Back in April, Gabriel brought home a letter from the Ridgeview High School swim team coach inviting him, (and all incoming freshman), to join the RHS swim team in August when his freshman year would be starting. The letter said that he didn't need to already be a competitive swimmer, that they would teach all of that. It also said, however, that it would be beneficial to join a summer swim team to learn to be a competitive swimmer. The letter went on to list the various summer swim teams in the area, and said that she would be coaching the summer YMCA team.
I asked Gabriel if this was something he wanted to do. I know he loves to be in the water; he's been swimming since before he could talk! His response to my question was, "Do I have to wear a speedo? I'm not doing it if I have to wear a speedo." Well, that's not "NO!" is it? I asked him a few more times if he wanted to join a swim team, and each time he said the same thing. Not yes, but not no either. I figured I'd sign him up for the summer team at the Y to see if he liked it, and if he liked the coach. I figured that if he didn't like it, or her, he'd know before he was on the school team and had to answer to peers. At the beginning of May, I signed him up as a member of the Barco-Newton YMCA Kingfish Swim Team.
There's something you need to understand about my kids. All three of them have loved the water from a very young age. They have all started swimming before they could talk. When we moved to FL, to a house that had it's own back yard pool, and only an hour from the beach, they thought they had died and gone to heaven! None of them have ever had ANY formal swimming instruction. They can dive down to the bottom of the pool and get dive sticks; they can crash through big waves, and body surf; they can snorkel around in the pool; they can float on gentle waves. They don't, however, know any kind of strokes.
June 3rd, the first practice for the Kingfish, Gabriel jumped in the pool with the rest of the beginners on the team. When he was asked by the coach to show her his freestyle, he responded, "What's freestyle?"
Two points: 1. The Kingfish coach was NOT the coach from RHS. We found out later that the RHS coach had a last minute change of plans and was coaching a team on the other side of the river for the summer. 2. Gabriel is the oldest beginner on this team. All the kids his age have been swimming every summer on this team since they were like 10 or younger. All the other beginners at his practices were between 9-12 years old. (The younger kids 5-9yo were at a different practice time.)
At the end of that first practice, his coach told me that he was picking things up very quickly and that she thought he was going to do very well.
Fast forward two weeks to the first swim meet. Swim meets break the swimmers up by age group, not skill level. Beginner Gabriel was swimming against seasoned swimmers. Swimmers who not only know the strokes well, but also know little things like starts and turns. Gabriel did really well for being up against these experienced swimmers. The only time he came in last was when there were only two of them swimming an event. I pointed out to him that that was really remarkable!
He continued to learn and improve at a lightening fast pace throughout the summer. It was amazing to watch him at practice! I've never had occasion to see him receive instruction from someone outside the family, so I've never seen him take instruction and do exactly what he is told before! I was in awe! The coach would tell him to do something, and he'd do it! Almost every week she would remark to me how well he was doing and how fast he was advancing. At each meet she would give him progressively challenging events, and he would meet the challenge each time.
At the first meet, he was on a relay team with the three best male swimmers on his team. They swam a 200 yard freestyle relay, which means each boy swam a 50y free. After the event was over he said to me, "I made my team lose. I was the slowest one."
Yesterday was the last meet of the summer season. The championship meet. The last event he swam was the 200y free relay, and he was with the same three boys as the first meet.
After the event was over he said to me, "Micah just wasn't in it today. I should have been the anchor." (FYI: Micah is the BEST swimmer on the team.)
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the camera to the first meet, (Steve was on his way back from Virginia that morning and made it just in time to see Gabriel's last event). I took video of his events on my phone, and the quality is abysmal. Steve took video of all his events at all the other meets, except his first event yesterday. That championship meet was CHAOS and Steve didn't hear the announcement for Gabriel's event until he was up on the block. I was out directing traffic, (parent volunteer), so I didn't get to see that first even at all. Oh well.
So, family members and friends have asked to see the videos, but they are too big to email. I have put them on flickr so that anyone who wishes to see them can. If you roll your pointer over the thumbnail, it will tell you the meet date and number so you can see the progress from one meet to the next. Just click on the link below.
Gabriel's swim meet videos
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