Yesterday our kids participated in a swim meet. The season will soon come to an end and with only a couple meets to go there are some take-aways that I hope will stick with all of us.
False Starts—the false start can happen to anyone at any time. It’s when something inside of us wants something so much we can taste it. The idea of holding ourselves back, even if for just another millisecond is too much to handle and all the strength in the world can’t hold us back. We either fall in feet first or dive head first. A dramatic entry that draws a lot of attention and tells the rest of the world, you showed up.
Disqualified—a number of kids were disqualified from various races over the weekend for a myriad of reasons ranging from; swimming the wrong stroke, exiting the pool at the ladder without ever making contact with the end wall, using the lane rope as a pulley, selling contraband goggles, to picky reasons like not bringing their toenails together in unison, or breathing with a snorkel hose between strokes. We can all learn something from being disqualified. It’s humbling, it’s easily corrected and while we might repeat the error, we’ll never do it again without thinking about it–a lot.
Confidence—getting your kids involved in sports builds confidence. Simple. My nine year old has always doubted her abilities but leaves a swimming lesson feeling better about herself. Both for the physical and mental benefits, swimming has been good for her. My seven year old came in 49th place in one of her swims on the weekend and I think it’s because she stopped to wave and smile at someone who was randomly cheering for her. How could that ever be construed as a negative?
What’s Everyone Else Doing? My kids spend a disproportionate amount of time looking around to see what everyone else is doing. I noticed one young participant with his head turned on a 90 degree angle for an entire race to see what the person beside him was doing or, he was trying to avoid getting water in his ear. We need to spend less time caring about what anyone else is doing or thinking or what their next move might be. Turning inward and focusing on a path to our own goals shouldn’t rely on anyone else.
Bathing Caps—they’re just ridiculous.
Timing Is Everything—when you suggest to your parents and your in-laws that they should come to a swim meet because it will wrap up by noon, prepare to be caught in an enormous lie.
