“I have always felt that if you take care of the fundamental priorities (character and life skills), competitive success will result. And in the end, swimming success is not that important; life success is what we really want for our children.”-Coach Steve Roth

  To the editor:

    Sometimes in our busy world it is criti- cal to take the time to recognize those among us who stand tall.  It is appropriate to acknowledge those who look beyond themselves, who have vision beyond mere winning and losing and who are willing to make a personal investment in the charac-ter and life-long success of others.

    Such a person is Steve Roth, coach of the Newberg High School Swim Team,  the Chehalem Swim Team and the Chehalem Masters Swim Team.  Rated as a Level 4 Coach by the American Swim Coaches Association, Roth is in the elite top 10 percent of coaches in the country.  He stays current with technical develop- ment and coaching psychology in the sport, and thus regularly brings fresh per-spective and insight to the pool deck.

    He believes passionately that the sport can be used to teach young people charac- ter development and provide invaluable preparation for their adult lives.  He has demonstrated that swimming can help anyone --- of any age --- learn, achieve, and mature.  He has taken a stand time and again for integrity in sport, and for in- tegrity in life. In so doing, he has made an invaluable contribution to local swimming and fitness, as well as the character of our community.  By building a local U.S. Swimming Affiliate, increasing high school team participation, and expanding the Masters program, he has shown in the last 6 years that he know how to apply what he has learned.

NHS:  When Roth arrived at Newberg High, there was essentially no criteria in place for participation and lettering in swimming.  After surveying three leagues,

he developed attendance,  performance and academic guidelines that allowed stu- dents to develop vision, set goals and as- sume responsibility for attaining their goals, under his supervision.  He viewed the program as an opportunity for stu- dents to prepare for the kind of response- bility and accountability that they would soon assume as adults in the workplace and the community.  The results have been admirable.

    NHS girls:  Before Coach Roth came, the NHS girls had one dual meet (two schools) win in three years.  In the last six years, the girls swim team nearly quadru- pled in size,  had winning records in five of six years, and came within a half-point of winning their first-ever league title.   They were also recognized by the OSAA as Top Ten in academic performance.

    NHS boys:  The boys have also had winning records five of the last six years, and have broken school records each year, and had four performances considered for All- American during 1999.  They also re- ceived OSAA recognition for scholarship.

    CST:  Chehalem Swim Team is a local affiliate of U.S. Swimming, an organiza- tion that promotes swimming from 6- year-old novice to Olympian.  As such, CST is eligible to participate in area, league, state, regional, and national com- petitions.  Under Coach Roth, CST swim-mers have been among Oregon ’s Top 5 in each of the last six years.  The team has been represented continuously in junior and senior regional competition, and usu-ally sends as many as five swimmers each summer to Zone Competition, to compete against the best swimmers of 12 states.

    With community support, CST has pur- chased thousands of dollars of equipment shared (at no cost) with the Newberg High School swimming and water polo teams and with Chehalem Park and Recreation       District.  CST also hosts Special Olympics

Meets, and traditionally “adopts” an area family during the Christmas season. This is a direct reflection of Roth’s belief that  swimming in Newberg is a community ac- tivity.

    CMST: The Chehalem Masters Swim Team is a serious training program for all swimmers 19 years of age or older who  wish to compete within the scope of Unit- ed  States Masters Swimming, or who wish to develop/maintain optimal fitness. Under Roth’s leadership, the program has more than doubled in size; at least seven  swimmers have come into the program as complete novices and achieved technical competence, increased speed, and en- hanced fitness. Roth also encourages swimming as a family activity; at least five members have joined the Masters team after their children began swimming with Roth in CST.

    Roth has chosen to give the benefit of  His 23 years coaching experience to New- berg, not only to promote the sport of  swimming, but also to make an invest- ment in the youth of our community. On  behalf of past and present swimmers and  their families, we would like to take this  opportunity to thank him publicly, and to  express our deep gratitude for his efforts, his accomplishments, and for the high  standards that are his ongoing legacy.

      Lee Borgeas, Kathleen Buck, Bruce Cheney,Michael&Tammy Cookingham,

Aven and Susan Crisman, Rage and  Patty Crowley, Elijah Dickson, Alvin &

Jeanine Elbert, Jim Elliott, Scott and  PhyllisJones,Cheri O’Halloran, Eleanor

Reddick, Mike & Betty Sherman, Diane

White.