Saturday, June 3, 2023
Leadership in Action: Central Zone Summit and Beyond
If you know Annie Kramer and Zach Toothman, you would know they strive to represent the USA Swimming Central Zone at the highest level. The mantra ‘anyone, anywhere, can make a positive change’ came to life as the Central Zone leaders made their goal of enhancing the Local Swimming Committee (LSC) athlete representative experience a reality. In June 2022, the Central Zone hosted USA Swimming’s first athlete-led Leadership Summit.
With the goal of empowering well-rounded athletes and developing additional leadership skills for the betterment of an inclusive athlete body, past Central Zone Athlete Director Annie Kramer and former Junior Athlete Representative Zach Toothman led the working group that planned and hosted a successful event in Chicago, Illinois, serving 40 athletes from across the Central Zone. Kramer and Toothman began working together in 2020 when they were both elected to their respective positions within the Central Zone.
Kramer is a senior at the University of the Incarnate Word and a member of Oklahoma Swimming. She has served USA Swimming in various positions since 2017 and is the ex-officio Athlete Director for the Central Zone while holding a position on USA Swimming’s Athletes Executive Committee.
“The opportunity to work with the Central Zone on the 2022 Athlete Leadership Summit was the experience of a lifetime,” Kramer said. “It was rewarding to inspire and educate such passionate future leaders of the Central Zone and USA Swimming.”
Toothman is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University, studying chemical engineering, and a member of Lake Erie Swimming. He has served USA Swimming since 2019, beginning as an LSC Athlete Representative and elevating from Central Zone Junior Athlete Representative to the Central Zone Athlete Director.
As the current Central Zone Athlete Director and now co-chair of the Zone Directors’ Council, Toothman’s passion for service and leadership runs deep.
“I have always had a deep desire to strengthen the athlete voice across USA Swimming and provide fellow athletes with the opportunity to grow and learn,” Toothman said. “It has been rewarding working with Annie and developing an opportunity like the Central Zone Athlete Summit.”
“It was our vision to design an experience for our LSC athletes to develop connections across the zone,” Toothman said. “Watching attendees collaborate and learn from each other, taking so much information and experience back to their LSC was a dream come true for us.”
The dream of the Leadership Summit became a reality thanks to the endless support from the non-athletes in the Central Zone – Pam Lowenthal, Michael White, Ellery Parish, and Jay Chambers. Parrish and Chambers are part of USA Swimming’s Team Services Staff.
“Reach for the ceiling and we will be there to support you,” Lowenthal said when Kramer and Toothman presented the original idea for the Leadership Summit to the Central Zone board. With their support, Kramer and Toothman were off to create a unique leadership opportunity for the athletes in the Central Zone.
Getting Started:
Kramer and Toothman worked to recruit and register two to four athletes from each LSC in the Central Zone to attend the inaugural three-day event. After a successful virtual Leadership Summit experience in 2021, Kramer and Toothman were determined to create an experience that built upon that and more.
Broken down into three sessions, the attendees participated in content and programming with a focus on mental health, leadership styles, college recruiting and life after swimming. The content for each session was based on suggestions from the LSC athlete representatives and aimed to provide programming relevant to their unique position as student-athlete leaders.
Session Content:
One of the most well-received sessions on the athlete track, the mental health curriculum encouraged athletes to think about healthy ways to cope with uncontrollable and controllable elements within swimming and in life. Athletes in attendance learned how to write “If, Then” statements when dealing with adversity and setting healthy goals.
“At the end of the day, you are the only one who will ever truly understand your mind and body, which gives you the greatest opportunity to be kind to yourself which is why this session was my favorite session to present,” Kramer said. “I hope the athletes in attendance took these strategies home to their daily lives and shared new healthy strategies with their teammates.”
Other sessions from the Central Zone Leadership Summit focused on relevant leadership training elements. Athletes in attendance completed a leadership style questionnaire to see which leadership style they best identified with. After matching, the athletes learned the strengths and weaknesses of their leadership style and how they can best pair with other leaders to enhance those strengths and weaknesses.
Attendees were also given an LSC Athlete Representative Survival Guide they could customize and provide to their incoming athlete representatives. This tool empowers their successors and provides a resource for everything they need to know about being an athlete representative.
For high school athletes at the end of their senior year, a decision awaits: continue a swimming career in college or hang it up and pursue a new path.
