Stefan had his first swim meet last Saturday. If you have really looked at his feet, you would think we may have the next Mark Spitz (not likely, but it WOULD be cool!).
With his history of melting down at the mere mention of competition, we did not have many expectations of this day. Good or bad...
The night before, he talked about how excited he was to go to his swim meet.
WHA?!?!?!? Is this the same kid that would be hysterical at a FUN RUN?!?
He swam in four events: the 100 meter medley relay (he swam freestyle), the 25 meter freestyle, the 25 meter backstroke and the 100 meter freestyle relay. He balked at the backstroke, yet it is one of his better strokes!
He and Matthew were on the same relay team and started at the same end. We were coming up with all sorts of labels:
Frick & Frack
Tweedle-Dee & Tweedle Dum
Dumb & Dumber...
In spite of their 8-9 year old, skinny, gangly, awkward bodies & social skills, they were really graceful in the water. More than that, Stefan came out smiling. And happy. Not over-stimulated and manic - just excited about what he was doing. It really appeared that he had found himself a niche. And for that we are grateful (especially with those FLIPPERS!).
You can see here, before his diving start for the 25 meter free, he is still enjoying himself and does not seemed cowed by the experience. Quite the contrary. We were quite entertained by his "stretching" ;)
For a first meet - I would say that he/his team did quite well. The Second Place finish in the 100 meter Medley Relay was bested by only 0.2 seconds. Not too shabby!
I pray that this was not just "Beginner's Luck/Excitement", but instead, a great start to a new adventure. One where Stefan is successful in his efforts and has continued joy. The next meet is on the 10th...
Our friends/neighbors oldest son has "aged out" of the summer swim team. So, this year he is helping. But he got to come out of retirement and swim the 100 meter Medley, just for fun. John is a 14-year old boy existing in a man's body. While he is looking puberty in the rear-view mirror, his peers are still looking at the yolk sack nature has provided for them before that big pubescent growth spurt occurs. They were also looking at him over a half a pool ahead of them while he was looking in the rear-view mirror at them...
One of my best shots of the day was during John's butterfly. Swimming pictures are mostly just conditions and luck. A nice stroke and good subject matter doesn't hurt though...
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