Friday, December 24, 1999

Exiting Cannon Mac

Letter to the coaches that I hired, when CM couldn't find anyone to coach. 


Letter from a student who was new to the sport. Thanks Shannon!


Friday, December 03, 1999

Christmas Letter -- 1999

Happy Holidays 1999 from the Palmer/Rauterkus family
108 South 12th Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Mark@SportSurf.Net cvp@vms.cis.pitt.edu

This year has been full of family fun and adventure.

Catherine continued to hold two positions at the University of Pittsburgh. One as a faculty member in the Communication Science and Disorders Department -- teaching and running a research laboratory. The other as the Director of Audiology and Hearing Aids at the University Medical Center. A year into this new combination still shows a love of the challenge and the new responsibilities. Being recognized with the Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award was an honor this year.

Mark continued in his commitment to be home for Erik and Grant. They are happy, confident, and self-assured boys because of it. As if this isn't enough, Mark took on several social action projects throughout the year and became a regular on TV while addressing Pittsubrgh's City Council. Although not all of the causes went our way (it looks like they will be taking down Pitt Stadium), it made the whole family proud to know that Daddy was helping with his input into the future of the city. Mark's grumble, "Feudal Pittsburgh."

Mark started to venture back into swim coaching as Grant started pre-school three days per week in the fall. Our schedules don't always quite work, but coaching is clearly Mark's calling and the swimmers are lucky to have him back. Of course, his coaching never really stopped with Erik swimming width-wise across the pool and Grant jumping in and swimming to a waiting parent. Grant can now be heard calling from the side of the pool, "move back, move back" as he propels himself into the water. Mark went to San Diego for a coaching conference, renewing a lot of old friendships.

Erik is a bright, sensitive five-year old attending pre-school three days a week. Erik and Catherine just began Suzuki Violin and are having a wonderful time with it. A block away from our house is the Market House, a wonderful athletic programs for tykes. Erik has enjoyed baseball, soccer, and hockey as well as ice and in-line skating. Grant is a rough and ready two-year old attending the same pre-school and loving it that brother is only a classroom away. Grant has a wonderful sense of humor and keeps us in stitches most of the time. Judging from his sense of adventure and lack of fear, he also may be in stitches! Grant is part thud, part butterflyer. The boys spent many joyful summer hours in Grandma's back yard (across from our house) playing in the wading pool, discovering bugs, writing with chalk and playing with balls.

Last year was a home year -- and this year we traveled. We worked and visited coast-to-coast in 99.

In March, Catherine ventured to Vermont to lead a workshop. That was the first return there since Uncle Sam and Aunt Barbara got married. It went so well that another group asked for a return visit/lecture. So, the whole family went back to Vermont in the fall. It was a three state adventure that allowed a wonderful celebration of Erik's 5th birthday along with visits to Grandpa (Maine), Aunt Pat, Uncle Charlie, and cousin Sandy (Wellsley, MA), a close UMASS friend (P in Southborough, MA), and then finally Burlington, Vermont. Catherine spoke and the family got to catch up with cousin Susan.

Catherine had a great visit with Aunt Debbi in Florida and Aunt Debbi made it to Pittsburgh to see the rest of the family later in the summer. She is a special Aunt, Great Aunt, and Godmother to Grant.

Erik, Grant, and Mommy decided to take Daddy to Chicago for his 40th birthday in May. We traveled with a babysitter and had a wonderful celebration of Mark's birthday and our good friend's 10th wedding anniversary. We were able to catch up with Northwestern friends during the trip. After years of combining work and vacation, the family went to a week long camp: the Southern Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SUUSI). What a magical week for everybody - music, fun, spiritual enrichment. Best of all, cousin Cameron from Connecticut agreed to make the trip with us. Now we expect this to be an annual event.

October saw us back at Mark's sisters annual Hootenanny (eastern PA) and we all slept in a tent -- the boys loved it!

Another conference took Catherine to San Francisco in November and Ed, Lori (Erik's godparents) and Margaret and Gerrit Bratt were wonderful hosts during meeting breaks.

There were several nice visits with Uncle Bob who has a standing monthly call with Erik where they discuss the pros and cons of "The Force" and depending on droids. Both are big Star Wars fans!.

