Even the most formidable athletes do not thrive on bodily strength alone. To reach Olympic-level success, physical talent must meet with mental discipline. Such a winning combo is seldom achieved without assiduous coaching — that’s where Beijing-bound Southern Methodist coaches Eddie Sinnott and Steve Collins come in.
SMU has produced a multitude of champion swimmers in the past decade or two, including 1998 Olympian gold medalist Ryan Berube and five-time Olympian Martina Moravcova. Both sing the praises of their respective coaches, who also happen to be our East Dallas neighbors.
Men’s head swimming coach Eddie Sinnott coached Berube, and today is managing the U.S. Men’s Olympic Swim Team. Sinnott says it takes a certain type of person to coach. “You have to want and be willing to help someone else achieve their dreams.”
And those dreams don’t necessarily mean Olympic Gold. He spent years coaching children, and then teenagers. Even at SMU, it isn’t as much about winning, he says, as it is getting better every day. “And that,” he says, “is what all my swimmers have in common.
“These guys are all out there working toward the same thing. Some are good. Some are OK. Some are not very good. Some are Olympians,” he says. “But if everyone is trying to be better than they were yesterday, they are all pursuing their own excellence. Therefore they are all working toward the same goal.”
Coach Steve Collins agrees that the shared pursuit of greatness makes the SMU swimming program exceptionally strong. “It’s the positive, enthusiastic, team-oriented program here that produces great individual successes.”
Collins’ Mustang squad has brought home an unparalleled 10 straight conference championships, plus eight conference Swimmer of the Year honors. He has coached SMU’s women’s team for 22 years and for a fourth time, Collins is coaching the Slovakian women’s Olympic swim team.
Moravcova, a swimmer for the Slovakian women’s team, says if Collins hadn’t recruited her, there’s “no way I’d still be competing.”
But for every champion swimmer these coaches lead, there are dozens of others who face disappointment or who fall short of their goals.
“Events like the Olympic trials are stressful,” Sinnott says. “About two percent make it. There’s a lot of crying. [As a coach], you are there to pick up the ones who fall and celebrate those who win.”
Every tear, however, is worth it, Sinnott says.
“When you are there [at the Olympics], you are at the top of the pyramid — you are witness to people achieving their dream.”
