As a member of the Canadian Swimming Coaches Association board of directors Lance Cansdale had a guiding hand in helping the CSCA develop into a robust, professional organization.
“The biggest accomplishment I’m most proud of was to move our program into a more value-added tool, as well as a professional organization for swim coaches in our county,” said Cansdale. “I think we’ve really done that.
“We’ve really moved far in coach education opportunities, funding opportunities, mentorship opportunities. Our video library is second none.”
Cansdale, 62, a former CSCA president, is stepping down from the board after serving two terms. The first from 2009 to 2010 and again beginning in 2017.
Cansdale characterized Canada’s swimming coaches are a diverse community with a common goal.
“Truly we are a profession,” said the Halifax resident who is head coach of Dalhousie Varsity Swimming and technical director of Swim Nova Scotia. “We are a bunch of individuals who should have an avenue in which to share their point of views.”
The CSCA has become a voice for swim coaches across the country, able to advocate for its members when working with entities like Swimming Canada.
“We’re definitely more active,” said Cansdale. “Our association is more valuable and multi-faceted. “We’ve gone from sort of a storefront, Internet kind of thing to actually delivering. We’ve got more stuff on the stove right now that will make us of even more value to the coaching and swimming community as a whole.”
Over the years Cansdale has seen the CSCA mature into what he considers one of the top four swim coaches associations in the world.
“It’s a lot easier to step to the table as an organization to bring information forward when you feel what is going on at the grassroots level,” he said. “Because we’re doing very well internationally, and we have a pretty good system at the national office, we can lend a little more credence to the words on the deck.”
Doing the hard work to enhance the association was made easier because of the dedication and collaboration of the board members.
“Everybody has got an idea that they’d like to see us do,” said Cansdale. “Some of them are really good ideas and some of they are a little bit out there. As far as the board goes, it’s probably the best board I’ve ever been on and the most supportive. Our board tends to be very liked minded.”
He praised the work done over the years by Peter Carpenter and Vlastimil Cerny, two long-time board members that are also stepping down.
“They’ve been very important,” Cansdale said. “Everybody had a responsibility and for us to be successful, everybody had to hold up their pillar and they really did.”
Cansdale, a former executive director at Swim BC, has spent most of his life involved in coaching. Taking a role in the CSCA was a natural step.
“I felt it was important and I needed to give back,” he said. “My experience was broad enough that I had a certain view of the culture of swimming. The way that swimming was working in Canada, and how important it was, not just to succeed internationally but also to help our profession get better.
“Domestically if we get strong, it will then sustain a systematic approach to high-performance excellence.”
While he may be leaving the board Cansdale remains committed to helping the CSCA succeed.
“I’m available,” he said. “Even though I’m stepping down I have experience and I’m available to bounce issues off if necessary.”
Cansdale is confident the association remains in good hands with president Carl Simonson and other board members.
“I really think secession is key,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s always going to go in the same direction or the direction you want it to be in. For the most part, it’s kind of picked up where I left off as president and gone to greater heights with Carl as president.
“I think the best years of the board are still ahead of us. We’re still growing. I think in this life of uncertainness in the world, an organization that can be the bellwether of a profession is a good thing to have because there’s always support. “