The coming year will see a family trip to Arizona for a little work and lots of play with friends who moved out there from Pittsburgh. The family also will wave bye to Catherine for another solo trip, to Chicago were she is in charge of the research portion of the national Audiology conference. In June 2000, Mark and Catherine are going without the boys to Prague and Vienna for a little work and play.

We hope you will let us know if you are coming near or by Pittsburgh - we'd love to see you.

The extended family was made larger by cousin Katie's birth. We are soon to add a baby from the Majewski family and one from the McLaughlin family. Erik and Grant will boast 11 cousins in all and every one of them fun to play with!

We will be bringing in the New Year with Grandma and Cousin Cameron who will come in from Connecticut. Have a happy, healthy, and safe Y2K.

Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Team Communication and Clarity

 On our first day of practice, Nov. 15, 2001, I passed out a 3 page listing of various activities and such for the team's knowledge.

The HS AD and both Principals got copies of this by Nov. 16. 

Here is one such change to that handout I've made -- so as to be "PERFECTLY CLEAR." 

Reactions and feedback welcomed. 

snip #1 --- A Lesson's Time and Space

There are no optional and no mandatory practices. Those terms hold us back. "Don't let the chains hold us back." Every event is a date. Always act with personal integrity. end snip #1 --- 

Please understand this: Nothing within my program has the designation of "MANDATORY." 

I tell the swimmers and their families that I try as best as possible to look at both the big picture and the small picture. If someone has out of town guest or even travels out of town on Thanksgiving -- fine -- I understand that. That is a look at the big picture of life. Visiting grandma in New York with a family trip is more important than being at a holiday practice. That is my approach. 

Furthermore, I want to know in advance in writing that the athlete is going to be away then -- however. I treat each practice/session/lesson like a "date." I don't like to be "stood up" on a date without advance notice. I want the athlete to tell me and leave me a note -- not the parent. 

This advance notice calls for personal integrity and being curious, I feel. There are fewer rules in my program -- but there are higher expectations as I'm going to hold the kids to higher behaviors from themselves by my expectations and my interactions with them. 

I don't have built in penalties for missed practices and such. I feel that in life, very little in life is "MANDATORY" and most of things are "optional." So too is the lifestyle of being an athlete and striving for personal excellence. 

People get to make choices in the real world. I want my program to be a spring-board to life -- and we want to develop skills for the athletes that are smoothly transferable to other life challenges. On the other hand, my swim program is NOT like an academic program or the operation of the H.S.

Many things in academics are MANDATORY. Rambling off. 

snip #2.

Sun. Nov 21 Join wrestlers at HS for gym and plyometrics at 1:00-2:00. Mark will be there. end snip #2

---- Notice, this event, has been changed on the "official" schedule. It now reads: 

snip #3 --- Sun. Nov 21 Opportunity to join wrestlers at HS for open gym at 1:00-2:00. Mark will be there. end snip #3 --- 

From my perspective, an open gym opportunity for the swim team and divers (as well as other in the greater HS community) -- when we are NOT going to the pool, when we are playing with another squad, when we are there for 1-hour, when it is on a SUNDAY, and when everything in my program is optional --- is NOT a practice. 

The remark from a page in the handbook said the following: 

3. No team representing a P.I.A.A. member school may practice or participate in any interscholastic athletic contest on more than six days in any calendar week during the regular season. Furthermore, this rule is easily side-stepped on many weeks of the season at many different schools when a swim teams compete in weekend meets within their "CLUB" setting. The HS coach has practices Monday through Friday and then the team swims a CLUB meet on Saturday and Sunday. Often the same coach is with the kids on the team(s) day-in-and-day-out months on end, yet alone never for 7 consecutive days. The reasoning -- and it is legit justifications -- is the fact that the HS team is not this CLUB team. Hence, everything is okay. 

Here, at CM, the kids are at a disadvantage because there is such a floundering club that has a counter-effect with the overall program. The kids at USC, BP, Mt. Lebo all have it much better than those at CM. All of those coaches are seeing all of their kids 7-days per week for weeks on end. 

At another time and place in my career, I recall years when I had two days off. One was Christmas, the other day off was Easter. On all other days I was working with the kids in some capacity. 

