Gallaudet's Bill Snape named U.S. Deaf Swimming head coach

Snape Named U.S.Team Swimming Coach

***(Note: The USA Deaf Sports Federation notified Gallaudet University that the announcement made by United States Deaf Swimming is premature. Therefore, the selection of Bill Snape as the U.S. Team swimming coach is not official. This disclaimer will remain until the process is complete.)***

Gallaudet men’s and women’s swimming coach Bill Snape has been named the new United States Deaf Swimming (USDS) head coach and will oversee the national teams at the 2011 World Deaf Swimming Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, and the 2013 Summer Deaflympic Games in Athens, Greece. This is a four-year appointment.

“I am truly honored to be the next United States Deaf Swimming National Team head coach,” said Snape, who is also assistant director of the USDS and previously served as its director. “We have the talent in the United States to compete at the highest level. The challenge is to channel that talent into Deaflympic gold, something we have lacked the last few years.”

This is the second time Snape has coached the USDS national program, as he served in the same capacity at the 2007 United States Deaf World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.
Snape is an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity and a practitioner-in-residence at the American University Law School.

“Coach Snape is a terrific selection to lead the national deaf swimming program. I know he is capable of helping the United States bring home many medals in 2011 and 2013,” said Gallaudet Director of Athletics Michael Weinstock. “This is great for the Gallaudet University athletics program to be represented on the national and international level.”

Snape just completed his sixth season as the head coach of the Gallaudet swimming program. The Bison finished sixth in the 2010 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) men’s and women’s championships last month at St. Mary’s (Md.) College. The 2009-10 Gallaudet women’s swimming team finished with a 5-7 record, the best dual meet record in 20 years. The 2008 CAC Coach of the Year has coached two all-conference swimmers and has seen over 50 program records broken in his tenure.

The first order of business for Snape is to evaluate talent at the United States Deaf National Team tryouts scheduled for July 17-18 in San Fernando, Calif. Snape encourages all deaf swimmers, young and old, experienced and beginner, to attend this summer’s swim festival.
For more information about the USDS, visit unitedstatesdeafswimming.org. To read more Athletics news, go to athletics.gallaudet.edu.