Monday, May 1, 2023
Culture Built on Character Leads to Success for Bartlesville Splash Club
Chad Englehart joined the Bartlesville Splash Club in 2014. He leads a staff of five coaches, partnering with a Board of Directors consisting of nine members, including David Talbot (Splash Club meet director) and Jim Moore (Splash Club Safe Sport Coordinator).
“The united leadership of the Board and its promotion of the program’s mission and vision are a testament to where we are today,” Englehart, also the Senior Chair of Oklahoma Swimming, said. “The entire leadership team is committed to the culture of the program.”
Mission: Splash Club is an organization that is dedicated to achieving excellence in competitive swimming by developing character, leadership, teamwork and accountability in a safe and supportive environment
Vision: Challenging Tomorrow's Leaders, Building Lifelong Champions
“(Our vision) is in print all over our facility and on our team shirts every year,” Englehart explained. “We use these words to guide us in times of success and through times of struggle.”
The Splash Club has experience and longevity in its favor. The Club and the facility – then the Adams Building and home to Phillips 66 Headquarters and Wellness Center, now the Phillips 66 Aquatic and Wellness Center on the ground floor of the Adams Building – were established in 1950 by then-Phillips 66 Recreation Director Bud Browning and local swim coach Ken Treadway, also a Phillips 66 employee.
Treadway served as the Splash Club’s first head coach. He persuaded his company to sponsor an annual swim meet and, in 1963, Phillips 66 hosted four national swimming championships. In 1972, Treadway and Dr. John Bogert developed a plan for Phillips 66 to become a national sponsor of swimming. To this day, Phillips 66 continues to sponsor the Bartlesville Splash Club.
A pioneer in the sport of swimming, Treadway was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1983 for his nearly 50 years of coaching, officiating and volunteering.
Like Treadway, Englehart can be found filling a variety of roles in the facility and within the program, including in the water, coaching the program’s youngest participants – in addition to his duties with Bartlesville’s national group of swimmers.
“Young parents and young kids get a chance to know me and see me as they grow within the program,” Englehart said. “Relationships are developed before you need to rely on them to resolve issues.”
“Maintaining trust and living Our Vision are the two biggest parts of my job as Executive Director,” Englehart said. “I get to promote and grow these two key principles each day. Of course, the program has daily challenges, but we work through them with a smile. Trust and relationships allow for some grace in the learning and programming process.”
Englehart, the coaching staff and the board of directors encourage open communication; in practice, they’ve seen open communication lead to smoother conflict resolution.
“Parents are always welcome to talk to coaches and staff, ask questions – we welcome it,” Englehart said. “We’re conversational, not confrontational.”
The Splash Club was initially recognized as a Safe Sport Recognized Program in February 2019. The program has renewed its recognition twice and is currently recognized through February 2025.
“Safe Sport is a foundational tool we use to help build trust and stability in our program,” Englehart said. “Youth sports ask a great deal of parents: money, time and trust. I have never met a parent who didn’t have their child’s safety as their top priority. Being able to promote ourselves as a nationally-recognized Safe Sport program is a great starting point to building parental trust.”
Safe Sport is second nature to the Splash Club because of the culture built on character – saying thank you, treating each other the right way overall, leads right into Safe Sport education.
“Trust among the staff, staff to swimmers, staff to parents and program to the community,” Englehart added. “I am far from perfect and inevitably make mistakes. If people trust you, they will give you grace and support you through these mistakes. Trust allows people to invest in you and your program. Trust allows people to stick with you through tough times.”
With participation in events like Walk A Mile in her Shoes, a sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse awareness event with a victim impact statement, the Splash Club has built a reputation as a positive youth organization, building leaders for Bartlesville and the surrounding communities.
“I believe the culture of trust we have in our program contributes significantly to the health and mental stability of our coaches and swimmers,” Englehart said. “I spend a great deal of time face-to-face with swimmers, parents and community members building, growing and maturing this culture of trust.”
Trust, culture and character have translated to Splash Club’s success in the pool, as well. At the Oklahoma Age Group and Senior State Championships in March, the Splash Club captured 35 gold medals, won the team championship for Senior State (15-and-older), finished fourth in the Age Group State Championships (10-and-under, 11-12 and 13-14). The program’s individual accomplishments included:
“We’re all part of the team and part of the success,” Englehart says. Each part of the program is attended to by a professional.”
