forward to us meeting again.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Rauterkus,
Publisher, Sports Support Syndicate
Not sure this was even delivered.
Sports Support Syndicate’s
proposal to the brand
I. Benefits For brand.
A. The xxxx increases sales by $200,000 a year and profits by $95,000.
B. The brand expands it’s product-line to include “intelligence products” (i.e. publications).
C. The brand's logo and sales materials are prominently displayed on the products packaging throughout the life of the product.
D. Following the exclusive-period, the chosen Syndicate products, which carry The brand logo, are sold in alternative markets; such as bookstores, magazines, and sports dealers.
E. The brand takes a leadership role in the minds of the consumers.
F. The brand joins the marketing trend of advertising inside books.
G. The brand utilizes the talents of its advisory coaches in meaningful, product related tasks without having to expend energy in managing these projects.
H. The brand can refer all author inquiries directly to the Syndicate for future product-development proposals.
I. The brand can pick-and-choose from a selective list of excellent, well-researched products available to the Syndicate.
J. The Syndicate products allow The brand the opportunity to enrich the sports-specific knowledge of The brand’s customer base. Informed and smarter consumers become more active and dedication to their recreational activity.
K. The Syndicate products allow the brand to teach and reach entry-level participants about subtle issues in their sports activities.
L. The brand can choose to either end or extend the agreement with the Syndicate following the first year of operation.
M. The brand and Syndicate can grow in future years and extended product offerings into a variety of additional sports
after the first year including: Water Polo, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Triathlons, Cycling, Aerobic Fitness, Running, Track & Field, Volleyball, Crew, etc.
N. The Syndicate products give salespeople another type of hook and interaction with potential customers.
O. The brand has a no-risk purchase plan with a guaranteed supplier at a minimal expense.
P. The brand becomes a cutting-edge resource to the sports community without any of the research and development expenses.
II. Agreement Details
A. The brand dedicates one-half page of their catalog to promote two products produced by the Swimming Support Syndicate.
1. If the contract is extended in future years, the catalog’s page-space size will be adjusted.
B. The Syndicate provides professionally-prepared, camera-ready art for the half-page promotion in The brand catalog.
1. This art can be used by the brand’s art director. However, the catalog art-director can illustrate and promote the products however The brand feels appropriate.
2. The Syndicate’s art is provided as a suggestion and cost-saving alternative for the brand.
C. The brand purchases products from the Sports Support Syndicate under the terms of a risk-free buying contract.
1. The Syndicate will inventory all products to minimize The brand cost for stock and inventory.
2. The Syndicate will credit or buy-back all unsold and returned items to protect The brand from all wasted stock.
3. The Syndicate products will carry a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee for customers.
a) The Syndicate will pay a $5.00 fee to The brand (or The brand dealers) for their time to process all money-back guarantees from customers.
b) The returned products need to be shipped to the Syndicate.
4. The Syndicate will supply products to The brand in a 14-day delivery schedule. The Syndicate will insure prompt delivery and the elimination of all back-orders.
D. The brand will have a one-year period for exclusive sales for the chosen Syndicate products.
1. The brand will have the opportunity to extend the exclusive period with one option year if the product’s sales meet base-line projections and the product’s catalog promotion continues.
2. After the exclusive period, the Syndicate will continue to supply the product to brand under the existing sales terms.
3. After the exclusive period, the Syndicate can expand the product’s sales to include other distributors, dealers and markets in addition to The brand .
4. The Syndicate reserves the right to operate it’s own Order Center and sell the exclusive products to Syndicate retail customers.
E. The Syndicate will research and prepare a complete report to The brand six months following the first catalog mailing.
1. The Syndicate will review the sales activities and profitability of the new venture.
2. The Syndicate will present all the options for product offerings for the second year of operation.
III. Product Descriptions
A. Overview
1. This first year, the Syndicate presents two products in swimming. One product is designed for individual swimmers, the other product is designed for teams and coaches.
2. In future years, the Syndicate can present products in many activities. The high-sales products can remain in the catalog for more than one year.
B. SprintSalo’s Practice Companion
1. Author, David C. Salo
a) Dave Salo is a scientist, and he has done a controlled study for The brand on swim suit performance. He is a personable writer and advocate of the Low-Yardage/High-Intensity Training which won Paul Blair a National Team Title and keeps Brad in top sprinting form at the Master’s level.
b) Forward will be written by Rowdie Gaines, former world record holder and Olympic Gold Medal swimmer.
2. Package Includes:
a) SprintSalo book (included for your review)
(1) 92 pages
(2) softcover
(3) chapters on physiology, workout design, glossary and practices.
b) Workout cards
(1) The 24 double-sided, water-proof workout cards. One sample workout card is included.
c) The brand Catalog
(1) A custom catalog can be printed especially for the SprintSalo package if you choose not to use the full catalog.
d) A pair of swim goggles shrink wrapped into a top pocket on the outside of the package.
e) Everything is contained in an attractive, colorful case suitable for retail display.
3. Prices
a) Retail Price = $35.00.
b) The Price for brand ’ Dealers = $20.00.
c) The brand ’ Factory Price $15.00.
4. The Author made more than 150 advance sales of the $10.00 workout book with a one-line mention in the back of his Swimming World column.
C. Tide Teamwork
1. Author, Don Gambril and Jonty Skinner
2. Target market is swimming coaches and sports scientists.
3. Package Includes:
a) 250 page, softcover book
b) optional computer data disk for $25.00 on mail-in offer directly to the Syndicate.
4. Prices
a) Retail Price = $29.95
b) The Price for brand ’ Dealers = $10.00
c) The brand ’ Factory Price = $5.95
IV. Projected Sales Figures
A. SprintSalo sells 5,000 units
1. Price of $35.00 x total sales = $160,000. gross sales.
2. Cost of $15.00 x total sales = $75,000. product costs.
3. Sales Profits from SprintSalo = $85,000.
4. Cost of quarter page in The brand catalog = ?
B. Tide Teamwork sells 2,000 units
1. Price of $29.95 x total sales = $59,900.
2. Cost of $5.95 x total sales = $11,900.
3. Sales Profits from Tide Teamwork = $48,000.
4. Cost of quarter page in The brand catalog = ?
V. Background of the Sports Support Syndicate
A. The Syndicate has an extensive business plan which can be sent to The brand for review, if you desire.
B. Company Highlights
1. The Sports Support Syndicate, recently formed by Mark Rauterkus, was established to fill a need in the marketplace as a distributor of “Sports Intelligence Products.”
2. The Syndicate product-line includes more than 10,000 titles, believed to be the largest offering of sports-related products anywhere.
3. The Syndicate thrives by building double-win relationships with associates business.
a) Sport-specific magazine publishers are on the growing list of publishers who are taking an active interest in the Syndicate’s services.
b) Points Press serves as the Syndicate’s Order Center.
c) Authors interact with the Syndicate to create specific product development items while capitalizing on the profits.
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