Loud And Clear -- Motivational Speeches Give Lakeside's Schneider A Helping Hand In Bid For Second Straight State Title

Sandy Schneider was ready for all the questions.

Schneider, interviewing for the girls basketball head-coaching job at Lakeside School in 1979, deftly answered inquiries about her coaching philosophy, her teaching methods, her plans.

The interviewers stood up. Schneider thought she was finally done with the inquisition known as the job interview.

She was told to follow the interviewers. They walked into Lakeside's gymnasium.

"Here I was, in a skirt, blazer, heels and I was probably sweating, and they wanted to see if I could shoot," said Schneider, laughing as she recalled that day nearly 14 years ago. "I was the leading scorer for most of my teams, and I could beat any of those guys. They must've thought if I could shoot, I could coach."

Schneider could shoot. And she can coach.

She got the job because she could shoot the jumper. She has kept the job because she has developed one of the top girls basketball programs in the state.

Schneider's Lakeside Lions (25-0) seek their second straight Class AA state championship this week. The Seattle private school will play Meadowdale (20-3) in the opening game of the Class AA tournament tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome.

In her 13 seasons at Lakeside, Schneider has won three state championships, seven Metro League titles and five district crowns. This year, she was named Star Times girls coach of the year. The Lions are on a girls state-record 54-game winning streak.

Her keys to success are painfully simple: preparation, dedication, inspiration, motivation.

Before every game, Schneider talks to her team. Sometimes, it's a pep talk. Sometimes, she challenges them. Sometimes, she humors them.

But the Lions always seem to respond to Schneider's speeches.

"She is an incredible inspirational speaker," junior co-captain Sara Wetstone said. "When she talks to us, sometimes I think I'm going to start crying I'm so impressed."

Schneider said there's no secret to making her speeches effective, other than sincerity:

"I'm not a Knute Rockne. I don't bite off chicken heads."

Schneider has won with experienced teams and youthful squads. She started four freshmen one year and they ended up going to state. But the common denominator is intelligent players.

"I'll take a smart group of kids any day. That allows us to be flexible," she said.

Flexibility is probably Schneider's strength. Each year, she modifies her style to best suit the team. But one thing remains the same: basketball is just a game.

Years from now, the Lions won't remember the score of a regular-season game in December. But they will remember that playing on the team made them better people.

"It's hard to find the meaning of it all when you're dribbling a basketball or trying to put it in the hoop," junior guard Zakiya Pressley said. "But somehow, every day, Sandy comes up with something that will help us later in life."

Schneider, a 1972 graduate of Blanchet, took over a program that won just two games the previous two seasons.

"She works the kids, she yells at the kids," said Kivonne Tucker, Schneider's assistant coach the past nine years. "But she'll bend backwards for them, and the kids know that. They respond to that."

Schneider insists her success is a result of the efforts of others. There's her mother Ruth, who told her about the the job opening after playing tennis with the wife of Lakeside's athletic director. There's Dr. Mildred Barnes, who was her basketball coach at Central Missouri State University.

There's Chuck Rheinschmidt, the Lakeside boys basketball coach. He took over when Schneider took a year's leave of absence to pursue her credentials to become an administrator in 1988. Rheinschmidt taught the Lions how to play aggressive defense, a style that Schneider adopted to become her trademark. There's Harry Swetnam, the Lakeside trainer who became almost a father figure for her before his death last month at age 78.

"I'm the product of a lot of people's hard work," Schneider said. "I'm standing on the shoulders of the great people who spent a lot of their time and effort teaching me."

Schneider, 38, played basketball and volleyball at the University of Washington before transferring to Central Missouri State. She was a starting guard and was on the track and cross-country teams in her spare time. She was voted to the all-decade basketball team in CMSU for the 1970s.

All the while, Schneider knew she wanted to become a coach.

Schneider laughs when she recalls her first year as a coach. Schneider coached an eighth-grade team at Assumption School to a 0-9 record.

Then again, Schneider was in ninth grade at the time.

Lakeside's last loss was to Sehome 67-44 at the 1991 state tournament, two years ago. The Lions started four freshman and ended the season at 18-8.

Schneider wondered how her young team would handle the early exit from the tournament. Her fear turned to joy when she saw her freshmen doing the "Hokey Pokey" in the locker room.

Four of them now start for Lakeside: Jill Kirkpatrick, Muffie Rodgers, Wetstone and Pressley.

"I knew right then this team was special," she said.

Even in her first few years at Lakeside, Schneider said she had the wrong priorities.

"I thought then that winning was the most important thing, that having a winning team means you could coach," Schneider said. "Over the course of all these years, I've learned that's not it at all."

Schneider has proved she can both coach and win. And she can still shoot.

----------------------------------------------------------. Lakeside's winning path.

Although Sandy Schneider waited five years for her first winning season at Lakeside, she has compiled eight straight winning campaigns and has won at least 20 games in six of her past seven: . . Season W-L Finishes. . 1979-80 6-12 . . 1980-81 7-11 . . 1981-82 6-12 . . 1982-83 6-13 . . 1983-84 11-8 . . 1984-85 16-8 Won league, district. . 1985-86 22-6 Won league, qualified for state). . 1986-87 20-4 Won league, district and regionals, 6th at state. . 1987-88 Took leave of absence. . 1988-89 26-3 Won state, but not league or district. . 1989-90 26-2 Won league, district and state. . 1990-91 18-8 Won league, qualified for state. . 1991-92 29-0 Won league, district and state. . 1992-93 25-0 Won league and district; qualified for state. . Total 218-87 7 league, 5 district, 3 state titles.