Toothman led the athletes through an interactive session which explored introductory email design, meaningful question development for college coaches, collegiate competition, how to navigate SwimCloud and a Q&A panel with current college head coaches. Parish led a life after swimming and professionalism session, providing a foundation for their future career endeavors.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and disability awareness session included the importance of remembering your swim CAP (Connecting, Accepting, and Providing) when building connections with other athletes and non-athletes in their LSC and on their club team. Attendees learned best practices related to connecting deeper, accepting one’s similarities and differences, and providing for others. Central Zone Paralympian Keegan Knott spoke about her experiences and overcoming adversities in her life and in swimming.
A collaborative session run by former Central Zone athlete Jack Swanson reviewed the basics of LSC Governance and included an interactive planning session for attendees to construct a concrete plan for a project to bring back to their LSC.
Planning at the Summit that came to fruition includes Arkansas Swimming hosting a 12 and under leadership workshop, Lake Erie Swimming executing a successful service project initiative, Oklahoma Swimming building a joint leadership summit and practice day, and the Minnesota Swimming hosting their first-ever athletes showcase swim meet completely run by their Athletes Committee.
With input from Parrish and Chambers, a robust concurrent chaperone track was created. The chaperones in attendance also learned about mental health, LSC governance, DEI and disability.
Next Steps:
With support and consultation from the Central Zone leaders, similar leadership experiences are currently being created for the Eastern and Southern Zones.
“Ultimately, we want to have all four Zones participate in a Leadership Summit experience, allowing all athletes to reap the benefits from an event of this magnitude,” Toothman said. “We are on the right track and over the next few years, I believe we will be able to inspire so many athlete representatives collectively.”
Leaving Chicago in 2022, the excitement for the future of the Central Zone was palpable. The athletes were eager to return to their LSC and contribute to the growth of their athlete committees.
“We are looking towards putting on another successful Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2023” Toothman said. “With a focus on the athlete as a whole and new sessions covering online engagement, sports nutrition, and professionalism.
Kramer is now a member of the Athletes’ Executive Committee, so Toothman is working with the new Central Zone Junior Athlete Representative, Savannah Gurley from Michigan Swimming.
Planning for the 2024 Leadership Summit is also in motion, with plans to host the Summit in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“We are taking a different approach for our attendees so they can understand how USA Swimming functions as a National Governing Body and the role it plays,” Toothman explained. “Attendees will get the full Trials experience while learning from the dedicated staff within the sport.”
Kramer and Toothman have established a successful foundation for athlete representatives moving forward and the opportunities that can come from it will be sensational to watch unfold.
“Pam and I are so proud to watch our athlete representatives find their voice and create a legacy that will last for years to come,” White said. “They dream big and back it up with tireless hard work, inspiring everyone around them to be better.”
The future of the Central Zone looks bright in the hands of these young athlete leaders.
With the goal of empowering well-rounded athletes and developing additional leadership skills for the betterment of an inclusive athlete body, past Central Zone Athlete Director Annie Kramer and former Junior Athlete Representative Zach Toothman led the working group that planned and hosted a successful event in Chicago, Illinois, serving 40 athletes from across the Central Zone. Kramer and Toothman began working together in 2020 when they were both elected to their respective positions within the Central Zone.
Kramer is a senior at the University of the Incarnate Word and a member of Oklahoma Swimming. She has served USA Swimming in various positions since 2017 and is the ex-officio Athlete Director for the Central Zone while holding a position on USA Swimming’s Athletes Executive Committee.
“The opportunity to work with the Central Zone on the 2022 Athlete Leadership Summit was the experience of a lifetime,” Kramer said. “It was rewarding to inspire and educate such passionate future leaders of the Central Zone and USA Swimming.”
Toothman is a sophomore at Case Western Reserve University, studying chemical engineering, and a member of Lake Erie Swimming. He has served USA Swimming since 2019, beginning as an LSC Athlete Representative and elevating from Central Zone Junior Athlete Representative to the Central Zone Athlete Director.
As the current Central Zone Athlete Director and now co-chair of the Zone Directors’ Council, Toothman’s passion for service and leadership runs deep.
“I have always had a deep desire to strengthen the athlete voice across USA Swimming and provide fellow athletes with the opportunity to grow and learn,” Toothman said. “It has been rewarding working with Annie and developing an opportunity like the Central Zone Athlete Summit.”
“It was our vision to design an experience for our LSC athletes to develop connections across the zone,” Toothman said. “Watching attendees collaborate and learn from each other, taking so much information and experience back to their LSC was a dream come true for us.”
The dream of the Leadership Summit became a reality thanks to the endless support from the non-athletes in the Central Zone – Pam Lowenthal, Michael White, Ellery Parish, and Jay Chambers. Parrish and Chambers are part of USA Swimming’s Team Services Staff.
