I have been competitively swimming for twelve years now. I started swim lessons at six months and as a kindergartener my mother signed me up for my local team because “It was the only sport that tired me out enough to keep me good in school.” Neither of parents had swam in high school, my mother was a runner and my father was a hockey player. Even though their reasoning might have been a lot different from that of many other athletes, I am forever grateful for that decision. At the start of my swimming career, I was horrible. As any child that was five years old, I still did not fully know how to work my body and make it do what I wanted it to and I often looked very spastic swimming. None of coaches really believed that I would stick with the sport or …show more content…
ever be that great of a swimmer.
I was in the bronze group, the lowest group on my team, for around two years. At the start of second grade I moved up to the next group, silver. I was more in control of my body at that time and had made some progress, but yet I was still a horrible swimmer. For the next two years after that, I saw the people I admired on my team improve and I constantly strove to be like them and I convinced myself, that one day I would be able to swim with them. At the start of third grade, the people I admired in my group moved up and I stayed behind. This broke my heart. From that day on I strove to be like them and I convinced my third grade self that I would catch up to them one day. And at the start of fourth grade I was moved up, but at that point I was still a group behind them. In fourth and fifth grade I worked harder than I ever had at that point and at the start of sixth grade I finally was moved up to gold, the group below the highest group on my team. My coaches had finally, after six years noticed that I had girt and the potential to be a good swimmer. At the start of eighth grade, I had achieved a
goal that I had set for myself as a three year old watching the “big kids” practiced, I had reached the highest group on the team. This meant three hours of training a day, sometimes even before school. I took this challenge as I have all the others in my life, with a smile. Ever since then I have continued to grow as a swimmer and a person. I am now a YMCA National champion, and a Junior National and US Open qualifier, and recognized as a Scholastic All-American and an All-American swimmer. Throughout my time as a swimmer, I have learned lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I have learned that it does not matter what other people think, as long as you believe in yourself, that is all that matters. I learned that if you say you cannot do a task, then you will not be able to accomplish it, but if you say you will, then you will achieve it. Positive self talk is key, never talk to yourself in a way that you do not want another person to. I have learned to suck it up even when it is challenging and it hurts. Pain will end eventually but regret is forever, so never give up and put all you have into your task. My teammates, taught me that teamwork makes the dream work and that happy swimmers are fast swimmers. Through their support, I have learned that the best feeling in the world is seeing each other accomplish amazing things and using that energy to also do great things.
I have been swimming year-round on a club team since the age of six and when I was younger improving came relatively easily. However, around age 13, I hit a training plateau despite having the same work ethic and focus that I had previously had. I grew to despise swimming and at points I wanted to quit. However, unlike Junior, I had role models and mentors who were positive influences on me and who helped me to overcome this challenge. Primarily, I had several of my best friends on the team who convinced me to keep persevering and to not simply quit the sport that I loved so much just because I was no longer dropping time. For example, every day I watch my close friends Lizanne and Cate come to practice and give it their all, regardless of the numerous injuries and medical issues that plagued their swimming career; their positive outlook and dedication motivated me to try even harder than I had before. Moreover, I had by parents, something that Junior did not have; my parents were always there to support me after yet another disappointing meet reminding me that “you get five minutes for a win and five minutes for a lost”. My parents where my voice of reason as I tried to work through my issues; they were always there to encourage me, but also were very honest with me
Ever since I was young my parents said “Drew you should try new things, even if it means you fail at something.” I never really listen to them until one time in the study grade when I decided that it was ok to fail. I asked my parents “ Can we look for a club basketball team that I could try out for?” Thrilled in hearing that I wanted to try something new, they found I tryout for a team called the Cincinnati Royals. A couple of other friends agreed to try out with me, but I was still very nervous because it was my first tryout. All three of us made it through the first round of cuts and were called back for another tryout. I remember being more nervous for the second tryout than I was for the first. My palms sweated the whole night, every shot I took clanked of the rim, it wasn’t my night. My two other friends were told that they made the team, but I unfortunately got cut which I expected given how I performed. At first I saw this experience as an overwhelming failure, but I soon realized that I challenged myself, and I could learn from the criticism the coaches gave me. Taking the new stuff I learned from the tryout, I found a different club basketball team that I was fortunate enough to make, which I got to meet new people and play a sport that I loved. Although I may not have gotten the
The first practice was at 5 a.m. and the night before I couldn't sleep. My mind would keep wondering what would happen, was I supposed to be wearing my bathing suit, what were my teammates going to be like. When it came time to go to practice I was shaking the whole way. Soon after I learned that my fears should have not been focused on such silly things now. If anything swim really helped me face them head on. With so much change going with swim I got used to this fear. My family and friends were also a great succor. Even though they probably didn't know that it was helping me. I'm very grateful to my father supporting anything I wanted to
It then started to get harder and each day was a different workout to help me and my teammates improve. I was at a point where all I could do was attend school, go to practice and go home. Each day I was beyond tired. At a point of time I felt like giving up and going back to my regular life, and regular schedule. As the coach started to notice how I felt, he pulled me to the side and started to question what was going on. I explained, but everything I said was not a good enough reason. My coach told me, “If this is what you really want you won’t give up, no matter how hard it may get you will overcome it.” That day I learned a valuable lesson, to never give up.
