Confessions of a Swim Coach....

[monster]

I just completed my online training in Bloodborne Pathogens, Diversity and Sexual Harassment. What fun! (nearly 2 hours....)

Thursday's practice was a bit of a PITA -the lifeguard "forgot" so walked past us as he left the building and had to be called back (we assumed he was just going to get something from somewhere....). 20 Minutes later, we got into the pool. Backstroke was the feature of the day. I took the same two guys and we made a lot of progress, but I was worried about how they would swim "under pressure" -most kids do better, but some don't. However, when we practiced backstroke starts, one kid at a time, all watching, they swam their best ever -straightest arms, fastest motion... and were pleased as punch when they hit the wall. They have a long way to go, but in two hours, they've already blown my socks off!

The two kids I have really want to swim, but they have the sort of personalities that make it hard for them to learn what they need to know in a large group. One of them (who is not so keen on change) has the same goggles he's had for many years. They are too small for him and opaque, so i explained to his mom how to choose the right pair for him, and went on to explain what we had been working on in his backstroke, asking my daughter, hebe, to demonstrate.

Hebe said to me later... it was really weird, you don't sound like a mom anymore, you sound like a swim coach.