The End of an Era

I had a surprise find its way into my schedule and my heart last week.  Tuesday The Boy was back to school after a long fall break weekend of golf in St George.  It had been his final tournament for the season and the first he allowed me to come watch.  But that is another story.

Following the season closure of golf, he was prepared to segue into the next sport, swimming.  He had spoken with our swim coach, Coach Lisa, prior to the swim season beginning and asked if he could join the team as soon as golf was over. He had rearranged his school schedule to the point that he has no A4 class assigned making it a seamless transition to the pool once his commitment to golf was over.  I had a very firm talk with him about only doing on sport at a time, but doing it 100%.  He agreed that last year his heart wasn't really into the swim season and was really there only for the friends and social aspect.  I told him that his team and his coach deserved more from him.  So this year's schedule and level of commitment was prepared to make that happen.

Tuesday last week he headed to school with a swim bag in his truck and a willing and ready hear to get into the new season with the swim team.  About 2:30 or so that afternoon I got a text from him asking if I wanted him to bring me a drink at work.  I texted back "Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

The next thin I knew was The Boy arrived at my office with a diet coke in hand.  When I asked him about practice, he said that he'd been uninvited from the team.  I asked what happened and he said he didn't really know.  Coach Lisa asked to speak with him before he got into the water.  He complied.  She told him that since he wasn't there for the 2-a-days "hell week" of practices he couldn't join the team this season.

His teammates, when asked what was going on and The Boy told them he was off the team, began to demand a team vote.  The other two high school teams that share the pool jokingly asked their coaches if they could "adopt" him to their teams.  At least he knew his friends wanted him there.

I'm still not completely sure what happened to make this the outcome fro a senior who, while not a state qualifying swimmer, one who still has swam since he was about 7 years old with this coach.  She knows him, and she knows our family.

It stings a little when I think that my participation as a parent wasn't wanted enough to let him stay on the team.  It stings even more that even though he spoke with the coach before the season began, the coach can hold a grudge over something as simplistic as his choice to play another sport before hers.  No student athlete should be penalized because they give their all to another sport, during another season.

I don't understand, really. 

The Boy didn't expect to be a team captain, as a senior this year.  He didn't expect to be a member of the A relay team.  He has been happy to do his little part with the team, for the team.  He just wanted to be a member of this team he has been with since he was a sophomore.  He wanted to hang out with his friends, go to meets with them, and enjoy his final year of high school with good friends.  That is exactly what I hoped for him too.

 But just like that, we are no longer a swim family.  And that is what hurts the most.

She Did WHAT?!

Two days ago The Girl was in her (beginning) swimming class at college, where they were practicing their flip turns.  The Girl was being the super-smarty-pants that she is and was doing the advanced-level flip turn coming into the wall on her back and somehow flipping to do breaststroke.  She has done this kind of wonky turn in her IM for some time, so she knew what she was supposed to be doing, and how.

This time, however, she was coming into the wall like it was some Olympic trials so something and she underestimated the distance, or her speed, or both and smacked her hand HARD on the top of the cement wall.  When she called that night she thought it might be broken.

Just what we need, I thought.  But then I remember she has access to the university health center.  So I suggested that she get down there and see if a nurse could look at it and tell if she should have it x-rayed.  I also asked if she had a home teacher or "FHE brother" that could give her a blessing.  Yes.  She has both and had already asked for a blessing a few weeks ago when the cold she got the first week of August still wouldn't leave her alone.

She told met hat SuperKate, her adorable roommate, would take her to the health center on campus in the morning if her hand wasn't feeling any better.  In the meantime, I told her to ice it and try to get some sleep.

Yesterday while I was at work, she texted me to say that the hand doesn't seem broken.  The RN at the health center told her that the bruising was quite severe, however, so the swelling was from that.  She was told to ice it and take some ibuprofen and if it wasn't better in another day or two, to come back and they could x-ray it.

At least she go tit checked out.  With this nasty cold she'd had since August, she barely went to have it check in the middle of September.  That girl.  Good crud.

And, just for the record, I'd like to remind everyone that she did this in a BEGINNING swimming class, of all places.  Only The Girl.  Crazy.

Video Sunday

Even the "big boys" make mistakes....

Preparation Pays Off?

Both The Girl and The Boy swam last weekend in the Region finals championship swim meet for the high school team.  In addition to the "taper" their coaches put them trough to be physically ready for  their races, Saturday morning, they also did one more not-so-little thing:  shave

This turned into one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time. And while I loved seeing htem work together and cooperate, it was still a little unnerving.

