Jessica on Swim Team

Well hello old friend. Wow have I fallen off the blogging horse! I have decided to blog once a day for this week and possibly next week and possibly the next. I debated just picking up from now and moving on, but there are so many things I don't want to forget so I am going to try to get caught up- but things are going to be pretty out of order, so bare with me. As I uploaded the pics I realized the photo hosting site I used has changed things up so I think the pictures might be super large- oops I will work on that- definitely rusty on my blogging skills.

Jessica decided this past Spring that she wanted to join the swim team. While I wasn't too keen on the 3 nights a week hanging poolside and the hours long swim meet in a hot and humid pool area I figured if she wanted to join and join she shall! She really loved it and was quite excited to join again this fall. What I love is that it is a team sport and not quite a team sport. If she has a bad day or doesn't do well it doesn't hurt the whole team. They also give you a ribbon every time you beat your own personal time. So kids like Jessica, who don't come in first/second/ third, still get a sense of achievement. She loves getting ribbons and it gives her something to strive for at each meet. She loves cheering for her friends and teammates.

Her swimming skills grew so much and so did her confidence. I joked that she didn't really get that it was race. She often seems to be about having the nicest stroke technique and not so much about going quickly. With this in mind we are going to look into synchonized swimming in a few years :)

All of these pictures were taken at the Swim Championships at the end of July. Here is Coach Tim giving the kids a pep talk before they began. I am really hoping that it was better than the pep talk her gave the night before which went something like this, "Tomorrow is a big day. Don't worry if you get a little nervous- that is perfectly normal because this is the BIGGEST day of your lives!" And here is a surprise, a few upset stomachs were reported before the start of the meet.



The winner of every heat receives a ribbon. When Jessica was getting ready for her freestyle race we realized that she had a chance to win her heat. Of the six girls swimming she had the fastest previous time. Sure enough she pulled ahead early on and kept the lead. It was pretty exciting. This is one of my favorite things and so proud of Jessica. As soon as she finished she turned to the girl who finished just behind her and gave her a high five.

Daddy giving her a hug.

With her ribbon!
I was timing for the second half. Jessica was actually starting in my lane. Want to know the very sage advice I am imparting? I believe I told her to GO FAST! Yup- genius coach I am.



Chatting with Katelyn after the race.
The Falcons won! But, um, here's the thing... the Falcons always win. Jessica really loves swimming and is doing so well. She has really challenged herself this fall. She got bumped up a lane in practice, which is a big deal. Now she trains with Coach Tim and she was SO EXCITED when she got bumped. She turned around and had this look of pride and shock and excitement on her face, but she was containing it all. Lisa Skala was sitting next to me and we both totally teared up. It has been so good for her- she never complains about going to swimming or asks to skip practices or meets. So for now and for awhile to come we are proud members of the Falcon Swim Team. Go Falcons!