“Reach for the ceiling and we will be there to support you,” Lowenthal said when Kramer and Toothman presented the original idea for the Leadership Summit to the Central Zone board. With their support, Kramer and Toothman were off to create a unique leadership opportunity for the athletes in the Central Zone.
Getting Started:
Kramer and Toothman worked to recruit and register two to four athletes from each LSC in the Central Zone to attend the inaugural three-day event. After a successful virtual Leadership Summit experience in 2021, Kramer and Toothman were determined to create an experience that built upon that and more.
Broken down into three sessions, the attendees participated in content and programming with a focus on mental health, leadership styles, college recruiting and life after swimming. The content for each session was based on suggestions from the LSC athlete representatives and aimed to provide programming relevant to their unique position as student-athlete leaders.
Session Content:
One of the most well-received sessions on the athlete track, the mental health curriculum encouraged athletes to think about healthy ways to cope with uncontrollable and controllable elements within swimming and in life. Athletes in attendance learned how to write “If, Then” statements when dealing with adversity and setting healthy goals.
“At the end of the day, you are the only one who will ever truly understand your mind and body, which gives you the greatest opportunity to be kind to yourself which is why this session was my favorite session to present,” Kramer said. “I hope the athletes in attendance took these strategies home to their daily lives and shared new healthy strategies with their teammates.”
Other sessions from the Central Zone Leadership Summit focused on relevant leadership training elements. Athletes in attendance completed a leadership style questionnaire to see which leadership style they best identified with. After matching, the athletes learned the strengths and weaknesses of their leadership style and how they can best pair with other leaders to enhance those strengths and weaknesses.
Attendees were also given an LSC Athlete Representative Survival Guide they could customize and provide to their incoming athlete representatives. This tool empowers their successors and provides a resource for everything they need to know about being an athlete representative.
For high school athletes at the end of their senior year, a decision awaits: continue a swimming career in college or hang it up and pursue a new path.
Toothman led the athletes through an interactive session which explored introductory email design, meaningful question development for college coaches, collegiate competition, how to navigate SwimCloud and a Q&A panel with current college head coaches. Parish led a life after swimming and professionalism session, providing a foundation for their future career endeavors.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and disability awareness session included the importance of remembering your swim CAP (Connecting, Accepting, and Providing) when building connections with other athletes and non-athletes in their LSC and on their club team. Attendees learned best practices related to connecting deeper, accepting one’s similarities and differences, and providing for others. Central Zone Paralympian Keegan Knott spoke about her experiences and overcoming adversities in her life and in swimming.
A collaborative session run by former Central Zone athlete Jack Swanson reviewed the basics of LSC Governance and included an interactive planning session for attendees to construct a concrete plan for a project to bring back to their LSC.
Planning at the Summit that came to fruition includes Arkansas Swimming hosting a 12 and under leadership workshop, Lake Erie Swimming executing a successful service project initiative, Oklahoma Swimming building a joint leadership summit and practice day, and the Minnesota Swimming hosting their first-ever athletes showcase swim meet completely run by their Athletes Committee.
With input from Parrish and Chambers, a robust concurrent chaperone track was created. The chaperones in attendance also learned about mental health, LSC governance, DEI and disability.
Next Steps:
With support and consultation from the Central Zone leaders, similar leadership experiences are currently being created for the Eastern and Southern Zones.
“Ultimately, we want to have all four Zones participate in a Leadership Summit experience, allowing all athletes to reap the benefits from an event of this magnitude,” Toothman said. “We are on the right track and over the next few years, I believe we will be able to inspire so many athlete representatives collectively.”
Leaving Chicago in 2022, the excitement for the future of the Central Zone was palpable. The athletes were eager to return to their LSC and contribute to the growth of their athlete committees.
“We are looking towards putting on another successful Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2023” Toothman said. “With a focus on the athlete as a whole and new sessions covering online engagement, sports nutrition, and professionalism.
Kramer is now a member of the Athletes’ Executive Committee, so Toothman is working with the new Central Zone Junior Athlete Representative, Savannah Gurley from Michigan Swimming.
Planning for the 2024 Leadership Summit is also in motion, with plans to host the Summit in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“We are taking a different approach for our attendees so they can understand how USA Swimming functions as a National Governing Body and the role it plays,” Toothman explained. “Attendees will get the full Trials experience while learning from the dedicated staff within the sport.”
Kramer and Toothman have established a successful foundation for athlete representatives moving forward and the opportunities that can come from it will be sensational to watch unfold.
“Pam and I are so proud to watch our athlete representatives find their voice and create a legacy that will last for years to come,” White said. “They dream big and back it up with tireless hard work, inspiring everyone around them to be better.”
The future of the Central Zone looks bright in the hands of these young athlete leaders.