There was a time, when Sara Sneer was one of the fastest things in town when it came to swimming. The former Mankato West standout set school records and brought home hardware from the state tournament almost every season she competed on varsity.

He goal, when she left Mankato in the fall of 2008, was to walk-on to the University of Minnesota women’s swim team and continue that success. She found out quickly, however, that the wear and tear of Division I workouts on her tender right shoulder were going to be more than her body could bear.

“After two weeks I couldn’t even lift my arm,” Sneer said Wednesday. “I went in and talked to the coach and we agreed it was best for me to take a break and see how the shoulder comes back.”

Three months later, Sneer had capsular placation surgery to tighten up her shoulder and prevent it from popping out every time she took a stroke. Her intent at the time of the operation was to try to make a comeback in swimming but, along the way, she got sidetracked and competitive swimming is now just something she used to do.

These days, Sneer is less concerned about speed in the water as she is the shutter speed of her camera. She has taken a summer job at SportPix working for the Fowler family and was busy Wednesday shooting photos at the Mankato MoonDogs game.

“I love it,” Sneer said. “I’m learning so much. It combines two of the things I enjoy most — sports and photography.”

Sneer had never shown much interest in photography until about a year ago when she picked up her dad’s seldom-used camera and started taking photos. She took it with her to Ireland on a trip with her grandparents and chronicled the visit on film.

“I found I was really enjoying it,” Sneer said. “When I got home for the summer I applied to about five or six places for jobs and found nothing. I said why not try Brian (Fowler) at Quality 1-Hour (Photo) and he asked me to come in for an interview.”

Even though Fowler knew Sneer’s photography experience was limited, he was impressed during the meeting in late May.

“She’s a very determined, driven person who wants to succeed at whatever she does,” Fowler said. “She was pretty raw when she came to us but she has an eye for composition and she’s willing to do anything.

‘I’ve had new hires who will be afraid to try something they haven’t done before but Sara is fearless. I just give her the assignment and she does it. She’s getting better all the time.”

As for athletics, Sneer says she’s probably done swimming collegiately but is training for triathlons so swimming will still be part of her life.

“I’m back in the water again,” she said. “I think my shoulder can handle the shorter swims. It was the intensity of the college workouts that was just too much.”

Sneer said initially she intended to pursue a degree in the medical field when she enrolled at the U, but says that’s changed. Now she’s hoping photography is part of her future.

“My major is biology, society and environment and I’d still like to do something with that. Now I’m thinking maybe I could combine it with photography and maybe do something abroad, maybe in the Peace Corps. I’m excited about all the possibilities.”



Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@mankatofree press.com.