 First they each tried to use the Nair...thinking it would be the easiest way to be hairless.

 

 

 The Girl was helping The Boy, as he had no idea what he was doing at first.

 Grody.  That is all I have to say for this one.

The Boy couldn't stand the smell....didn't really make itany easier to do than just shaving, I guess.

 

 

 

He thought shaving his armpits was the craziest thing!

 It kind of is, when you start by using the "Beard trimmer" to cut back some of the length.

 Then, using a little bottle of travelsize shaving cream, he got down to business.  By now he didn't want help.

 Very funny.  From this look, you'd think we were torturing him.

 The Girl didn't have any of the issue The Boy had with this chore.  I guess that is a good thing!

Inspection?  Looks pretty smooth!  He passed.

That evening they swam in their events and they both dropped time in each of their races:  

The Boy dropped 1/2 second in the 50 yard freestyle and .75 second in his 100 yard freestyle.

He ended up in 24th place in each event.  Not bad for a sophomore that hardly got pool time.

The Girl dropped 5 seconds in her 200 IM!! And she dropped 3 seconds more in her 100 Breatstroke.

Her goal was to make it to the state meet. and with those times, she is anticipating qualifying for the State Championships on February 6 & 7.  We will know for sure by the first of next week.

I guess getting hairless was enough of the edge they needed.

Water TRUTH

For Christmas The Girl was hoping to find a t-shirt like this under the tree.  Sadly the only one I could find was made for a 6 year old.  She might still get one...if I get really creative and ambitious!

Video Sunday

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

For whatever it might be worth, I'd like to mention that THIS is how you build an indoor pool.   This is the Indiana University Natatorium, where the Indianapolis Grand Prix is being held held this weekend.  World records might be made here.  Micheal Phelps has already been beaten here today.  Olympic hopefuls will move one step closer to London here.

Look at the beautiful pool arrangement.  Look at the ample spectator seating.  Look, it is enclosed to make it operable in all sorts of weather.  Brilliant, considering Indianapolis is prone to winter weather at times too.

How cool would it be to see THIS kind of facility take shape when BYU finally tears out it's 60 year old pool facility?!  Then the annual State High School Swim championships would REALLY be held in high style.  Then Utah county would have a facility equal to that of Davis County's beautiful aquatic center in the Bountiful Recreation center.  Then, maybe our city officials could see the advantage of building better than they think we need for our city--and our kids--and our high school.

I can only dream.

Swim Love

http://d.yimg.com/nl/yahoo%20sports/site/player.html#vid=28286279&browseCarouselUI=hide">>

How cute are these two?  Happy Valentine's Day, friends.

On the Road Again

This afternoon, The Girl begins a new chapter in her swimming life.  She has decided to join a club team so that she can continue to practice between the HS season and the summer season.  So I begin the road trip driving her back and forth too.

She is anxious to refine her stroke and increase her speed.  This club team will help her with that.  Even as she went to speak with the coach yesterday, there were maybe a dozen swimmers in the pool.  Just that smaller coach to swimmer ratio will help her.  She'll have someone to work with HER, not just the group.

I am glad she wants to continue improving.  She has a talent for this, and she enjoys doing this.  Event he monotonous practices.  And this may even help her learn some techniques that will help her as a coach of the youngest swimmers on the summer team--she was asked to be a coach at the end of the HS season this year.  So this will help her on that front too.

She has set a goal for herself to make it to the HS state swim finals next year.  And to make the podium by the time she is a senior.  How can I not assist her with ambitious goals like that?!  I can't.  So I am driving her each day to the neighboring town's indoor pool.  Everyday, including Saturday.

If nothing else, she will develop her own talents, initiate new friendships, and fine tune her self-discipline with this project.  I just hope her swim goals will also be met.

Note for the Grandparents Who Lurk Here

Just a little note for the grandparents who lurk about on the blog. The Girl swam the 100 yard butterfly tonight in the high school swim meet and WON the event! It is not her normal stroke, though she does it well. She also swam the breaststroke, which is her favorite (in a tie with the distance freestyle) and she dropped a second in her time in that one too. Then she swam the medley relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay. The 400 relay won by 25 yards! That is crazy...remember she is a freshman!

Can't wait to see what a few more years of coaching, practice and experience do for her swim times. Yes, I am pretty proud of her tonight.