As a competitive swimmer, I train 19 hours a week as a member of the University of Manitoba Bison’s Men’s Swim Team. However, growing up, I was never a great swimmer. I just didn’t have the classic swimmer body type—tall, long limbs with big hands and feet—but I loved the sport. Looking back, I can imagine how my parents felt. Their short, scrawny kid desperately wanted to be in a sport that he wasn’t meant for.
This pool is my soul, and the slight, gentle waves are the beating of my heart. I stand on the deck looking down at the clear, calm water, and raise my hands above my head. I dive into the water, smooth and straight like an arrow. I enter the water without a splash, and glide underwater, feeling the cool water on my skin, and the scent of chlorine in the air. I feel powerful, immortal, and completely at peace.
How Ski Club Has Changed My Life Ski Club is almost always something that someone signs up for and pays money to get a ride and go ski or snowboard with a group of friends or acquaintances. When people start to ski or snowboard it is hard to get used to at first but when you do, it is one of the best feelings. To try and master a skill that intrigues you and to successfully master that skill is something that makes me very happy, in order to master a skill, you have to put in a lot of effort which can be stressful to a lot of people but for me I was looking forward to it and finally achieved it. The discourse community called Ski Club has been one of the greatest experiences of my life allowing me to learn new things and meet new people.
One thing that really bothers me is how much I changed. I used to play games all day, not focus on school, wouldn't get in serious trouble, and was very innocent compared to my present day self. There are cons and pros of my past self compared to how I am currently. I am more happy of how I am now then I am before. As time changes, so do I and I can not stop that. What’s done has already been done and can’t be changed so you always have to look towards the future and never the past. The past will not definite who you are today unless you let it. I would have never expect that I would be transferred to a continuation high school in my freshman year. It is a bad thing to many people, but I am thankful that I am sent to it because I will learn
I had never really considered myself a "good" swimmer. When I would tell my friends that I swim competitively, they would say, "Wait, so you're going to the Olympics right? You're going to be the next Michael Phelps!"
I was 8 years old when I realized for the first time what it was that I truly wanted to accomplish. My desire was to swim even better than everyone else on the team. The first swim meet of the season had finished and all I could think about was how cool all of the older kids were, It was very evident to everyone that the older kids were the best and they always got the most attention. I knew that as I got older swimming would become easier and easier, however what was unclear was the fact that I would become a state champion. Five years later I pulled up to a summer practice, something was out of the ordinary this afternoon.
Swimming has been an integral part of my life since I was nine years old. I have swum on four different teams and have had several different coaches. My high school swimming experience has been particularly significant to me and can be accurately described by a quote in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The quote, “It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone,” (Achebe) can be used to describe my high school swimming career. Freshman and Sophomore year I experienced personal progress, but team failure.
The point of swimming is to have fun and race. Several times that season I had been so stressed I forgot to race. I tried to pace myself and compare myself to the other swimmers and how they were doing. How all the girls from other teams were improving so much more than me.
As a 16 year old girl, I got my first job working at the local pool during the summer break. The pool was the place to be to get cooled off from those boiling sun rays. It was the perfect hang out for water games and fun. This was the description of a perfect job full of suntans and cute boys, or at least I thought.
Adding exercises into one’s daily routines can change their whole lifestyle. Many people look at exercise as being something just for people who want to lose weight or to become muscle bound, but there are a great deal of benefits that can be received from exercising regularly. Of course gaining muscle and losing fat are the two most popular reasons that usually attract people to the gym, but they make up a small part of the potential benefits that can be achieved with exercise. There are several ways in which I have benefited in my life from exercising regularly, besides just making me bigger and stronger. It has made me become more organized, helped me make better decisions, and motivated me to take on new challenges in life.
Have you ever been scared or afraid about trying or doing something new; I have. Swimming has always been a fun, exciting and enjoyable activity and hobby I enjoy doing a lot. On a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon. My mom and I went to an indoor pool in California called the Hayward Plunge. I was having so much fun until my mom asked me to take the 11ft deep swimming test.