Local swimmer Snyder is hitting road to train Colorado, N.H. among destinations

Lindsey Snyder won’t be spending much time at home in Bangor this summer, but considering the experience she’ll gain in Colorado and New Hampshire, the swimming standout isn’t complaining.

Snyder is leaving for a trip to the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with her Seacoast Swimming Association team today. When she returns to the east coast, Snyder will spend a few weeks training full time with Seacoast, which is based in Dover, N.H.

Snyder, who will be a senior at Bangor High next fall but does not swim for the high school team, said longtime Seacoast coach Mike Parratto approached her about the trip to Colorado, which is where the U.S. Olympic team trains.

“He wanted us to get really good experience,” Snyder said before diving into the Husson College pool in Bangor Tuesday evening for her final workout of the foreseeable future.

The Seacoast group will have access to all of the Olympic amenities, including testing equipment, pools and dry-land facilities. They will also stay in the dormitories where the Olympians stay during their training. Other club teams will also be at the training center.

“I’ve never been to an Olympic training center before, so it’s really, really exciting,” the backstroke and distance freestyle specialist said. “It’s going to be very intense. Plus, we’re not swimming every day. A couple of days we do a morning practice and then go lift weights. It’s so different than just being in New England.”

Snyder is looking forward to some things she hasn’t seen in all of her previous training. For example, the training center has a pool that tests how well the athletes do swimming through waves.

Swimmers have to pay their own way to Colorado, but Snyder said she was eligible for a significant discount that Colorado Springs officials provide for swimmers who make certain time cuts.

The Seacoast group will spend a few weeks in Colorado, and then Snyder will return to New Hampshire with the rest of the group.

She’ll stay with a teammate while training for late-summer meets like the Eastern Sectionals in Hamburg, N.Y., the New England Open Championship at Brown University in Providence, R.I. and the prestigious 2003 ConocoPhillips Summer National Championships, Aug. 5-9 in College Park, Md.

Snyder said she wouldn’t have qualified for the national championships in an individual event, but will go as the backstroke leg of Seacoast’s 400 medley relay team.

It’s been about a year since Snyder left the Bangor area-based Hurricane Swim Club and joined up with Seacoast. Despite the distance between Dover and Bangor, Snyder has seen her times improve and has gained crucial experience swimming in meter pools, which is the type of course most national and international competitions use. NCAA swimming is still performed in yard pools, as is high school swimming in Maine.

Snyder competed in a Seacoast meet last weekend and easily won the 100-meter backstroke in 1:11.11. She beat a field that included Cape Elizabeth’s Taylor McFarlane, a Seacoast teammate and one of the top high school swimmers in Maine.

“Just this past weekend, being able to swim long course and knowing how much better my long-course times are getting is great,” she said.

Snyder has received plenty of letters from college coaches and is interested in schools like American University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Maryland, which is the site of the national championships. NCAA coaches cannot have phone contact with athletes like Snyder until July 1.