Swim season

 

 This guy is having an amazing year.  Usually bringing home first, seconds, and third place ribbons.  Today he got a 4th and 6th place but against a really hard team.  Its nice to be at the top of your age group and one of the fastest.  He typically swims 4-5 events:  at least 1 relay and then always 25 butterfly and 50 free.  Today he swam backstroke instead of breastroke and  did great.  Back is his least favorite stroke.  (just like his mother and just like his mother butterfly is his favorite)   But he loves swim practice and I've been sending him to the pool early while Joel and Norah and I get ready so Colin can play with the other kids before its their turn to get in the water.  Its nice to be a 5 minute walk from the pool. 

 Joel is doing great. Its really amazing to see the transformation from the first few weeks where he rubbed his coach's pretty ear for backstroke and not putting his face into the water to becoming a little fish.  He swam a kickboard relay a few weeks ago and loved it.

 

He is swimming all over the pool now and when we go in the afternoon spends his whole time in the deep end swimming where he can't touch. But put him in a lane for practice and he freaks out.  He did swim down the length of the pool all by himself this week during practice and they put him into the meet.  It was our last home meet so they put everyone in as many events as they could. Joel has the best birthday for swim team because he's still registered as a 4 year old.  His birthday was after the cut off.  So give him a few more years in 6&Under and he'll be at the top. 

I was worried that they put him in a real relay and then 25 free and he was a little excited a lot nervous. But he really wanted a ribbon of his own. Then we had to wake him up to go to the pool and he didnt want to do it.  But he didnt want to tell the coach to take him out either.  He did line up and go stand in his lane so I guess thats progress.  But he didnt go.  They just sent the same kid who had swam down to Joel down for another lap.   No amount of bribery from us or the coach could get him to go.  Can't make that kid do anything he doesnt want to. 

But he did do the kickboard relay and loved every minute of that. 

I think it also helps that he has a guppy "coach" in the water next to him. Anna is one of Joel favorite helpers.  I like her too.  Her sister Katie was in Colin's class in 1st grade and just a great family. 

 

We have one more swim meet and then we find out if Colin made Divisionals.  He hasn't in the past but this year actually has a chance of making the Divisional Team.  Its been a great swim season and I'm not ready for it to end yet so I hope he makes it to give us another week of swim team. 

 

its not letting me upload videos but hopefully soon I can post some of their swimming.