Dani Konrad, with the Salmon Arm Sockeyes as a member and coach since 1995, was just named recipient of the 2012 British Columbia Summer Swimming Team Aquatics Coach of the Year award.
The announcement from BCSSA stated that “the Team Aquatic Supplies Coach of the Year award is given to the coach of a swimmer who has broken a provincial record and whose team has the highest number of points per athlete. With multiple provincial records broken at the 2012 Provincials, this method was the simplest way of determining the strength of the entire team versus a single high-performing athlete.”
Konrad led the Sockeyes to their first Okanagan Regional Championships in 50 years in 2011 and then repeated at Regional Champions in 2012.
In the past three years as coach, it’s been the first time the Sockeyes have made top 10 provincially – third in medal count – and she has kept the team in the top 10 for three consecutive years.
Asked about the award, Konrad wrote in an email that it reflects well on an excellent team.
“This award doesn’t only reflect on my coaching abilities, but the Sockeyes organization as a whole. In my last couple years training with the Sockeyes, and for the many years I have coached after that, the club has had a number of coaches that have really acted as my mentors and inspiration.
“It’s been all of these coaches’ cumulative efforts that have gradually changed the Sockeyes program to be the best for the competitive interests of the swimmers. However, this change has not altered the way that the Sockeyes value fun and team spirit, which is really why swimmers want to keep swimming with the Sockeyes,” she wrote.
Konrad is currently living in New York City, attending the New York University College of Dentistry.
Asked what she loves about coaching, she wrote: “I think what I love most about coaching is the relationships you build with your athletes. There is nothing better, for me, than being involved in helping a swimmer reach their goals and progress in the sport. It’s so exciting to watch a child really become passionate about the sport, come to practice each day, put in their best effort and have that effort pay off in the end. I don’t know what could be much more rewarding, uplifting and inspiring than that.”
She said she’s grateful for the coaches, swimmers and parents she’s met along the way.
