Shockwaves, Episode 1

Nicco got back into swim practice in mid-April, just after soccer ended. I was glad to see him back in the water for more than just play. He's such a little fish. It was pretty amazing to see his improvement since the last time he was on a team just in practice. We've talked about his technique and set some goals based on how fast he swims in practice and he had some realistic yet challenging marks to shoot for in his first meet.

 

I was very excited. I've been envious of my sister watching her daughter run and win races. My envy was quelled by the opportunity to watch my own kid race. He's not winning any titles (yet!) but races are fun no matter what. And the best thing about sports like swimming, track, and cross country is that no matter how you match up against your competitors, you can always be successful by setting and reaching your own goals. So much fun. So good for body, mind, and spirit.

 

Nicco's goals for the meet:

Backstroke in 35 seconds or less

Breaststroke in 40 seconds or less

Freestyle in 25 seconds or less

 

He and his teammates got some instructions for their warm-ups before the start of the races.

 Backstroke warm-up...

 Set for his leg of the medley relay...

He swam the breaststroke leg of the medley. It is not his best stroke, but the kid smiled the whole length of the pool. That's success in my book.

His wall-touch at the end of his leg...

He's always thrilled to see his Daddy at his events, hence the smile during the race.

I didn't time his medley split because I was too busy with the camera, so I delegated stopwatch duty to the Papa for the remaining races. I was busy, you know, trying to coax a happy face out of my kid while we waited for his next race to be called. In this sideline shot, he was tormenting a half dead ant.

Here he is, apparently giving an opponent the business at the starting blocks prior to the backstroke race. Mr. Hands-on-hips.

 Swimmers take your marks...

 Go!

It was probably his best yet backstroke start, and he was smooth and straight for the whole length. He slowed down a bit at the end, but finishing strong will come with practice.

Nicco smiled a big giant smile when he met his Dad at the finish and he kept the grin on as they walked toward me. He was anxious to hear his time. Patrice handed me the watch and asked, "What was he going for in this race?" I said 35 seconds as he handed me the watch, grinning widely himself. I showed Nicco the clock and his eyes popped nearly right out of his head. 28 seconds! I wish I would have had the camera ready for the look on his face when he saw that time. He was so proud of himself, but only half as proud as I was.

 

That set a great, positive tone for the rest of the meet. Here he's getting some more instructions from Coach Parker for the breaststroke. His goal was under 40 and he swam a 38. Another personal record! The best thing about that race was that he had a goggle mishap and ignored it! Yay, my boy! Two years ago a goggle mishap sent him into tears of frustration. He's grown up a bit!

 

A video of his freestyle race. Almost as great as the race itself are the arm-farting boys behind the blocks. Hilarious. I thought for a moment that Nicco might actually catch those two boys in front of him, but he just ran out of juice. His goal was a 25 and he swam a 26. Not what he hoped for, but a P.R. anyway.

The last event of the night for my boy, the freestyle relay. He's getting his instructions prior to the start...

 Waiting for Chris to finish the first leg...

 And he's off!

To avoid chaos and confusion, all swimmers stay in the pool until the relay is completed. Nicco was the second leg and was told not to get out of the pool. When the anchor swimmer came up, Nicco was watching closely for his teammate to touch the wall. When he did, my boy took off like a pistol shot on a fifth leg. He was exhausted when he got out. Coach told him he did twice as good as the others, wink wink. When I explained to him that he only has to swim one time in a relay, he said he didn't see me so he thought he should go. I said it is better to go than not to go. He got an extra race that I didn't even time for him. Oh well. There's always something to learn from!

We left happy and tired. Nicco barely had energy to get his jammies on and passed out within seconds of his head hitting his pillow. I'm a proud and content mama tonight.