Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 19, 1990 TAG: 9007200158
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB McLELLAND CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But he still has a quality that has always made him a winner in his profession - he is still a "pusher," one who is most demanding in his quest to get the best from his young charges.
"If you don't demand the best just like in any sport, you are not going to get it. Sometimes, kids really don't know what they are capable of doing. You have to push them to make them do their best," Hartsook said recently as he completed a 2 1/2-hour practice with his 154-member Elks Club swim team.
Hartsook's team is preparing for the Roanoke Aquatic Association's annual Duane Whitenack Meet July 27-28 at LancerLot Fitness Center. Twenty teams with 1,200 swimmers will be competing.
Hartsook began swimming competitively at Castle The real battles and satisfactions in life come when you accomplish something you didn't think was possible. Leo Hartsook Swim coach Rock Swim Club when he was 13 and still competes to add points for his Elks Club team. Although he started swimming before the formation of the RVAA in the days of the old City-County Meets, he was and still is regarded as one of the area's best in the breaststroke.
He started coaching in 1970 at the now defunct Mountain View Swim Club. A year later he coached at Hunting Hills Country Club and has coached at four other clubs, including the Elks Club, where he took over the reins this spring.
But his coaching was interrupted after he injured his arm in an auto accident. Since returning to coaching in 1982 at Montclair Swim Club, he has been the aquatic boss at Olympic Park, Stonegate and now the Elks Club.
"When I first started coaching, I was often just winging it," Hartsook said. "I wasn't sure of myself, and I really had no definite practice plans. I just kept hunting for something that would work."
But even his early swimmers respected him for his ability and suffered through his demanding practices.
"Oh, he was tough," said Robin M. Nichols, one of the members of Hartsook's first Mountain View team. "He was really mean and worked us hard. But he did get into the water and show us what he meant and how to do things. I hated him and loved him at the same time. We didn't realize it at the time but he made us all better swimmers and people."
Many of those remarks are echoed by his swimmers today.
"He's good, really good," said Dabney Edwards, 11. "He makes you want to do your best all the time."
Natalie Bartgis, 6, said Hartsook puts a lot of "fun stuff" into practices. "He cheers for us when we win, and he pats us on the back when we lose."
Trent Johnson, 11, said Hartsook "makes us all work hard but it makes you feel special when you win or accomplish something."
Hartsook says "you might know a lot about swimming and all the new techniques but you are not a good coach unless you can communicate with your swimmers. Each swimmer is different, and you have to find out what gets each motivated."
The RVAA, he said, has made many notable strides in recent years. He cited the addition of a division for the older swimmers as a stride but added, the season is too short and does not include enough distance races.
Hartsook said he has great respect for his fellow coaches at the other 19 pools in the Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association. "They are really behind the program or they wouldn't be doing it," he explained.
"It's just too bad that we [the RVAA] can't keep them all into coaching."
Hartsook owns his own businesses - two Frame 'n Things and Gallery stores in Roanoke - and can manage to take time off for his coaching, but he said, "there are many who are not so fortunate."
"Many times we lose good young coaches . . . when they get out of college and go to work."
Hartsook, who has three paid assistants, said he tries to vary the practice routine and use fun games and relay events to break the monotony.
He said the Elks Club has a wide range of swimmers and abilities. The youngest swimmer is 4 and the oldest compete in the 45 and over division. It is not unusual for four members, including parents, to compete on the team.
Hartsook recently took on added coaching duties. He handles the Y-Brats team - 70 boys and girls who practice at the YWCA from October through March and compete in selective meets throughout the area. The team practices several times a week and doesn't have the same demands or intensive level as does the Gators, who practice daily at the LancerLot Fitness Center and compete in more events.
The thrill of coaching swimming, Hartsook said, is "not seeing one of your swimmers win a medal, but the feeling you get when you see one of your's improve his or her time."
The toughest enemy in swimming or in any sport is not your opponent, he said. It is "yourself. The real battles and satisfactions in life come when you accomplish something you didn't think was possible."
by CNB