Zandberg Can Act More Like a Captain

By John Lohn

CRANBURY, New Jersey, October 5. So, Gerhard Zandberg walked away from the South African Short Course Championships with a fistful of gold medals. Seven to be exact. There's no debating the talent of the man, who earlier this year won the world championship in the 50-meter backstroke in Melbourne. And, it appears Zandberg is going to continue to progress.

But, there's a problem that the South African needs to rectify before next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, where the South African team could collect a decent amount of hardware. Of course, the country is the defending Olympic titlist in the 400 freestyle relay. Whether the South African contingent can reap similar success could depend on the harmony of the team.

There's no mystery that problems exist between Swimming South Africa and several of its top stars, most notably Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling, Lyndon Ferns and Darian Townsend. Swimming South Africa, whether it wants to admit it or not, desires to call the shots for its athletes. It would prefer to have its swimmers train in South Africa and adhere to a code of conduct that makes decisions for the athletes.

During this saga, Neethling was locked out of the South African Training Center in Pretoria and the original Code of Conduct placed limitations on what sponsorship opportunities could be explored by the likes of Schoeman and Neethling. Never mind the fact that the longtime international stars have continued to work toward Beijing.

Zandberg is the captain of the South African National Team, an honor that in part must have to do with his decision to be a "Yes" man to Swimming South Africa. Zandberg has taken a handful of chances in recent months to criticize his countrymen over their differences with SSA, saying that the nation does not feature a team atmosphere. Funny. Should a captain publicly rip his teammates if he is really interested in building team bonding? Simply, Zandberg follows SSA's requests to the letter, or so it seems.

Rather than hammer his fellow South Africans, maybe Zandberg should take a look at the fact that his countrymen are receiving some of the best training in the world while based at the University of Arizona. The results that Schoeman, Neethling & Co. have posted over the years, while training in the U.S., speak loudly. Certainly, their ability to compete at a high level would add a boost to the South African Team. Who is Zandberg to suggest they break from a working environment?

The truth is, maybe the South African Swim Team does not feature the tight-knit nature of other programs around the world. But, matters might be better if the focus was on the pool. If Zandberg is confident in his training in South Africa, that's great. Good for him. He doesn't have a right to question his countrymen's decisions, particularly with their records of success.

There's a great chance that South Africa will have several top-rate performances at the Beijing Games, simply because the nation's swimmers are deeply talented. At that point, it would make sense for the group to come together and rally behind one another in China. Until then, let the swimmers train as they please. A captain should support that stance.

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