“The united leadership of the Board and its promotion of the program’s mission and vision are a testament to where we are today,” Englehart, also the Senior Chair of Oklahoma Swimming, said. “The entire leadership team is committed to the culture of the program.”
Mission: Splash Club is an organization that is dedicated to achieving excellence in competitive swimming by developing character, leadership, teamwork and accountability in a safe and supportive environment
Vision: Challenging Tomorrow's Leaders, Building Lifelong Champions
“(Our vision) is in print all over our facility and on our team shirts every year,” Englehart explained. “We use these words to guide us in times of success and through times of struggle.”
The Splash Club has experience and longevity in its favor. The Club and the facility – then the Adams Building and home to Phillips 66 Headquarters and Wellness Center, now the Phillips 66 Aquatic and Wellness Center on the ground floor of the Adams Building – were established in 1950 by then-Phillips 66 Recreation Director Bud Browning and local swim coach Ken Treadway, also a Phillips 66 employee.
Treadway served as the Splash Club’s first head coach. He persuaded his company to sponsor an annual swim meet and, in 1963, Phillips 66 hosted four national swimming championships. In 1972, Treadway and Dr. John Bogert developed a plan for Phillips 66 to become a national sponsor of swimming. To this day, Phillips 66 continues to sponsor the Bartlesville Splash Club.
A pioneer in the sport of swimming, Treadway was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1983 for his nearly 50 years of coaching, officiating and volunteering.
Like Treadway, Englehart can be found filling a variety of roles in the facility and within the program, including in the water, coaching the program’s youngest participants – in addition to his duties with Bartlesville’s national group of swimmers.
“Young parents and young kids get a chance to know me and see me as they grow within the program,” Englehart said. “Relationships are developed before you need to rely on them to resolve issues.”
“Maintaining trust and living Our Vision are the two biggest parts of my job as Executive Director,” Englehart said. “I get to promote and grow these two key principles each day. Of course, the program has daily challenges, but we work through them with a smile. Trust and relationships allow for some grace in the learning and programming process.”
Englehart, the coaching staff and the board of directors encourage open communication; in practice, they’ve seen open communication lead to smoother conflict resolution.
“Parents are always welcome to talk to coaches and staff, ask questions – we welcome it,” Englehart said. “We’re conversational, not confrontational.”
The Splash Club was initially recognized as a Safe Sport Recognized Program in February 2019. The program has renewed its recognition twice and is currently recognized through February 2025.
“Safe Sport is a foundational tool we use to help build trust and stability in our program,” Englehart said. “Youth sports ask a great deal of parents: money, time and trust. I have never met a parent who didn’t have their child’s safety as their top priority. Being able to promote ourselves as a nationally-recognized Safe Sport program is a great starting point to building parental trust.”
Safe Sport is second nature to the Splash Club because of the culture built on character – saying thank you, treating each other the right way overall, leads right into Safe Sport education.
“Trust among the staff, staff to swimmers, staff to parents and program to the community,” Englehart added. “I am far from perfect and inevitably make mistakes. If people trust you, they will give you grace and support you through these mistakes. Trust allows people to invest in you and your program. Trust allows people to stick with you through tough times.”
With participation in events like Walk A Mile in her Shoes, a sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse awareness event with a victim impact statement, the Splash Club has built a reputation as a positive youth organization, building leaders for Bartlesville and the surrounding communities.
“I believe the culture of trust we have in our program contributes significantly to the health and mental stability of our coaches and swimmers,” Englehart said. “I spend a great deal of time face-to-face with swimmers, parents and community members building, growing and maturing this culture of trust.”
Trust, culture and character have translated to Splash Club’s success in the pool, as well. At the Oklahoma Age Group and Senior State Championships in March, the Splash Club captured 35 gold medals, won the team championship for Senior State (15-and-older), finished fourth in the Age Group State Championships (10-and-under, 11-12 and 13-14). The program’s individual accomplishments included:
- Connor Durrell: 10-and-under boys high point champion
- Cody Lay: male distance high point champion
- Addie Howze: girls high point championship
- Anna Young: female distance high point champion
- Griffin Craig: set five Phillips 66 Aquatic Center records, one Oklahoma State Record and scored more points than anyone else at the meet
“We’re all part of the team and part of the success,” Englehart says. Each part of the program is attended to by a professional.”