Initial Results

Yesterday's time trials for the swim team was a pretty exciting day. Though, I did forget to wear flip flops and brought home spongy-squishy shoes, but they dried in the sun yesterday on the front porch. And I did forget just how moist and humid the inside of the "bubble" is when it is warm outside still. It will feel nice when the snow is flying outside.

The real exciting part happened after nearly 2 and a half hours after we began. Each swimmer was to swim 100 yards of each of the four strokes, plus a 50 freestyle sprint. When you are swimming full-out that many times, at that distance, you'd be tired. Right?

Well, The Girl did once more race after all those.

She jumped into a heat of the 500 freestyle, with 6 boys. She was the only girl in the heat. She was the only girl who wanted to swim that distance, so far as I know. It was the first time she's even been timed in this event. They don't swim a 500 in the summer season.

She ended up swimming this 500 freestyle in 6:53.??. So that is less than seven minutes--after swimming all her other events already, and not really planning on doing it, but seeing an empty lane and just jumping up as they called the heat. Off she went with little thought beforehand.

In this one heat of long distance swimming were three other male freshman friends, and a couple other boys who were older--maybe juniors.

At the first 100 she was even with Mr. J in the lane next to her. At the second 100 she nudged ahead of J and at the 250 she was even with Mr. B. At 300 she edged ahead of Mr. B and pulled even with Mr. B2. By 350 she was pulling ahead of him too. After that, she just built distance, slow and steady. Her stroke pace remained pretty much the same throughout the race. It was very cool to watch and she finished strong! I was so proud of her.

I think she was pretty proud of herself too, once she could catch her breath. I guess it was just like our moms taught us--you'll perform like you practice, so practice it perfectly, or as hard as you can push yourself.

I hope she sticks with this event. She is not as explosive off the start, but the steadiness of her stroke and the pacing she puts herself through make the difference in longer distances. You Go, Girl!

Back in the Water Again!

I love the pool. I love the way I feel like I am much thinner and less jiggly than I am on dry land. I love that my thighs can slip past each other without the regular dry-land scrape.

Today I got to get back in the water for some water aerobics. They are great. I get the feeling of being 10 years old and playing in the water while at the same time, telling myself that I am working out so that is a very grown up, very responsible thing to do.

It just feels so much better to be in the water. I wish I had learned to swim better as a kid--"had I learnt I would have been a great proficient", as Lady Catherine would say. I learned to swim just fine, but never learned the real methods or stroke patterns to do it right as an adult.

I admire the stroke of people who can do the proper form. I love to watch the "big kids" on the swim team when they are practicing their butterfly strokes. So smooth and so easy. When I have tried it, I look like the demonstration dummy for a lifesaving class--like I am having a seizure of some kind in the water. I don't do it much at our pool for fear the lifeguards will blow their whistles and come in after me.

I love that my kids will swim each day and that I can play, I mean, work out with them too. Now if we could just get a year round pool option...then my marine life would be possible.

WHAT Was He Thinking?!?

OK, another reason to blog today from the Talk Radio Circuit: Are you ready?

The Sunday headline in Britain's News of the World tabloid was "What a Dope!" The photo? Micheal Phelps with a marijuana bong. Here you go...

From the story, last November Mr. Phelps was at a college party with friends in South Carolina and a "friend" snapped the picture of him there. Other party goers were quick to add how "out of control he was" all night, etc.

I'm not debating his abilities to swim, compete, win medals here. But I am wondering: What was he thinking?! These were his "friends" that sold this photo to Britain's big tabloid paper? How do friends do that and yet not stop and ask him "Yo, Mike. Is this really what you think you should be doing?"

I think there is something to be said here about the acceptance of drug use in society in general. There were many comments on NOTW's site about how "pot isn't that big a deal" and so on.

Don't we almost expect big time performers on the fields of professional athletics to be doping? I do. I can't see a lot of baseball or track and field atheltes the same again. But I had hoped swimmers were smarter. The Girl and I tease about it being a smart person's sport, like soccer. Maybe we are wrong.

Well, I am not sure that his endorsement sponsors will oust him from their rosters of stars. He did fess up to it after the story ran--not too big a deal, in my humble opinion, since they had already published the photographic proof. But he did release a statement that apologized for "bad judgement" and "regrettable behavior" but that kind of apology only sounds like he is bummed he got caught. I'm sure his publicist meant every word he wrote for Micheal to say.

I just kept thinking of Micheal's mom, and what she is thinking. She is a current junior high school principal. I'm sure she is thinking Micheal need to make a guest appearance at Red Ribbon Week. He might need to info more than the kids.

Ta-Dah!

Just a quick note tonight...too much to do.

