Once again I apologize for the infrequent posts. Life has been busy lately (more on that later). This post however will explain some of it.
The Trailmomma family is happy to announce that the Peanut has completed her first season of swim team! We attended our first ever “Champs” which was last weekend and was a three day affair! You read that right. The kids swam Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Luckily for the Peanut, the 6 and Under group only had to swim on Saturday. As a parent however, I had to volunteer 3 hours of my time during the weekend and with the advice of Gold Country Girl, I picked Friday after work to do my volunteer shift.
It was almost 100 degrees and I raced from one job to the other but in the end, it was so worth volunteering Friday because that left me free to enjoy the whole event on Saturday.
Each team in the league picked a theme and the Peanut’s team picked The Lego movie. The costumes were pretty “awesome” and she was given that “awesome” yellow lego man t-shirt (Everything is awesome!).
The temperatures for the weekend were predicted to touch 100 degrees. The meet itself was held at Sierra College in Rocklin which isn’t too far from our house but with all the teams in the league attending, we knew parking would be a struggle.
We left our house at 5:45 am and set up camp with the usual crew. The kids and teams all performed in a parade and as soon as the festivities were over, the meet began.
The Peanut had to swim in two events. The 25 yard back stroke and the 25 yard free style. I am learning a lot about swimming this year. I learned that during Champs, the heats are reversed and if you are in an earlier heat, then you are more or less in a slower group. Later heats are reserved for the faster swimmers. The Peanut had the best of both. Her back stroke was an early heat while her free style was in a later one.
It is hard to explain the size of this event and the magnitude of craziness that was happening all around us. If the Peanut was worried, she didn’t show it, at least not until she had to leave for the ready bench where she would sit and wait for 20 minutes before it was time to swim.
Her first event was the back stroke which is opposite of what she was used to from every other meet. She was also forced to warm up in a side pool which is something she has never done before either. She handled it all like a pro and took her place in the pool.
She was considered one of the faster swimmers in the slower heat so she scored a better lane which I know boosts her confidence. When the buzzer went off, she did her thing and swam her little heart out.
She ended up taking first place in her heat!!! Unfortunately, being in one of the slower heats, meant she really could not make it to the finals but she still supported her team.
In between heats we would wait it out in the tent trying to stay hydrated. Squeaker, on the other hand,  is pretty easy going and just finds something to occupy herself with …
Soon it was time for the Peanut’s free style swim. As I mentioned earlier, she was seeded in a faster heat but due to the competition, was placed in a slower lane. This always plays with her mind despite what Vans and I tell her. Still, she was ready to get this thing over with.
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I was across the pool with Squeaker during this event. I saw all the kids in her heat get up on the super high blocks. When the Peanut swims at her home team pool, they have mini blocks for the 6 and Under group. These blocks, were college level standard blocks. The Peanut looked at the block and then looked at the other kids. When we swim at other team’s pools, she “dives” off the side of the pool and not the block, especially if they are too high. You could see the inner turmoil going on in her head. What should she do? This was Champs! ALL the other kids were on the blocks! But she has never gone off the blocks before!?
I saw her coach say something to her and I saw the Peanut get up on the block. Seconds later the buzzer went off and the Peanut DOVE into the pool. OFF THE BLOCKS!!! I was blown away. I mean, it was more of a belly flop than a dive but she had done it. She had conquered one of her biggest fears on her very last swim of the season!
It took a while for the Peanut to surface and while I wish I could say she finished first place and qualified for finals, the truth is she was last place but she emerged from the pool with a smile and said, “I did a massive belly flop!” 🙂
Later I had asked her what it was her Coach had said to her and she said, “She told me that she would PREFER I dive off the blocks.”
That was the beginning of a whole new world for the Peanut. Her team went on to win Champs by only 7 points! Her 6 and Under group dominated the events and was a huge reason in their success. When the Peanut got home from Champs and started swimming in our pool I said to her, “Hey, you realize that the blocks you jumped off today are higher than our own diving board?” She didn’t believe me but she stood on the diving board and looked out at the water. And then she dove in and the rest is history. She is a diving fiend now.
With a whole new form of confidence the Peanut could not wait until her team awards night. We were all super excited because the team had won and had quite a few swimmers attending the Meet of Champions in a few weeks.
When we arrived at the park where the awards was being held, the Peanut caught a glimpse of the tables covered in trophies. She was giddy with excitement.
The first group that they introduced was the 6 and Under group. The Peanut took off like a shot through the crowd. Vans and I looked at each other completely shocked that she went up there all by herself. There was a time when even though she had friends, she would not go stand in front of a large group.
Coach Brownie announced that they were giving out individual awards to some of the kids. Sure we know the Peanut is a great kid, but she didn’t she didn’t break any swim records this season. You know what she did have though? Spirit and it didn’t go unnoticed.
From the girl that cried at quite a few swim practices in the beginning to the girl in the above photo, the Peanut has transformed this season. She stood there and smiled like she always does. Coach Brownie mentioned how she always has a smile on her face. I love that face.
Unsure as to whether or not she even wanted to BE on the swim team this year, the Peanut has made Vans and myself super proud. She practiced in cold weather, rainy weather and a million degree weather. She practiced five or six times a week!
As I have mentioned, Vans and myself were never swimmers on a swim team. We learned quite a bit ourselves this season. Most importantly, we learned we have a little girl who will conquer her fears (on her own time) and wow everyone in the process. Congrats Peanut. Thank you for being such an “awesome” kid!
Happy Trails Swimming!
~Trailmomma
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