We had a great time on the Alburtis/Shepard Hills swim team this year. I went from being afraid that my kids were going to drown at the first practice to letting them go swim with their friends while I watched Annika and Dallin in the baby pool at the end-of-season party. Ariel and Adriana both have improved their swimming skills so much. They started out swimming freestyle (when I was little they called it crawl stroke, go figure) at the meets but weren't that fast at first becasue the whole breathing thing was complicated. It was more like they were just trying to get to the other side of the pool. Then when they tried backstroke they discovered that they were a lot faster at it and it was easier because you don't have to worry about breathing. Maybe next year they will learn the butterfly and breast stroke.
One of the things that I really like about swimming as a sport if you have a few kids is that they will always be on the same team becasue the team ranges in ages from 4-18, so you take them to the same meet. Practices may be at different times for diffferent ages, but at the same pool, so you can just hang out at the pool all day. I also like that you are basically competing against yourself, trying to get a better time than you did last time. The girls loved collecting the ribbons from each meet, and even if they didn't place they still got one for participation. As with all new experiences, you open yourself up to taking risks and being surprised with the outcomes and in improving your own abilities.
2 comments:
I was so good with swimming lessons for my oldest two but kind of dropped the ball on the last two. They were born naturals at it luckily. Glad your kids have enjoyed it!
I'm impressed. Henry and Elsa still can't really swim. And, I just tried swimming laps at the gym today, and it's a serious workout.
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