We helped Aunt Lori bead a wedding dress that was supposed to be ready for bridal photos tonight. (That was rescheduled for Thursday.) The wedding is Saturday, so we all hope Aunt Lori makes it!

The Boy had football practice tonight, then came home just long enough for some dinner and off to the Swim Team Awards night. The Boy had a great year and came away with a Silver Meet County Finals plaque! Congrats, Boy!

Meanwhile, The Girl had helped bead the monster wedding dress, had soccer practice tonight from 6-7 tonight and then home to change and off to the Awards Night as well. She loves swimming and it shows! In addition to her Gold Meet County Finals plaque, she was awarded Most Dedicated Swimmer in her age group this year. Way to go, Girl!

Now, Genius Golfer is off to his Man Cave for some swing practice before his tournament begins on Wednesday and I am headed off to up put my feet up and enjoy another evening of prime time Olympic coverage. My favorite event begins--the men's 200 meter butterfly!

GO SWIMMERS!

Schmack Talk, Smack Down

The French men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay team said some no nice things about the American team this weekend in the papers. Perhaps the French are just used to saying not nice things, and they figured the Olympics were no different.

Why do teams do that? That Olympics tend to bring out people's best efforts, sometimes even better than they think themselves capable of doing. The American men's relay team certainly had the potential of doing well, even setting a world record. The American men's relay teams have in the past dominated this event. In the last couple of Olympics, not so much.

Having not only their own pressure to do well, but the redemption factor to earn the title back for the American, why would the French mention anything?!

Well, luckily the Americans took the high road and their response to the French remarks (i.e., "We are going to smash the Americans. That is what we came here for...") was the statement they made in the pool. the top five teams beat the previous world record. Five sub-record speed teams! How cool is that?!

You've got to love Jason Lezak, who was coaching himself to the Olympic trials, and as a three time Olympian, held the anchor leg on the relay team. He came from behind and caught the mouthy Frenchman, just out-touching him at the wall for the Americans to win the relay. Not only that, but they shattered the world record, taking 4 seconds off the previous time. In swimming time, that is beyond huge. Four seconds?! You could run a top-fuel drag race in that space. (But not in the pool, of course...)

So, Frenchies, the next time you think about talking schmack, think again. Our world class American teams will show you how to get it done, and you'll be listening to that good 'ole Star Spangled Banner while you stand by on the medals podium. Again.

Olympic Dreams

This week, following a fairly good showing by both The Kids at the Saturday swim meet, I have occasionally been on YouTube looking up Olympic Swim videos. THIS is why the Internet was created--for me to discover, on a whim, just what I want!

Do any of you remember the 1984 Summer Olympics? That USA love fest in Los Angeles, with all the communist teams boycotting us because we boycotted them four years before?! I was almost 15 during those games and I remember just eating it all up. Now, I can recall watching Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci in Olympics prior to this one, but that was still when I was young (and small) enough to be delusional about someday being a gymnast. And even though I cheered for MaryLou Retton and Peter Vidmar, by the '84 Games I was well on my way to understanding there was no possible chance of me EVER being a gymnast, or any other Olympian for that matter.

I have old photos of my sister, mom and I joined by several other neighbors at the end of our mile long street where it meets the state highway to watch the Olympic torch run by. It was pretty cool. What I remember best of those games though, happened at the Olympic pool.

Recognize any of these names? Rowdy Gaines, Pablo Morales, Steve Lundquist, Rick Carey, Matt Biondi, John Moffet or Janet Evans--sound familiar? OK, I know, Janet Evans was awesome at the '88 Seoul Games. In high school I didn't have many movie star crushes--except Indiana Jones, understandably --but I think the next closest thing I had was a pretty major crush on that Olympic gold winning men's medley relay team. Whew. They were fantastic.

Each time I watch my own kids, or the other kids on our city team swim, and they are doing their best, I get the same feelings deep in my gut. I am proud of them for their accomplishments. I am proud to see them do well, and I am proud of their sportsmanship. And, in a corny way, it makes me feel like I can do whatever it is that I do even better too. There is an element of "practice makes perfect" with swimming, like anything else. But as I watch my kids enjoying something I loved at their ages, it makes be feel closer to them and more connected as a family.

And really, who couldn't enjoy a little "old school" swimming remembrances when it conjours up some patriotic pride and a little swimming envy as well? Since the Beijing games are only about 5 weeks away now, maybe in August I will watch another set of Olympic pool sensations with my kids and find a whole new batch of swimming heroes.