Your kids are in the pool every morning in June at what time??? 8am.
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| Carson swimming Backstroke |
You spend your June Monday evenings in the 95+ South Texas heat for 5 hours - WHY? Because, honestly, we are a little crazy.
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| Hudson swimming in the Freestyle Relay |
Your children think it's... fun??? Absolutely!
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| Carson in Butterfly |
Five summers ago I signed up Hudson, age 7, for summer league swim team through our neighborhood club, Triton Sports Center. I originally did it because I just wanted Hudson to be a good swimmer and I'd get more "bang for my buck". So the choice was eight 30-minute swim lessons or 2 months in the water everyday for not that much more. Total no-brainer, right???
My husband and I had no idea what what we were getting ourselves into.... a total "deer in the headlights" moment.
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| Hudson swimming the Individual Medley | |
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| Coach Dustin giving relay instructions |
Fast forward 5 years: our club is now a YMCA, I now have two swimmers on the team, we have a wonderful group of friends who are our Riptide family, and all of our non-swim team friends think we are a little NUTS.
To me, summer swim league is different from all the other sports our family is involved in. The environment is family-centered with swimmers, parents, siblings all around. Our coaches are exceptional and are back year after year because of their love for and dedication to the team. It's for all levels of swimmers from newbies to the 18 year-old high school/club team athletes. Although there are many year-round swimmers in our group, including my
Hudson, the majority of the kids do sports other than swimming during
the rest of the year, like my Carson. For Carson, its about being in the pool, being a stronger all-around competitor, and possibly getting a couple of ribbons during the season.
It's about fun and early mornings and hard work and parents melting in the heat. For some, it's about extra clinics with the coach and dry land training. It's about becoming a better swimmer. It's about commitment.
It's about team.
And it means summer starts in earnest around the second week of July.
What???
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| Championship Meet |
Yes, we are just a little crazy. Hooked. Brainwashed. Whatever....
There are so many positive things about summer swim (beyond the daily exercise and built-in outdoor time.) My sons adore their swim coaches (Especially Dustin Holland, but also Joy, Patrick, and Alicia), they enjoy seeing their friends from neighboring schools as well as many of their own schoolmates, and I get to see my friends, too!
I have met so many amazing people through swim that I would have never had the opportunity to meet! It's great to catch up with them and watch their children grow. The veteran parents help guide the new ones through their first season, leading them through the maze of practices, events, heats, and lanes. They offer the new parents encouraging words and remind them that we were all new at one point! Now it's easy to spot those "deer in the headlights" moms!
By and large swim parents are involved and volunteering, which is so nice to see. There are parents volunteering to organize, time, officiate, keep track of the swimmers during the meets, and parents taking lots of pictures and sharing them on our team site.
Swimming is by far my favorite sport to photograph. The movement of the water and the beauty of the stroke are amazing to capture on camera. I love watching the perfection of the 18 year old's butterfly and the tentative strokes of a 6 year old swimming freestyle in their first meet. I also enjoy capturing the little candid moments out of the water... the smiles, the laughs, the parents and coaches hugging and 'high-five-ing' their swimmers after a race - win or lose, and big kids interacting so sweetly with the little kids.
I always look forward to summer swim season and am always a little sad when it's over. It's more like experiencing withdrawal... from a wonderful addiction...
As I reflect on the conclusion of another summer swim season, I am so glad we 'dove in' blindly so many summers ago! We are part of an amazing organization and are proudly the Summer League champs for the 3 year straight. But win or lose, I am thankful for the memories that we get to make every summer. Those memories are what linger - not the early mornings or blazing hot evenings. I can't imagine summer without swim team.
Until next summer....
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| Congratulations Thousand Oaks YMCA Rptide - 2012 AASSL Summer League Champions |