I am sure that Julie Rocks, a former coach, went to 2-day meets with some of the kids after a week of practices. I think we all agree that we want to be competitive and we want to be within the framework of the rules as well. Both are going to occur without doubt. And, we also need to keep a clear perspective on how we want to build the program for the future as I feel some of the program's infrastructure is in dire need of attention for long-term considerations. 

Hence, the serious attention to the passed memo with the highlighted area that came to me from the AD. 

I hope this makes sense. Thanks for listening.

Monday, November 15, 1999

Big Mac Swimming

Coaching Staff Bios for the Big Mac Winter Sports Program Book

The 99-00 season marks the start of a new era for Canon-McMillian Swimming and Diving program. Mark Rauterkus was hired as the varsity coach, and he assembled and recruited a new staff, including a new diving coach, Danielle, and two assistants, Shannon and Katie. Warm appreciation from the present staff goes to both, former coach, Julie Rocks, as her efforts helped to re-craft the positions, and the new AD, Dan Pallante.

Head Coach: Mark Rauterkus

Mark is ending a second mini-retirement from day-to-day swim coaching to lead this year's Big Mac team. Mark said, "I'm excited to be here -- and now I'm looking for long-term opportunities in coaching."

Mark began coaching in 1976, starting a NEW summer team in east-suburban Pittsburgh. He and fell in love with the sport as an assistant at Greater Pittsburgh Swim Club. He moved to become the head coach for the Athens (Ohio) Swim Club (3-years), assist the Ohio Univ. Men's team (4-years), and get a BS in Journalism (82). Mark went to Baylor Univ. (Texas) for grad studies in HPER as a teaching assistant/coach. Mark took the Peoria, Illinois team to #2 state finishes in both Age Group, and Senior Championships getting a couple of "spirit awards." Mark coached with Bradley Univ., Bernal's Gators in Mass. (then at Harvard), Evanston (IL), New Trier (IL), and Plum High School. In both seasons at Plum (early 90s), the girls team finished #2 in WPIAL Championships, each year winning 3 events with many All-America honors. Mark's swimmers have set state records in 4 states.

When not coaching, Mark has been a stay-at-home dad (recently), sports advocate and a publisher of cutting-edge sports participation titles, working on more than 100 various titles, including 12 swimming-specific books.

Mark hopes to build a program of excellence that includes activities beyond the pool, including a sports lecture series and many high-tech enrichment experiences for our team and community.

Mark and his family reside in Pittsburgh's South Side. Catherine V. Palmer, Ph.D., is the Director of the Eye and Ear Institute and a teacher/researcher at Pitt. Sons are Erik, 5, and Grant, 2 in Dec. 99.

Diving Coach: Danielle Waters

Danielle grew up in the North Hills, graduated from Hampton High School (92) and was a Hampton diver for four years. Danielle received a BS degree in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Ohio University. While at O.U. she was a member of the Division I diving team for four years, was a Mid American Conference meet qualifier three times, a NCAA qualifier, and a team captain.

Danielle attended grad school at the University of Pittsburgh from 1996-1998. While getting her Masters degree she coached the Hampton High School Diving Team (1997-1998).

Danielle got married in August, 1999, and lives in Bridgeville. She is currently a clinical audiologist for Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Assistant Coach: Shannon Pickett

Shannon, 22, is presently a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. She has a B.S. degree in Communication Disorders from Central Michigan University. She swam for fourteen years on a YMCA team where she was named MVP for four years and held many team records in various events. She also swam at the college level at Grand Valley State University for two years.

Shannon's coaching experience ranges from beginning swimmers to high school and was a private swim instructor for adults and children. She also coached for the Special Olympics and swam with the Deaf Olympic swim team. Shannon is very excited about the opportunities to work with swimmers this season.

Assistant Coach: Katie Moore

Katie, 22, is a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, pursuing a masters in Audiology. She has a B.S.ED. from the University of Georgia in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is a former high school and intramural college swimmer, having swam competitively for a total of twelve years.

Katie has experience coaching beginning and intermediate swimmers on club teams and in private lessons. Her coaching emphasis is in technique, stroke work, and conditioning. She is looking forward to an exciting and productive swimming season this year.