| THE ASCA HALL OF FAME | ||
| Ed Solotar |
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| Co-Founder, Starlit Aquatic Center. Head Coach, Founder, Solotar Swim Team. A pioneer in swimming in the Washington, DC area. | ||
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Coach
Solotar's Historic Athletes |
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Melissa
Belote - Olympic Gold Medallist Margie
Moffet - 1 World Record |
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Coach
Solotar's History |
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| NYU,
B.S., MA. Physical Education Kappa Phi Kappa National Honor Society in Education. President, Potomac Valley AAU Member, USA Olympic Committee Head Coach, Maccabean Games Assistant Coach, Pan Am Games Assistant Coach, USA Teams to London, Bucharest, Leningrad. |
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A
Tribute to Coach Solotar, from Mary Sykes, at his Funeral Service
on November 4, 1984. |
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The second thing I would like to emphasize is that Mr. Solotar taught me the meaning of RESPECT. You notice that I still say 'Mr. Solotar.' I never called him Ed. Well, never to his face. And it was not just swimmers of my era who had this respect. This summer my mother was standing next to an 8 year old boy at a summer league meet. He informed her. 'I can do a 50 - I swim for Mr. Solotar.' The little boys mouth dropped open and he just stared at her as if she knew God. He not only taught me respect for him but to respect myself. He taught me that the only way to succeed is to work hard. There is no secret to winning a race. There are only hours and hours of practice, alarm clocks that go off hours before dawn, miles driven on the beltway, 30x50 on a minute at the end of every long course workout, pulling and kicking, 100's and 200's, and before the advent of the paceclock, hearing him bellow out the seconds ticking away for each lap which any neighbor within five blocks could hear very clearly. He never sat down at workout, or disappeared like I've seen other coaches do. He was on deck and practically in the pool with you. He willed me to work hard. And he taught me respect for myself by always emphasizing it's your time that counts, not beating the person next to you. If YOU improve, that's what matters. Not winning a race. Not Winning the Senior Meet. But doing your best time and doing your Best. He was not without his faults. He was one of the most stubborn people I've ever known. His relay teams put together the four fastest individual times. Even if he knew, I knew and the rest of the world knew that someone was a great relay swimmer, it didn't matter. There was no bending that rule. I know. I never came close to winning a point if he thought he was right. He never hid his displeasure. He used to yell at you in front of everyone, including your friends, your mother, and your 3 year old brother. I was called "Fathead" for more times than I care to remember. He could be a real pain in the butt. But I loved him. And I will never forget him. And I think all of use who swam for Mr. Solotar, whether for one year or eight years, will be better people because of our time with him. Thank you Mr. Solotar." - Mary Sykes |
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"For
those who don't know me, I knew Mr. Solotar for seventeen years and
swam for him for eight years. I would like to reflect briefly on those
years that he was my coach. For those of you who swam for him, or
whose children swam for him, I hope that some of what I have to say
may be familiar to you. For those who do not know him as a coach,
I hope you will listen and realize how many lives he touched like
mine.
As
we pulled closer, he was yelling 'She Won, She Won!' Well, the next
thing I know there were eight of us jumping up and down and up and
down and screaming and yelling. You have to realize this was 6 in
the morning... the commuters buzzing by on 395, about 25 yards away,
must have thought us nuts. All I could think of was, 'I'm so glad
for him. He deserves it. He will finally get national recognition
as a coach.' Of course I was thrilled for Melissa, But I think she
will understand when I say I was more happy for him when she won and
made the Olympic Team.