Last night Ava had her first swim meet. Sunday night she was so nervous about competing in the meet she was crying, but she bounded out of bed Monday morning raring to go... She swam the 50 freestyle and the 50 breaststroke. The freestyle was up first (event #15) and her nerves were a bubblin', but she was in great spirits. Her coaches were encouraging and I was a wreck.
The horn sounded, she plunked into the water like a gargoyle and she was off. But here's the thing... after her dive (which was a mess) she looked awesome. She was strong and sure through the water and led her heat the whole way. She touched the wall 2 seconds ahead of the next swimmer, winning her heat. She got out of the water and had no idea. Her coach told her she won and I thought she might burst wide open. She left a giant water splotch on the front of her coach's t-shirt from giving her a giant hug.
I thought I might burst wide open in pride. It wasn't so much that she won, although that was a huge shot in the arm for her confidence, it's that she tried something she was scared to do. And she had some success at something she's worked so hard at.
Her face after the race when she met us back in the stands says it all....
After the 50 free we had to wait a long time for the 50 breast stroke event. She lined up with the other 9 and 10 year old girls, plunked into the water and she was off on the breast stroke, her favorite event. There were 6 girls in her race, 3 of them (including Ava) stuck together the whole time, the other 3 were pretty far behind. Ava touched the wall a close 3rd. She raced really strong, staying consistent the whole way. I have a feeling there are a lot of swim meets in our future.
This weekend John made a trip to his home town to watch his friend Scott Peterson's son Nick play basketball for their alma mater. While he was in South Dakota he and Scott decided to run the Frostbite 4 Miler. John blazed through the race at a 8:14 pace, finishing in 32:55. Here he is with Scott - a couple of happy long time friends.
1 comment:
Congratulations to both of them! You've got a house full of athletes...yourself included!
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