On Starting Swim Team

Dear daughter,

You fought me. Fought me hard. You didn’t want to join swim team. Your fears were bigger than your desire to play with others in the middle of the pool, let alone the deep end. My fears were big enough to stand my ground.

You cried and begged and bargained to get your way out of it, even offering up your iPad for the summer. I didn’t waiver.

The junior coaches are amazing! I was completely blown away with how patient and encouraging they were with the ones who couldn’t swim. It restored my faith in teenagers! This is Ainsley getting some instructions.

When you understood that your commitment to the team would be 2 summers no matter how much rolling around, crying and bemoaning you’d do you adjusted your expectations… and your attitude.

By the first practice you were reserved, but ready to face the challenge of learning how to swim. Taking a flying leap out of your comfort zone and into the waves of the clear, blue water.

Practicing free-style

Paired up with one of the junior coaches, you spent your first practice literally learning how to swim something other than a doggie paddle. You put your head under the water. You left the safety of the wall. You took your time and eventually swam the length of the pool and back… with rests in between, and with your ever present coach.

When practice ended you wanted to keep trying but there wasn’t room in the pool with the influx of the next age bracket. So you huddled under your blanket while you waited for your older sister to learn the strokes and swim down and back, down and back.

You didn’t complain one time before practice or after. I was proud. And best of all, so were you.

Go get ’em, girl!

p.s. Natalie was mad she was one of the slowest (if not the slowest) person on the team and didn’t know how to do the different strokes yet… I tried to explain she’s one of the only kids who hasn’t done swim team before. Many of these kids swim every summer and some year round. I can’t wait to see how far she comes this summer. She’s a strong casual swimmer. I know she’ll do great once she gets the strokes down.

Natalie is the one adjusting her goggles on the left.